frank lisciandro

Jim Morrison: Friends Gathered Together

Jim Morrison… We know the stories, but does anyone know the real man? If you don’t know where the truth ends and the fiction begins, you’re not alone. Lies, myths, rumors and tall tales spread by people who didn’t know him have masked Jim Morrison and clouded what he accomplished.

Fearing that the real Jim would become hopelessly fictionalized, Frank Lisciandro, Jim’s friend and film collaborator, gathered together more than a dozen of Morrison’s friends for a series of conversations and interviews. In the transcripts of these talks Jim Morrison is candidly brought to light by the people who knew him, who were his pals, colleagues, mentors and lovers.

Jim Morrison: Friends Gathered Together confronts and sweeps away the fantasy to illuminate an extraordinary man and gifted creative artist. The conversations covered a multitude of topics and events. The people who share their stories were themselves active participants in the West Coast music scene: musicians, concert promoters, publicists and band managers. Readers will discover funny stories, secrets revealed and truths more astounding than the fabrications published during and after Morrison’s life.

From his first year in high school and his student days at UCLA to the formation of The Doors and his rise to fame, this book weaves an amazing tapestry of honest information about Morrison the poet, the brilliant lyricist, and the iconic singer and performer of The Doors.

The book is a treat for Jim’s fans worldwide and for curious readers who want to know the true Jim Morrison story. The conversations also offer a unique oral history of the restless and turbulent Sixties when L.A.’s Sunset Strip was the focus of a cultural renaissance and musical revolution.

Jim Morrison: Friends Gathered Together focuses on issues and occasions that illuminate an extraordinary man and gifted creative artist. By weighing the observations of those who knew him, the reader can reach her/his own conclusions about who Jim Morrison was and what he achieved. The result is a more accurate rendering, a more humane and truthful portrait.

The book contains 57 original photographs by Frank Lisciandro.

Quotes from the book:

"To call him a rock star is just a total insult to him and his intelligence and his awareness and this philosophy that was inside of him. His life was a philosophy. He didn’t tell people what they have to do, he just did it himself. He just put it all out there." – Ron Alan

“The biographers seem to have lost Jim’s sense of humor. I can’t impress upon you enough that it was always there….He was the funniest human being I ever met. Simply that, the funniest human being I ever met.” – Fud Ford

“If the guy had anything to get mad about, it was being misquoted or articles about him that weren’t true. But even then that wouldn’t even begin to incite him to any kind of vitriol. He’d just shrug it off. He just accepted that as part of the job.” – Babe Hill