No One Here Gets Out Alive

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No One Here Gets Out Alive was the first biography of Jim Morrison, lead singer and lyricist of the L.A. rock band The Doors, written after his death by journalist Jerry Hopkins, with later additions by Danny Sugerman. The book is largely credited with revitalizing the popularity of the Doors and Morrison. Hopkins had done an extensive interview with Morrison before his death, but his first manuscript was rejected by major publishers. Sugerman began working as an assistant in the Doors office at the age of fourteen, and became their manager after Morrison died (replacing Bill Siddons). According to Doors drummer John Densmore, Sugerman became "the manager and driving force behind The Doors" who "guided our career for over 30 years" until his death in 2005.[1] Sugerman (and possibly Ray Manzarek[citation needed], keyboard player of The Doors) added "insider" information to the manuscript before it was published.

The book has been criticized as being obsequious and lacking any meaningful analysis of Morrison's personality, as well as with dwelling on the worst and most pointless of Morrison's excesses, such as his alcoholism. The fact that Sugerman is said to have been "the number one Doors fan of the world" by Densmore[citation needed] has not stopped this book from being referred to as Nothing Here But a Bunch of Lies. Critics have also opined that the details added by Sugerman, which made Hopkins original manuscript more appealing to publishers, were sensationalizations and in some cases outright fabrications. Those who knew both Morrison and Sugerman have said Sugerman's touting of himself as an "insider" during the time Morrison was alive is an exaggeration at best. "Details" introduced by Sugerman included the insinuation that Morrison had not really died, and wild speculations about the possible causes of his death. Surviving family and friends were not pleased that they were now stalked by Doors fans looking for Morrison, and that Morrison's grave was vandalized by "fans" seeking to dig it up and discover if Morrison's body was really there. Sugerman's credibility is not helped by the fact that he lifted part of his book's forward almost word-for-word from Venable Herndon's 1974 biography "James Dean: A Short Life."

The book title is taken from the Doors song "Five To One".

[edit] References

  1. ^ Obituary at Rhino Records with Densmore quotes, accessed October 9, 2006

[edit] Publication data


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