John Densmore
John Paul Densmore (born December 1, 1944) is an American musician. He is best known as the drummer of the rock band the Doors, and as such is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.[1] He appeared on every recording made by the band, with drumming inspired by jazz and world music as much as by rock and roll. The many honors he shares with the other Doors include a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[2][3]
John Densmore
John Paul Densmore
December 1, 1944
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
- Musician
- songwriter
- author
- actor
Drums
1964–present
Densmore is also noted for his veto of attempts by the other two Doors members, in the wake of singer Jim Morrison's 1971 death, to accept offers to license the rights to various Doors songs for commercial purposes, as well as his objections to their use in the 21st century of the Doors name and logo. Densmore's lengthy court battles to gain compliance with his veto, based on a 1960s contract requiring unanimity among Doors members to use the band's name or music, ended with total victory for him and his allies in the Morrison estate.[4]
Densmore has worked additionally in the performing arts as a dancer and actor, and written successfully as both a playwright and the author of two books on the topic of the Doors, and a third book, The Seekers (2020), on a selection of notable people he has worked with and encountered.
Honors[edit]
As a member of the Doors, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.[26] Along with his 1993 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Densmore, as a member of the Doors, was recognized in 2007 with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[27] Also in 2007, Densmore and his band mates were awarded a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement.[28] The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame webpage on the Doors observes that "As a drummer, Densmore had a creative, dynamic flair that lent itself to the Doors' surreal, kaleidoscopic music."[26]
He and the Doors have been saluted twice by the City of Los Angeles, which in 2017 issued a proclamation at a public gathering in Venice Beach observing January 4 as the 'Day of the Doors' in honor of the 50th anniversary of the group's self-titled album release on that date in 1967.[29] At the event, Los Angeles Councilmember Mike Bonin introduced Densmore and Krieger who ceremonially lit a Doors logo beneath the famed 'Venice' letters.[30] A year later, on January 4, 2018, Densmore accepted a second proclamation from Los Angeles Council member Paul Koretz at the junction of Densmore Avenue and Morrison Street in Encino, Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley in which honorary street signs were unveiled.[31]
Personal life[edit]
Densmore has married four times. He married his first wife Julia Brose in 1970 with Robby and Lynn Krieger as best man and bridesmaid. They separated in 1972. A few years after their divorce he married Debbie Fife but they divorced a few years later. He then married actress Leslie Neale in 1990 and they had one daughter together. They subsequently separated in 2006 due to irreconcilable differences and divorced. Since 2012 he has been in a relationship with Ildiko Von Somogyi, whom he married in 2020.[32][33]