Linda Ronstadt Thought This Controversial Choice Would Have Made the Doors a Better Band

As one of the leading figures of rock, pop, and folk music, Linda Ronstadt ran around the same circles with and attended the shows of countless musicians in these genres, and the Doors were certainly no exception. She was watching the rock band play in West Coast clubs before their now-iconic hits like “Light My Fire” became popular.

Indeed, Ronstadt was present for the band’s earliest infancy. And in those young, vibrantly green moments, the “Blue Bayou” singer hypothesized that the Doors would be better if they made one crucial career move.

Linda Ronstadt On What Would Improve the Doors

When you’re in the music industry long enough, you tend to pick up on what’s going to sell and what isn’t. This certainly isn’t a foolproof method, but for entertainment vets, it makes it easier to stand by an opinion that others might deem controversial or downright outlandish. That’s why, when Linda Ronstadt watched the Doors play for the first time, she had no problem expressing her opinion that they would be better if they kicked out their frontman, Jim Morrison.

“Jim was very soft spoken, quiet, and very moody,” Ronstadt recalled in a 2013 interview with Record Collector. “When he was not drunk, he seemed nice enough. But as soon as he began to drink, he got wild very quickly. I’d never been around that kind of heavy drinking, and seeing someone like Jim who had such a personality change when he drank…I was very young, and it frightened me.”

“I used to watch the Doors play every night,” she continued. “I thought they were fabulous.” However, she admitted, “I didn’t much care for Morrison’s singing even before we toured with them. The first time I saw them play live was at the Whiskey A Go Go, and they had just recorded “Light My Fire.” It hadn’t become a big hit yet. I was very impressed with the group and said, ‘They’re gonna be a big hit band!’ But to be frank, I thought if they’d gotten a better singer, they’d be a much better group.”

Jim Morrison’s Interaction With Fans Confused and Frightened Ronstadt

Most Doors fans would scoff at the idea that the Doors could survive without Jim Morrison, and the two relatively unsuccessful albums that the surviving trio released after Morrison’s death would prove Ronstadt wrong anyway. Nevertheless, given Morrison’s tumultuous behavior in the late 1960s, it’s unsurprising that an artist with a calmer demeanor would find him off-putting.

During a 2023 interview on the It’s Only Rock and Roll podcast, Ronstadt recalled walking down the street in New York City with Morrison. Somebody driving past the pair stopped the car, got out, and punched Morrison in the face. Ten years earlier, during an appearance with the Hudson Union Society, Ronstadt said the connection between Morrison and his fans was disturbing. As rock ‘n’ roll started to overpower the folk scene of the 1960s, people turned to Morrison as a sort of pseudo-idol to help them actualize their poetic, rebellious, and psychedelic selves.

“It was troubling to me,” she said. “I didn’t like that exchange of the audience. I thought it was unhealthy the way they were projecting themselves up on stage and needing to be different. Maybe they felt like they didn’t know who they were.”

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