Jerry Garcia’s brutal critique of Jim Morrison: “He was a Mick Jagger imitation”
The late 1960s saw an explosion of artistic and musical expression in America. In the post-British invasion era, political upheaval and the advent of mind-altering drugs ushered in an age of counterculture revolution and incredible psychedelic rock. Of this extensive new roster of rebellious young groups, few were afforded the same level of respect as The Doors. The Jim Morrison-fronted group were adored by the masses, but Grateful Dead songwriter Jerry Garcia never saw the appeal.
Garcia has his own claims towards the psychedelic throne as the main songwriter for the acid-driven rock and roll of the Grateful Dead. A somewhat divisive act among rock fans, the Dead quickly endeared themselves towards a dedicated following, while those without a penchant for LSD were left largely confused by the strange melodies of the Grateful Dead. In contrast, The Doors had a much more universal appeal, incorporating more obvious blues influences into their psych style.
Throughout their admittedly short tenure, Morrison and company pioneered a unique psychedelic sound, drawing upon everything from jazz to acid rock in the process. Of all the bands that populated the late 1960s hippie scene, The Doors are undoubtedly one of the most iconic and influential. Morrison transcended the psych scene to become a de facto rock and roll star, encapsulating everything that a good rock icon should.
Even today, over 50 years since his untimely death, Morrison still enjoys a reputation not afforded to many rock stars. Nevertheless, Jerry Garcia was certainly not convinced. In an interview back in 1974, the Grateful Dead songwriter rallied against The Doors’ frontman, saying, “I never liked The Doors. I found them terribly offensive…when we played with them, it was back when Jim Morrison was just a pure Mick Jagger copy”.
Of course, that is a reasonably contentious take from Garcia. Especially given the fact that Jagger himself spent much of his early career doing a bad impression of Black blues singers. Nevertheless, Garcia continued, “That was his whole shot, that he was a Mick Jagger imitation – not vocally, but his moves, his whole physical appearance were totally stolen from right around Mick Jagger’s 1965 tour of the states”.
The songwriter’s dislike for Morrison was not limited to his Jagger-esque persona, taking offence at the popularity The Doors garnered, “He started to earn a reputation as a poet, which I thought was really undeserved,” adding, “There was nothing there that I wanted to know about. He was so patently an imitation of Mick Jagger that it was offensive.”
As mutual members of the American psych scene, the two bands did cross paths on more than one occasion. Often playing gigs on the same bill, Garcia recalls The Doors being somewhat overshadowed by the Dead, “When they were the headliners, it was sort of embarrassing for us to open for them, cause we sort of blew them off the stand with just sheer power”. Admittedly, though, we only have Garcia’s word to take for that bold claim.
