Even decades later, it’s hard to picture anyone but Jim Morrison fronting The Doors, but after his death, the band seriously considered some iconic replacements.
During an episode of The Magnificent Others with Billy Corgan, Doors guitarist Robby Krieger revealed which names were top contenders to replace Morrison, who died of congestive heart failure on July 3, 1971. He was 27 years old at the time.
“What happened was, after the two albums, we decided, ‘Hey, maybe we should find a singer.’ So, we talked about Paul McCartney, of course, and Bob Dylan,” Krieger, 79, recalled during the interview released on Wednesday, June 4.
“I saw Iggy Pop somewhere,” Corgan, 58, chimed in.
“Iggy Pop, yeah. But then we, for some reason, decided to go to Europe. ‘Let’s go to Europe and find someone over there.’ You know, that’ll be different,” Krieger continued.
“Sounds very ‘70s. ‘Let’s go to Europe and find a singer,’” Corgan laughed.
“So, we did. We went over there. Pretty much moved our whole families over there to London, and we were trying this guy and that guy. We didn’t really get very far before Ray kind of blew the whole thing off,” Krieger added, referring to Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek.
Krieger went on to explain that Manzarek’s wife, Dorothy, was pregnant at the time and not doing well mentally.
“So at that point, it was, ‘OK, The Doors are over.’” Krieger concluded. “John [Densmore] and I were kind of pissed because we thought we still had some good stuff in us. You know, I think we could have been like a jazz trio. The whole idea behind going to Europe was to find another singer, but we never really got close to finding a singer.”
By this point in his decades-long career, fans know Gene Simmons isn’t afraid to speak his mind.
The KISS bassist and vocalist, 75, recently shared his thoughts on The Beatles and Paul McCartney’s songwriting legacy.
“Clearly, The Beatles are above and beyond anything that anybody’s seen in music over 200 years, easily. Not since the Renaissance. You have to understand, they only existed for seven years and they came from a place that was a pool filled with liver, Liverpool, where nothing ever happened. High unemployment rate, no experience, no resume, no nothing,” Simmons explained during an episode of Lewis Howes’ podcast earlier this week.
“And yet—(sings) ‘I want to hold your hand,’ (sings) ‘She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah.’ That last chord, that minor ninth—that’s a sophisticated chord if you know music. It’s almost like a jazz chord, totally unheard of in rock at the time. Their songwriting is undeniable. Paul McCartney, especially, is by far the most successful songwriter in recorded history,” the “Love Gun” artist mused.
Of course, there’s no denying McCartney’s talent and countless accolades, but when it comes to a title like that, there’s always room for debate. That said, there are a few key metrics that would support Simmons’ opinion.
Firstly, Guinness World Records recognizes McCartney as the most successful songwriter in history. Secondly, he has written or co-written 32 songs that reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The cherry on top? McCartney’s song “Yesterday” is one of the most covered songs in music history, not to mention his catalog of over 500 songs.
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