About JayDixon Expertise lyrics, instruments, vocal range
Experience Radio jock with 26 years commercial radio experience and radio station music director. Singer myself, poet and lyric writer. Former lead singer of a Doors tribute band. I own instruments, have the same vocal range as Jim had.
Education/Credentials Bachelor of Business - University of Queensland
Awards and Honors Holder of the CRA (Commercial Radio Australia) "25 Year Award" and a couple of other music and radio awards.
Question I'm asking your opinion on bands that Jim Morrison has influenced with The Doors, both in the 1960's and with modern music. Who idolized Jim Morrison? Who still does? How does it show in their music? Thanks a lot, I appreciate it.
Answer Hi Heather.
Interesting question and has been posed before on All Experts.
The Doors themselves were influenced mostly by blues artists such as John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Muddy Waters etc. Jim Morrison (lot of people don’t realize this) was a very big fan and was himself influenced by the “Crooners” Perry Como, Dean Martin and Sinatra.
The Doors were a unique alternative band like nothing that came before or has come since.
I don’t think they really inspired anyone in the 60’s because they became big towards the end of that decade. The 1970’s however quite a few artists were inspired/influenced by Doors music, to name a couple Blue Oyster Cult, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Iggy Pop.
I have been fortunate in my illustrious radio career over the years to have interviewed a lot of music artists and get right into where and what made them, a number have stated The Doors had an impact in some way over their music direction.
Examples. Ed Kowalczyk the lead singer of the band Live, when I interviewed him he stated that his lyric writing was in his own style that is, inspired by Morrison to a degree. Ian Astbury the lead singer of The Cult is shaped a lot by The Doors and in particular Morrison, their respective personalities are not dissimilar it seems. Astbury you may recall was chosen by Manzarek and Krieger to front Doors of the 21st Century because of his similarities vocally and mannerisms that were like that of Jim. I interviewed Eddy Vedder from Pearl Jam and even he conceded that PJ in their early days of starting out were Doors influenced. I spoke with Michael Stipe a couple of times and REM certainly followed that deep musical meaning on the trail of The Doors, Richard Ashcroft is another one, the list my friend goes on.
I would say this to you firstly before I sum up. I myself have sung in a couple of fairly successful bands one of which (The End) was a Doors tribute band and we did extremely well in Melbourne and Sydney in the 80’s “nailing” Doors songs right to the tee, but we copied The Doors and not so much influenced by them. I went onto my second band (COLD) and wrote my original material and I can say I never tried to write a song like The Doors/Morrison apart from one, The Tunnel which was inspired a bit by them. So there is a first hand example, but keep in mind this. For every talented band or artist out there who makes it big there are a thousand or more of equal talent that never either get there, or never really want to. As to how many of those guys are influenced by The Doors is anyone’s guess.
The Doors sell approximately 1 million units annually and up until last year approximately 78 million CD’s and DVD’s to date. I am in my mid 40’s and was just a child when The Doors were around, the generation who were there are of the Vietnam war era and most in their late 50’s or early 60’s by now. They may have purchased a small amount of those record sales so who bought the rest?? The young generation(s) since the “Baby Boom” era right up to today’s budding musicians still in High School that’s who!
Yes. The Doors have influenced artists from the 1970’s right through to 2009 and I daresay will continue to do so for a long time to come.
