The Doors guitarist Robby Krieger recalled how rumors that Jim Morrison didn't die in 1971 caused arguments among the rest of the band.

The singer died in Paris at age 27, but rumors still persist that he had staged a fake death in order to escape the pressures of his life. While the story is generally dismissed, Krieger said he and keyboardist Ray Manzarek held opposing views.

“I used to love talking to Ray, and he would always say, ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if Jim turned up,’” the guitarist told Classic Rock. “And I used to think, ‘Come on, man, you don’t really believe that, do you?’ That was pretty much bullshit.” Krieger added that Manzarek’s claims upset drummer John Densmore. “I think [that] really got him and John in a bad ... John was really just [upset] about that.”

Krieger recalled the trio kept working together after Morrison moved to France, convinced he’d return sooner or later. “He lived for music and he always talked about being a poet and stuff," he noted. "But that was really never enough for him. He had to be onstage. Even when he was in Paris, he would go and play in these clubs and with these guys.”

The singer was found dead in a bathtub, but it’s been suggested he died from a heroin overdose in a club and was carried home by unknown people. Krieger said the story sounded “possible to me."

“I wouldn't be surprised if heroin had something to do with it, because when you're a drinker, you can't do heroin," he explained. "Jim was a drinker. Do those two together and you’re in trouble. And Jim was not well. When he left, he had this horrible cough and he just wasn't a hundred percent. So, if somebody gives you some heroin, you start drinking some whiskey, and maybe he did die.”

 

The Doors Albums Ranked

More From