Morrison Family Sues Doors

The parents of late Doors singer Jim Morrison filed a lawsuit against the members of the current reincarnation of the band in Los Angeles Wednesday. They're alleging that keyboardist Ray Manzarek and guitarist Robbie Krieger -- original Doors currently touring with former Cult singer Ian Astbury under the moniker "Doors 21st Century" -- have misappropriated the band's name and logo as well as Morrison's poetry and photos.

The suit claims the members of 21st Century Doors are engaged in a "deliberate scheme" to confuse the public and "wrongfully enrich themselves." The Morrisons, joined on the lawsuit by the estate of Jim's late common-law wife Pamela, are seeking unspecified damages. The two families are co-owners of Morrison's twenty-five percent stake in the corporations that run the bands' ongoing business. Kreiger, Manzarek and original drummer John Densmore together own the remaining three-quarters.

Densmore has declined to join Manzarek and Kreiger's ressurection, and in February he sued their new band to force them to change their name. And in March, former Police drummer Stewart Copeland, who had played in early versions of the Doors 21st Century, also sued Manzarek and Kreiger for breach of contract when they declined to use him for the band's current tour and upcoming album.

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Song Stories

“Satisfied”

Tom Waits | 2011

Only the genius of Tom Waits could combine the subject of mortality, a reoccurring theme in his work, with wordplay that name checks both Mick and Keith, whom he calls "Mr. Jagger" and "Mr. Richards," and the title of their magnum opus, "Satisfaction." And to show just how cool Waits really is, he even got Mr. Richards to play along, one of nine guest appearances the guitarist has made on three Waits albums. "This growling roadhouse stomp is a late-breaking response to the Stones' greatest hit," Rolling Stone said of the track.

More Song Stories entries »

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