JIM MORRISON AND R. KRIEGER DUO PERFORMANCE IN MAY 1969

In May 1969, Jim Morrison was invited to take part in a series of performance art shows in Hollywood. The event was organized to raise funds for Norman Mailer's campaign.

Mailer was an interesting and eccentric figure who had been exploring various aspects of American society through different forms of expression since the 1940s.

Best known as a writer, Mailer decided to run in the 1969 Democratic Party primary election for mayor of New York City.

Adopting a pacifist and libertarian political platform, Mailer gained the support of a number of artists, including Jim Morrison.

The promotion of personal freedoms and ideas that were still taboo in the United States at that time appealed greatly to the lead singer of The Doors.

Indeed, Morrison had long been an outspoken opponent of conformity and dominant U.S. culture, advocating complete freedom of expression — a stance that got him into no small amount of trouble with the law.

The event in support of Mailer — who, incidentally, was not elected — took place on 30 and 31 May 1969. By this time, the frontman of The Doors had distanced himself somewhat from the other members of the group.

Artistic differences within the band and disillusionment with his own musical career led Morrison to seek other avenues for his talents.

Accompanying the singer on both nights was Robby Krieger, The Doors' guitarist. Part of their performance on 31 May was recorded, totalling six minutes.

This consisted of two songs sung by Morrison and accompanied by Krieger's undistorted electric guitar (link to the performance here).

The first was a bluesy version of "I Will Never Be Untrue" (for a detailed article about this tune, link here)

This is one of the earliest recordings of the tune, which was dear to Morrison (he composed it), but it did not appear on any of the band's LPs or singles.

The second episode features a cover of the Robert Johnson country blues composition, "Me and the Devil Blues". This wonderful song was first recorded in 1937, although it was written by the renowned Mississippi bluesman several years earlier.

During his performance on 31 May 1969, Jim Morrison replaced the original lyrics with his own, which nevertheless remained within the blues tradition rather than delving into the innovative and mysterious poetics typical of the singer/poet.

Although the informal setting detracts from the quality of the performance, the vocals are spontaneous enough to be appreciated by blues fans.

The event also featured the film/documentary A Feast Of Friends, produced by The Doors themselves and based on footage shot during the band's concerts and related road trips over the past year.

An Andy Warhol film, "I, A Man", was also part of the program over the two nights.

Several poetry readings by Californian authors rounded off an event where The Doors' music did not particularly shine, but where the unprecedented Morrison-Krieger duo could be heard in an informal, relaxed setting.

This was a welcome change from the grueling and poorly tolerated recordings of the "The Soft Parade" album, which had been a thorn in Morrison's side in recent months.

However, the most significant aspect to emerge from this occasion is closely related to Jim Morrison's artistic and personal life.

In fact, partially detached from the other members of The Doors, the singer was searching for a new artistic identity.

This painful inner process is reflected artistically through the musical minimalism of the blues genre.

It is a path that the singer will continue to follow for the next two years without ever achieving a sense of personal equilibrium.

This short, unofficial recording, with its subdued and expressive intimacy, demonstrates how well-suited blues music was to Morrison's state of mind in spring 1969.

It was a kind of shelter from the problems and discomforts upsetting him as a result of his growing popularity as the frontman of a successful band.

He interprets the blues here with obvious pleasure, enthusiastically surrendering to the ongoing experience. The blues would remain a central component of his musical expression, as well as being one of several elements present in The Doors' music.

P.S.: My book "The Doors Through Strange Days"- The most comprehensive journey ever made through The Doors' second LP, is available on Amazon.com, .uk, .mx, .it, etc.

Here’s a link:

Amazon – “The Doors Through Strange Days”