There are countless stories of Jim Morrison being a wild and untamable force. He seemed to stray down his own singular path, totally at the whim of his artistic forces with no influence beyond his vivid imagination. Before his
untimely death at 27, Morrison crafted a legacy as one of history’s ultimate frontmen with his shamanistic style and unique presence that was unlike anything anyone had seen before. But when it came to his voice, Morrison did, in fact, take influence from a cast of idols, but they’re not the type that would be expected.
With the knowledge of Morrison’s wild ways, it would be expected that his idols or influences would be just as left-field and crazy. It would be thought that he’d look up to people who got up on stage and delivered the same unruly
shows that he did, packed full of sex appeal and danger with a command of their crowd so gripping that it was almost terrifying. Or, at the very least, it would be presumed that Morrison, as one of the key figures in rock history, would look to other rock and roll singers for his inspiration.
But in reality, Morrison’s own personal tastes were a lot more square than he would ever let on. Despite weaving this mythological energy around himself, with tales of his soul being taken over by ghosts as a child or any other crazy anecdote, he wasn’t immune to the biggest names in music. No matter how otherworldly the Doors singer made himself out to be, he still took impact from musical legends.
When it came to recording The Doors’ debut album, the record’s engineer, Bruce Botnick, was taken by surprise by that. Botnick had a front-row seat to Morrison’s world of references and influences. From engineering on their debut, he stuck around in the band’s world, later becoming their producer for their sixth album, L.A. Woman, the last to feature Morrison. He saw the singer’s recording history from start to finish as he recalled of their first session, “When Jim came into the studio, he had never recorded before. I didn’t know what he was going to be like.”
With no knowledge of what to expect or what the band’s process might be, Botnick set up the studio with his tried and tested equipment. “My favourite vocal microphone is a Telefunken U47,” he said. While to most people, that name will mean nothing, it meant something to Morrison. Botnick remembered, “I showed it to him and said, ‘This is going to be your microphone’, and he froze and said ‘That’s great’. I said, ‘Why is that?’ and he said, ‘That’s the mic that Frank Sinatra sings in.’”
“That’s when I realised that he was a big fan of Frank Sinatra,” he continued. “He loved crooners,” Botnick said, “He like Bing Crosby and Elvis, all the crooners.” As the sessions got underway, that influence came through loud and clear, especially on the track ‘The Crystal Ship’ as Morrison delivered an old-fashioned, rich vocal take, doing his finest Sinatra for the song in homage to his unexpected musical idol.
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