Synopses & Reviews
As an artist and persona, Jim Morrison epitomized the late 1960s, bridging a burgeoning counterculture and popular culture, while acting out the iconoclastic rage, rampant libido, and spectacular flameout of a tumultuous era. The music he created with The Doors has sold over 50 million records worldwide with over 13 million in the last decade alone, as their songs have been embraced by a new generation. But despite Morrison's seminal importance, there has not yet been an authoritative biography that does justice to him and his creative legacy. Until now.
Stephen Davis, the preeminent rock biographer and author of the classic Led Zeppelin history Hammer of the Gods (over 600,000 copies sold in three editions, and a #1 New York Times bestseller), has uncovered never-before-seen documents, conducted dozens of original interviews, and scoured Morrison's unpublished journals and recordings to write the definitive biography of a misunderstood legend. Jim Morrison is packed with startling new revelations about every phase of his life and career, from his troubled youth in a strict military household to his blossoming as a rock icon among the avant-garde LA scene to his voracious drug abuse and secret sexual experiments. Davis also investigates one of the greatest mysteries in rock history the circumstances surrounding Morrison's mysterious and unsolved death as he pieces together new evidence to tell the true and heartbreaking story of Morrison's last tragic days in Paris.
Compelling and unforgettable, Jim Morrison is destined to become a classic.
Review
An incredible book. (The Village Voice on Hammer of the Gods) Anyone intrigued by the rise of hard rock or by the manic excesses of the 70s scene will find a treasure trove of raw data here. (Rolling Stone on Walk This Way: The Autobiography of Aerosmith)
Review
and#8220;[A] revealing page-turner of a biography.and#8221; and#8212;More.com
and#8220;Stephen Davis reveals the fault lines in the life of an artist who, despite her popular success, has never received the critical respect accorded other singer-songwriters of her generation.and#8221; and#8211; Washington Post
and#8220;Rendered out of love and respect for Simon and her legacyand#8230;Shinesand#8221; and#8211; Boston Globe
and#160;and#8220;A sympathetic and breezy account of Carly Simon's life and (many) loves.and#8221; and#8211; Star Tribune
and#8220;A revealing look at the singer's hit songs, famous friends (Mick Jagger, Warren Beatty), rocky marriage to James Taylor, and struggle to hold on to stardom in late middle age.and#8221; and#8211; O Magazine
and#8220;Revelatoryand#8221; and#8211; PW
Review
"Chronicles of self-destruction are often an uncomfortable mixture of facile psychology, prurient rumour and supposition, and the author's inevitable infatuation with his subject. In Jim Morrison: Life, Death, Legend, Stephen Davis thankfully avoids cod-Freudian interpretations of Jim's very real Oedipal obsessions....Baroque new journalese can be tiresome, but Davis generally writes well, ably charting Morrison's discovery of a psychedelic culture." Mark Kidel, The Times Literary Supplement (read the entire Times Literary Supplement review)
Synopsis
The preeminent rock biographer and author of the Led Zeppelin history "Hammer of the Gods" has uncovered documents, conducted dozens of original interviews, and scoured Morrison's unpublished journals and recordings to write the definitive biography of a misunderstood legend.
Synopsis
A love song to an American icon: the first full-length biography of Carly Simon, from an acclaimed music journalist who has known her for decades
Carly Simon has won two Grammys and an Academy Award, and her albums have sold more than forty million copies. She has touched countless lives and is considered an icon in 1970s music, yet her own life story has remained a mystery. Tapping private archives, family interviews, and a forty-year friendship with the legend herself, Stephen Davis at last captures Carly Simonandrsquo;s extraordinary journey from shy teenager to superstar, covering everything her fans want to know, including:
- The real story behind andldquo;Youandrsquo;re So Vainandrdquo;
- Romances with Mick Jagger, Warren Beatty, and Cat Stevens
- Surviving breast cancer
- Her recent financial and spiritual crises
Along the way, Davis vividly takes readers back to some of the most powerful eras in American music history and delivers a tribute worthy of the artist. The updated paperback edition includes two brand-new photos, as well as a note to the reader and selected sources.
Synopsis
As the lead singer of the Doors, Jim Morrison’s searing poetic vision and voracious appetite for sexual, spiritual, and psychedelic experience inflamed the spirit and psyche of a generation. Since his mysterious death in 1971, millions more fans from a new generation have embraced his legacy, as layers of myth have gathered to enshroud the life, career, and true character of the man who was James Douglas Morrison.
In Jim Morrison, critically acclaimed journalist Stephen Davis, author of Hammer of the Gods, unmasks Morrison’s constructed personas of the Lizard King and Mr. Mojo Risin’ to reveal a man of fierce intelligence whose own destructive tendencies both fueled his creative ambitions and brought about his downfall. Gathered from dozens of original interviews and investigations of Morrison’s personal journals, Davis has assembled a vivid portrait of a misunderstood genius, tracing the arc of Morrison’s life from his troubled youth to his international stardom, when his drug and alcohol binges, tumultuous sexual affairs, and fractious personal relationships reached a frenzied peak. For the first time, Davis is able to reconstruct Morrison’s last days in Paris to solve one of the greatest mysteries in music history in a shocking final chapter.
Compelling and harrowing, intimate and revelatory, Jim Morrison is the definitive biography of the rock idol in snakeskin and leather who defined the 1960s.
Synopsis
As the lead singer of the Doors, Jim Morrison’s searing poetic vision and voracious appetite for sexual, spiritual, and psychedelic experience inflamed the spirit and psyche of a generation. Since his mysterious death in 1971, millions more fans from a new generation have embraced his legacy, as layers of myth have gathered to enshroud the life, career, and true character of the man who was James Douglas Morrison.
In Jim Morrison, critically acclaimed journalist Stephen Davis, author of Hammer of the Gods, unmasks Morrison’s constructed personas of the Lizard King and Mr. Mojo Risin’ to reveal a man of fierce intelligence whose own destructive tendencies both fueled his creative ambitions and brought about his downfall. Gathered from dozens of original interviews and investigations of Morrison’s personal journals, Davis has assembled a vivid portrait of a misunderstood genius, tracing the arc of Morrison’s life from his troubled youth to his international stardom, when his drug and alcohol binges, tumultuous sexual affairs, and fractious personal relationships reached a frenzied peak. For the first time, Davis is able to reconstruct Morrison’s last days in Paris to solve one of the greatest mysteries in music history in a shocking final chapter.
Compelling and harrowing, intimate and revelatory, Jim Morrison is the definitive biography of the rock idol in snakeskin and leather who defined the 1960s.
About the Author
Stephen Davis's many acclaimed books include the Rolling Stones history Old Gods Almost Dead as well as the New York Times bestsellers Walk This Way (with Aerosmith), Fleetwood, and Hammer of the Gods ("An incredible book" The Village Voice).