Perspectives on Jim Morrison from the Los
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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Master's Theses Graduate School 2007 Criticism lighting his fire: perspectives on Jim Morrison from the Los Angeles Free Press, Down Beat, and the Miami Herald Melissa Ursula Dawn Goldsmith Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses Part of the Arts and Humanities Commons Recommended Citation Goldsmith, Melissa Ursula Dawn, "Criticism lighting his fire: perspectives on Jim Morrison from the Los Angeles Free Press, Down Beat, and the Miami Herald" (2007). LSU Master's Theses. 2872. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses/2872 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Master's Theses by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CRITICISM LIGHTING HIS FIRE: PERSPECTIVES ON JIM MORRISON FROM THE LOS ANGELES FREE PRESS, DOWN BEAT, AND THE MIAMI HERALD A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Liberal Arts in The Interdepartmental Program in Liberal Arts by Melissa Ursula Dawn Goldsmith B.A., Smith College, 1993 M.A., Smith College, 1995 M.L.I.S., Louisiana State University, 1999 C.L.I.S., Louisiana State University, 2002 Ph.D., Louisiana State University, 2002 December 2007 © 2007 Melissa Ursula Dawn Goldsmith All Rights Reserved ii To my mother Ursula, who introduced me to the many wonders of Venice Beach, Santa Monica Pier, and to the music of The Doors. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS It has been a fantastic, interesting, humbling, and fun experience to write a second thesis, especially after completing a doctoral degree. If I were told five years ago that this would be the path on which I would travel, the journey I would take––earning the master’s of liberal arts and writing another thesis––after graduating with a Ph.D. in music and a certificate of advanced studies in library and information science, I would not have wanted to believe it. This particular journey involved rejection: four years of unemployment; failed position searches in musicology and libraries; and people I never expected doubting me, questioning my judgment and persistence. It also included acceptance: my work has been published and is gaining recognition; new friends and rediscovered friendships; acceptance in the The Interdisciplinary Program in Liberal Arts at LSU; and (finally) a position as assistant professor/reference librarian at Nicholls State University, which was followed by the opportunity to work as Part– Time Lecturer of music appreciation for the Office of Independent and Distance Learning at LSU. I am especially grateful to my thesis adviser Kevin Bongiorni for his advice about the focus and clarity of the thesis and the kinds of questions to consider, as well as for his understanding to allow me to run amuck, bang my head against the wall, and run before I walk. Thanks also to Jan Herlinger for his careful reading and brilliantly perceptive suggestions and comments. I am also indebted to William A. Clark, Director of The Interdisciplinary Program in Liberal Arts, who was also on my committee, for his enthusiasm about the project and for his assistance in making efficient the thesis ruminating, planning, and writing stages (including the paperwork). I have also relied on the thoughtful and sensitive input of other scholars and students here at LSU. Irene DiMaio and Jack May have always shown interest in my various projects and were extraordinary at lending an ear and recommending potential avenues of research. Since my presentation about Morrison and devotionalism in the spring 2005 semester at LSU, my liberal arts seminar classmates have encouraged me to continue research about The Doors. Their comments were helpful and greatly appreciated. It was also a delight to take courses with Robert Peck and Jeffrey Perry. Their courses on music theory and performance practices, and Schubert and Schumann Lieder, respectively, provided extremely valuable analytical and methodological tools for the music discussed in this thesis. Several friends offered encouragement and engaging conversations about topics related to Morrison, the music of The Doors, and his milieu. I would like to thank the denizens of Ellender Memorial Library at Nicholls and, most specifically, Tony Fonseca, who read the earliest versions of the thesis. Special thanks to LSU’s Middleton Library’s Interlibrary Borrowing Department and Claire Castleberry (Interlibrary Borrowing Librarian iv during the research stages of this thesis). They went above and beyond my expectations by giving me access to books housed in libraries in California as well as in Harvard’s Widener Library; they also enabled me to see many microfilms of underground and alternative newspapers housed in various institutions across the United States. Claire and I had several enjoyable conversations about Morrison, as well as Rod McKuen and Claudette Colbert, and music for not–so–easy listening. I am also grateful to Kelly May Davidson, Kheng Keow Koay, Edward Komara, Andrea Letourneau, Alison Nikitopoulos, and Stephanie Poxon for their e–mail correspondence during this time, some unaware that I was working on another thesis. Thanks also to my college friends Shannon Alexander (who was constantly in search of Jim) and Susanna Kitchens–LaGroue for interesting if not truly incredible memories of pre–thesis conversations about Jim Morrison and The Doors that go as far back as our freshman year at Smith College. My cats had many opportunities to let me know (in sweetness and feistiness) what they thought about this thesis in relation to catnip; I also appreciate their time. Above all, I would like to thank my mother, who wholeheartedly supported this project. Ursula attended the University of California, Los Angeles, and graduated the very same year as Jim Morrison. During my childhood, she was the first to show and explain to me what remained of the 1960s and 1970s counterculture in West Los Angeles and Santa Barbara (where we lived in a commune in the early 1980s). In many of our own walks on the beach, while admiring seabirds and seashells, we discussed the underground newspapers, literature, activities, and entertainment of the time. When it played on the radio, she would turn up “Riders On the Storm,” an important driving song while riding in her slant–6 engine Dodge Dart with push–button drive on foggy–rainy days through sleepy little beach towns on the way to school and work. Without her, the music of The Doors and Jim Morrison’s poetry would not be part of my own musical canon. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ........................................................................................................................................ iv LIST OF TABLES................................................................................................................................................... vii ABSTRACT ...........................................................................................................................................................viii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION: OPENING CEREMONY............................................................................. 1 Playing with Jim Playing with Us............................................................................................. 10 Aims and Directions of this Study ............................................................................................ 12 2 PERSPECTIVES ON JIM MORRISON FROM THE UNDERGROUND: JIM MORRISON AND THE LOS ANGELES FREE PRESS..................................................... 16 Reviews of Sound Recordings and Concerts in The Los Angeles Free Press........................... 18 Impressions and Interviews....................................................................................................... 21 Aesthetics Intertwined: Jim Morrison and the Beats, Rising from the Underground............... 25 Conclusions............................................................................................................................... 33 3 THE LIZARD KING’S DOWN BEAT AND DOWN BEAT’S LIZARD KING......................... 36 The Interview with Down Beat: Getting Serious about Music................................................. 37 Jim Morrison’s Jazz and Blues ................................................................................................. 40 Conclusions............................................................................................................................... 44 4 THE MIAMI HERALD VERSUS JIM MORRISON?................................................................. 46 Criticism and Reporting about the Miami Concert................................................................... 49 The Indecency of Decency Exposed......................................................................................... 59 The Miami Herald’s Coverage of Jim Morrison’s Trial ........................................................... 65 Conclusions............................................................................................................................... 74 WORKS CITED.....................................................................................................................................................