(above) SMC President Dr. Chui L. Tsang presents the Distinguished Alumni Awards for Outstanding Professional Achievement to The Doors drummer and SMC Alum John Densmore, 65, during Santa Monica College's 80th Commencement Ceremony at Corsair Field on Tuesday, June 15, 2010. (top) Densmore recites his poem, "Belly Song" during Commencement Ceremony.
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Densmore has remained an active musician and writer way beyond his years with The Doors, but has long been associated with the group and its legendary lead singer, the late Jim Morrison. The Doors was the subject of an Oliver Stone feature film of the same name and, this year, was featured in the acclaimed documentary, “When You’re Strange: A Film About The Doors.”
Densmore was far more than merely the rhythmic engine of The Doors. Strongly influenced by jazz skinsmen like Elvin Jones and the supple grooves of the Brazilian wave, he brought a highly evolved sense of dynamics, structure and musicality to his beats.
Inexorably drawn to music from childhood, Los Angeles-born Densmore honed his sense of dynamics playing with his high school marching band. In the mid-’60s he joined guitarist Robby Krieger in a band called Psychedelic Rangers; shortly thereafter they hooked up with keyboardist Ray Manzarek and Morrison, and an explosive chapter in the development of rock ‘n’ roll began. A raft of paradigm-shifting recordings and epochal live performances by The Doors would follow.
Morrison’s death in 1971 marked the end of an era, though the surviving trio recorded two more albums of songs and an instrumental backdrop for the late singer’s recorded poetry. The Doors were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, and in 2006 they were awarded a Lifetime Achievement Grammy by NARAS® and given a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The versatile musician explored reggae and jazz in subsequent projects, wrote books and articles and became active in L.A.’s adventurous theater community. He earned an L.A. Weekly Theatre Award for the music he created for the Tim Robbins-directed stage production Methusalem. He also co-produced the play Rounds, which was given the NAACP award for theatre in 1987.
Densmore’s autobiography, Riders on the Storm: My Life With Jim Morrison and The Doors, was published in 1991 and was a New York Times bestseller. He's written articles and essays for Rolling Stone, London Guardian and The Nation and has contributed to many nationally syndicated newspapers.
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