Jim Morrison (24,404 views)

[Baronessa]

James Douglas Morrison (8 December 1943 - 3 July 1971)
Member of: The Doors (1965 - 1971)
Vocal Range: D2 - F6

Jim's voice was nothing if not potent; whether it amplified his poetry with spoken-sung phrasing, conveyed a raw intensity through raspy belting, or went off the rails in deranged flageolet, you could hear all the emotion - or, occasionally, the lack thereof - he poured into every note. While your first impression may be of a one-dimensional drunkard, the contrasts Jim creates to convey narrative characters is a clearly intentional stylistic choice. His sung low notes tend to convey a sort of serene poetry, his belting raw, emotional duress, and often in live settings his extensive falsetto screams a wild passion that could not be conveyed in any other way.

Even though Jim's alcoholism became apparent in his voice towards the end of his life, it was clear that his almost literary approach to singing had already resonated with uncountable numbers of peers and followers. Despite his short time in the spotlight and, to a greater extent, this earth, Jim Morrison's voice is an inseparable part of the history of rock 'n' roll, and arguably part of how it became viewed as an artform.

Significant High Notes:

F6 ("The End" Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles 5 July 1968)
E6 ("Roadhouse Talking Blues" takes 1 - 3 / take 6, 4 November 1969)
E♭6 ("Back Door Man" Felt Forum, New York City 18 January 1970)
D6 ("I'm Your Doctor" Backstage & Dangerous, "When the Music's Over")
C6 ("Celebration of the Lizard", "Crossroads" Pittsburgh Civic Arena, Pittsburgh 2 May 1970, "Hello, I Love You")
B5 ("Gloria" Backstage & Dangerous, "Roadhouse Talking Blues" take 6, 4 November 1969)
B♭5 ("Hello, I Love You")
A5 ("Mystery Train / Crossroads" Backstage & Dangerous, "Push Push", "The Unknown Soldier" Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles 5 July 1968)
F♯5 ("Crawling King Snake" Felt Forum, New York City 17 January 1970, "Push Push")
E5 ("Break on Through (To the Other Side)" Cobo Arena, Detroit 8 May 1970, "Cars Hiss by My Window", "Five to One" Falkoner Centeret, Copenhagen 17 September 1968, "Gloria" Backstage & Dangerous, "Hello, I Love You" demo World Pacific Studios 1965)
D5 ("The Changeling" take 9, "The End", "Little Red Rooster" Felt Forum, New York City 17 January 1970, "Mystery Train / Crossroads" Backstage & Dangerous, "The Soft Parade", "Waiting for the Sun", "When the Music's Over")
C♯5 ("Break on Through (To the Other Side)", "Cars Hiss by My Window", "Gloria" Aquarius Theater, Hollywood 22 July 1969, "Mental Floss" Backstage & Dangerous)
C5 ("Away in India" Pittsburgh Civic Arena, Pittsburgh 2 May 1970, "Back Door Man" The Isle of Wight Festival 30 August 1970, "Celebration of the Lizard", "Five to One", "Going to N.Y. Blues" Felt Forum, New York City 18 January 1970, "Moonlight Drive" Felt Forum, New York City 18 January 1970, "Peace Frog" false starts & dialogue, "Soul Kitchen" Felt Forum, New York City 17 January 1970, "The Unknown Soldier", "Who Do You Love?" Felt Forum, New York City 17 January 1970)
B4 ("Been Down So Long", "Break on Through (To the Other Side)", "The End" The Matrix, San Francisco 7 March 1967, "Gloria" Aquarius Theater, Hollywood 22 July 1969, "The Hill Dwellers" Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles 5 July 1968, "L.A. Woman", "Land Ho!", "Light My Fire" Boston Arena, Boston 10 April 1970, "Love Me Two Times", "My Eyes Have Seen You", "Not to Touch the Earth", "Roadhouse Blues", "The Soft Parade", "Strange Days", "We Could Be So Good Together", "When the Music's Over")
B♭4 ("Celebration of the Lizard", "The Changeling", "The Crystal Ship" The Matrix, San Francisco 7 March 1967, "Hello, I Love You", "I Looked at You", "Little Red Rooster" Felt Forum, New York City 17 January 1970, "Money" Felt Forum, New York City 17 January 1970, "Not to Touch the Earth" take 1, "Ship of Fools" Felt Forum, New York City 17 January 1970, "The Unknown Soldier", "Who Do You Love?" Felt Forum, New York City 17 January 1970)
A4 ("Away in India" Pittsburgh Civic Arena, Pittsburgh 2 May 1970, "Back Door Man", "Been Down So Long", "Build Me a Woman" Felt Forum, New York City 17 January 1970, "The Changeling", "Crossroads" Pittsburgh Civic Arena, Pittsburgh 2 May 1970, "Five to One", "Going to N.Y. Blues" Felt Forum, New York City 18 January 1970, "L.A. Woman", "Light My Fire", "Maggie McGill" Backstage & Dangerous, "Moonlight Drive", "Roadhouse Blues", "She Smells So Nice", "Soul Kitchen", "Tell All the People", "Twentieth Century Fox", "Whiskey, Mystics and Men" Version 2, "The Woman Is a Devil")
G♯4 ("Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)", "The End", "Light My Fire", "My Wild Love", "Not to Touch the Earth" Aquarius Theater, Hollywood 21 July 1969, "Ship of Fools" The Isle of Wight Festival 30 August 1970, "Tell All the People", "Wild Child", "You Make Me Real")
G4 ("Back Door Man", "Break on Through (To the Other Side)", "Build Me a Woman" Felt Forum, New York City 17 January 1970, "Carol", "Celebration of the Lizard", "Close to You" Felt Forum, New York City 18 January 1970, "Easy Ride", "End of the Night", "Gloria" Aquarius Theater, Hollywood 22 July 1969, "The Hill Dwellers" Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles 5 July 1968, "I Looked at You", "L.A. Woman", "Light My Fire", "Little Red Rooster" Felt Forum, New York City 17 January 1970, "Love Me Two Times" Strange Days / take 3, "Money" Felt Forum, New York City 17 January 1970, "Moonlight Drive", "My Eyes Have Seen You", "Mystery Train / Crossroads" Backstage & Dangerous, "Not to Touch the Earth", "Peace Frog", "Push Push", "Roadhouse Blues", "Shaman's Blues", "She Smells So Nice", "The Soft Parade", "Soul Kitchen", "Take It as It Comes", "The Unknown Soldier", "When the Music's Over", "Wild Child", "The Woman Is a Devil")
F♯4 ("Build Me a Woman" Felt Forum, New York City 17 January 1970, "Crawling King Snake" Felt Forum, New York City 17 January 1970, "Do It", "The End", "End of the Night", "Get Out of My Life Woman" The Matrix, San Francisco 7 March 1967, "Love Me Two Times", "Push Push", "Running Blue", "Soul Kitchen", "Take It as It Comes", "Touch Me", "Universal Mind" Felt Forum, New York City 18 January 1970, "The WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat)" alternate version, "We Could Be So Good Together", "Whiskey, Mystics and Men" Version 2)
F4 ("Away in India" Pittsburgh Civic Arena, Pittsburgh 2 May 1970, "The Changeling", "Close to You" Felt Forum, New York City 18 January 1970, "The Crystal Ship", "Do It", "Easy Ride", "Hello, I Love You", "I Looked at You", "I'm Your Doctor" Backstage & Dangerous, "Land Ho!", "Little Red Rooster" Felt Forum, New York City 17 January 1970, "Money" Felt Forum, New York City 17 January 1970, "My Wild Love", "Mystery Train / Crossroads" Backstage & Dangerous, "Not to Touch the Earth", "Peace Frog", "Queen of the Highway" jazz version, "Rock Me", "Shaman's Blues", "Ship of Fools" The Isle of Wight Festival 30 August 1970, "Strange Days", "Touch Me", "Twentieth Century Fox", "Waiting for the Sun", "Who Do You Love?" Felt Forum, New York City 17 January 1970, "Who Scared You?", "Wild Child", "The Woman Is a Devil", "You Make Me Real")

Significant Low Notes:

D3 ("Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)", "Away in India" Pittsburgh Civic Arena, Pittsburgh 2 May 1970, "Back Door Man", "Crawling King Snake", "Dead Cats, Dead Rats" Cobo Arena, Detroit 8 May 1970, "Do It", "Easy Ride", "The End", "End of the Night", "Going to N.Y. Blues" Felt Forum, New York City 18 January 1970, "Hyacinth House", "I Can't See Your Face in My Mind", "Indian Summer" Morrison Hotel / 8/19/66 Vocal, "L.A. Woman" alternate version, "Land Ho!", "Light My Fire", "Love Me Two Times", "Love Street", "Moonlight Drive" Felt Forum, New York City 18 January 1970, "Mystery Train / Crossroads" Backstage & Dangerous, "My Eyes Have Seen You", "Not to Touch the Earth", "Peace Frog", "People Are Strange", "Queen of the Highway", "Riders on the Storm", "Roadhouse Blues", "Rock Me", "Running Blue", "Shaman's Blues", "Ship of Fools", "Someday Soon" Seattle Centre, Seattle 1970, "The Spy", "Take It as It Comes", "Twentieth Century Fox", "Universal Mind" Aquarius Theater, Hollywood 21 July 1969, "Waiting for the Sun", "The WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat)", "We Could Be So Good Together", "Wishful Sinful", "When the Music's Over", "Whiskey, Mystics and Men", "Wild Child", "You Make Me Real", "You're Lost Little Girl")
C♯3 ("Blue Sunday", "Break on Through (To the Other Side)" Cobo Arena, Detroit 8 May 1970, "Cars Hiss by My Window", "The End", "Gloria" Aquarius Theater, Hollywood 22 July 1969, "I Will Never Be Untrue" Backstage & Dangerous, "L.A. Woman", "Mental Floss" Backstage & Dangerous, "My Wild Love", "Roadhouse Blues", "Touch Me", "The Unknown Soldier", "The WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat)", "Whiskey, Mystics and Men")
C3 ("Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)", "Away in India" Pittsburgh Civic Arena, Pittsburgh 2 May 1970, "Blue Sunday", "Celebration of the Lizard", "Easy Ride", "Indian Summer", "Love Street", "Orange County Suite", "Peace Frog", "Queen of the Highway", "Rock Me", "Ship of Fools", "Spanish Caravan", "Summer's Almost Gone", "The Unknown Soldier", "Waiting for the Sun", "Who Do You Love?" Felt Forum, New York City 17 January 1970, "Wild Child", "Wintertime Love", "Yes, The River Knows", "You Make Me Real")
B2 ("Build Me a Woman" Felt Forum, New York City 17 January 1970, "Crawling King Snake", "The Crystal Ship", "Five to One", "Gloria" Aquarius Theater, Hollywood 22 July 1969, "The Hill Dwellers" Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles 5 July 1968, "Hyacinth House", "Indian Summer", "Land Ho!", "Moonlight Drive" version 1, "People Are Strange", "Riders on the Storm", "Roadhouse Blues" The Isle of Wight Festival 30 August 1970, "Someday Soon" Seattle Centre, Seattle 1970, "The Spy", "The WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat)", "When the Music's Over", "Whiskey, Mystics and Men", "Wishful Sinful", "The Woman Is a Devil", "Yes, The River Knows", "You're Lost Little Girl")
B♭2 ("Blue Sunday", "Celebration of the Lizard", "The Changeling" alternate version, "Easy Ride", "Orange County Suite", "Ship of Fools" Felt Forum, New York City 17 January 1970, "Summer's Almost Gone", "Touch Me", "Wintertime Love", "You Make Me Real" Aquarius Theater, Hollywood 21 July 1969)
A2 ("Back Door Man", "Break on Through (To the Other Side)" Cobo Arena, Detroit 8 May 1970, "The End" The Matrix, San Francisco 7 March 1967, "Five to One", "Gloria" Backstage & Dangerous, "L.A. Woman" alternate version, "Love Her Madly", "Moonlight Drive" version 1, "Mystery Train / Crossroads" Backstage & Dangerous, "Not to Touch the Earth", "People Are Strange", "Roadhouse Talking Blues" take 6, 4 November 1969, "Rock Me", "The Soft Parade", "The Unknown Soldier" Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles 5 July 1968, "When the Music's Over", "Wishful Sinful", "Yes, The River Knows", "You're Lost Little Girl")
G♯2 ("Blue Sunday" Felt Forum, New York City 17 January 1970, "Mental Floss" Backstage & Dangerous, "The Soft Parade")
G2 ("Back Door Man" Felt Forum, New York City 17 January 1970, "The Changeling" take 9, "Hyacinth House", "I Am Troubled", "Texas Radio and the Big Beat" Television-Byen, Copenhagen 18 September 1968, "Touch Me", "Wintertime Love")
F♯2 ("Cars Hiss by My Window", "Crawling King Snake" Felt Forum, New York City 17 January 1970, "Roadhouse Talking Blues" take 1, 5 November 1969, "The WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat)" alternate version)
F2 ("Not to Touch the Earth", "Orange County Suite", "The Soft Parade")
E2 ("Cars Hiss by My Window", "Celebration of the Lizard", "Money Beats Soul", "The Soft Parade" PBS Television, New York 1970, "The Spy")
D2 ("Five to One")

SPOILER: Click to show

{Questionable Notes}F♯6 ("The End" Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles 5 July 1968^[1a])
E6 ("Break on Through (To the Other Side)" Felt Forum, New York City 17 January 1970^[1a], "The Changeling" take 9^[1a], "When the Music's Over" Felt Forum, New York City 17 January 1970^[1a])
E♭6 ("The End" The Isle of Wight Festival 30 August 1970^[1a], "Five to One" Falkoner Centeret, Copenhagen 17 September 1968^[])
D6 ("Break on Through (To the Other Side)" Cobo Arena, Detroit 8 May 1970^[1a], "Celebration of the Lizard"^[1a], "Crossroads" Pittsburgh Civic Arena, Pittsburgh 2 May 1970^[1a], "Five to One"^[1a], "Mystery Train / Crossroads" Backstage & Dangerous^[1a])
C♯6 ("Back Door Man" Falkoner Centeret, Copenhagen 17 September 1968^[1b], "Crawling King Snake" Felt Forum, New York City 17 January 1970^[1a], "Gloria" Backstage & Dangerous^[1a], "Not to Touch the Earth" take 1 / take 2^[1a])
C6 ("The Changeling" alternate version^[1a], "She Smells So Nice"^[1a], "The Unknown Soldier" Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles 5 July 1968^[1a], "Who Do You Love?" Felt Forum, New York City 17 January 1970^[1a], "You Make Me Real"^[1a])
B5 ("L.A. Woman"^[1a], "Love Me Two Times" Television-Byen, Copenhagen 18 September 1968^[1a], "Money Beats Soul"^[1a], "The Soft Parade"^[1a], "The Unknown Soldier"^[2a])
A5 ("Back Door Man"^[1b], "The Changeling"^[1b], "Soul Kitchen" Aquarius Theater, Hollywood 21 July 1969^[1a])
G5 ("Break on Through (To the Other Side)"^[1b])
F♯5 ("L.A. Woman"^[1b])
C5 ("Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)" The Matrix, San Francisco 7 March 1967^[1b])
B♭4 ("Horse Latitudes"^[2a])

C♯3 ("End of the Night" 50th Anniversary edition^[3a], "Light My Fire" 50th Anniversary edition^[3a])
B2 ("Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)" 50th Anniversary edition^[3a])
..................................................
[1] Questionable quality
a. Shaky, erratic crackles
b. Brief, raspy yells

[2] Questionable representativeness
a. Non-musical shouting

[3] Questionable legitimacy.
a. Ambiguous tape-speed

..................................................
• Blue marks falsetto notes.
• Bold marks outstanding passages.
• Italics mark non-melodic notes.
• Underlines mark obscured notes.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Vocal Range Timeline}The Doors:
The Doors (1967): A2 - D5
Strange Days (1967): A2 - D5 - D6
Waiting for the Sun (1968): D2 - G2 - C5 - C6
The Soft Parade (1969): F2 - D5
Morrison Hotel (1970): E2 - B4
L.A. Woman (1971): E2 - B4 - E5
An American Prayer (1978): N/A^[1a]
..................................................
[1] Inapplicable albums
a. Spoken word albums

[EddieCheivz]

Nice thread!

The A5 in Unknown Soldier's at Hollywood's bowl it's an undershot of the B5 from the studio version: www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW_1GY3rjwI&t=2m49s

www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPQn5XwW8aY&t=4m08s G#5 also A5s in the choruses; the last one sounds bad, but the first could be countable

www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHL27tY5pjE&t=6s i know this album is innaplicable, but at least for the spoiler; this C#2 sounds with good tone, he's not just talking in that section, and is not so different to the lows in Five to one

[Baronessa]

Never was convinced that those yelps in "The Changeling" were Jim.

[halloweenjack95]

Nice thread! Easily one of my favourite artists and Singers(and screamer).
Those Yelps could be Jim. 

[Baronessa]

Leaning towards them being Ray Manzarek, personally.

[EddieCheivz]

I think it's Jim because sounds like his screams and even in the second chorus it can be heared how he's singing and hit the yelp, then he growls and seconds after hit the boldable B♭4 and all sounds in the same vocal track, but whatever, are just brief yelps not really important for him



C♯3s and B2s in the verses


E5

[EddieCheivz]

Hey there!
-Good Bb2s and G2s through:



-I don't want to be annoying with the topic of The Changeling yelps, but listening the alternate takes, i definitely can say they're Jim; i mean here you can hear him singing all the verses one by one and the yelp is there too, and it's a rehearsal so there's no tracks editing or something. They're sounds like the studio version ones but clearly with less control and potency (obviusly since isn't the final take):

www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTvXqu1l26U&t=3m36s
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmMudOmN_7U&t=100s

[Baronessa]

I'm sorry, how do those timestamps demonstrate that the glissando at 4:08 in "The Changeling" is Jim? Are we talking about the same note here?

[EddieCheivz]

Whoops sorry, no.
I was talking about the screams at the choruses, but i agree that G#5 at the final section doesn't sounds exactly like Jim.
Regarding to the screams, think the A5 i linked in My first post could be countable

[halloweenjack95]

Feb 11, 2021 2:53:10 GMT EddieCheivz said:

Whoops sorry, no.
I was talking about the screams at the choruses, but i agree that G#5 at the final section doesn't sounds exactly like Jim.
Regarding to the screams, think the A5 i linked in My first post could be countable

Uhm are you sure ? Because the screams are sounding like Jimbos to my ears.

[Baronessa]

I mean, the A5s from "The Changeling" are already in the spoiler and I can't see them leaving that denomination any time soon.

[queenfan11]

The F#4s and G#4s in "Light My Fire" are actually G4s and A4s. The version on the original album was accidentally slowed down.

Source

The 40th Anniversary mix of the debut album presents a stereo version of "Light My Fire" in speed-corrected form for the first time. The speed discrepancy (being about 3.5% slow) was brought to Bruce Botnick's attention by Brigham Young University professor Michael Hicks, who noted that all video and audio live performances of the Doors performing the song, the sheet music, and statements of band members show the song in a key almost a half step higher (key of A) than the stereo LP release (key of A♭/G♯). Until the 2006 remasters, only the original 45 RPM singles ("Light My Fire" and "Break On Through") were produced at the correct speed.

[Velsarie Vivardesque]

Can we vote on whether he needs E3 or not? Can you tell me just why?

[Henny Macc]

I will admit that that seems like a bit higher of a low note threshold than I would go for in his case, personally.

[Velsarie Vivardesque]

If it's Baritoner in question, not even D3s are really needed, but E3 makes no sense. I wish it was standardized on the thresholds, so uneven and chaotic with them.

[BAZanine]

Feb 25, 2021 3:40:20 GMT Velsarie Vivardesque said:

If it's Baritoner in question, not even D3s are really needed, but E3 makes no sense. I wish it was standardized on the thresholds, so uneven and chaotic with them.

I'm not going to speak on Jim's thresholds specifically, but standardizing thresholds per vocal placement is a recipe for disaster. We'd likely end up either with a lot of rock singers with pitifully small low sections or a lot of crooners with insanely redundant/small sections to start their low notes off with. Effectively the other way around for highs as well. Debating thresholds relative to each thread is definitely the way to go.

[Henny Macc]

Feb 25, 2021 3:40:20 GMT Velsarie Vivardesque said:

If it's Baritoner in question, not even D3s are really needed, but E3 makes no sense. I wish it was standardized on the thresholds, so uneven and chaotic with them.

I was ready to agree with you until you brought voice types into this.

[Batfleck]

Feb 25, 2021 3:40:20 GMT Velsarie Vivardesque said:

If it's Baritoner in question, not even D3s are really needed, but E3 makes no sense. I wish it was standardized on the thresholds, so uneven and chaotic with them.

I mean, Matt Heafy has E3s on his tread and he’s a baritone..

[Velsarie Vivardesque]

Henny Macc Why'd you be scared of discussing voice types? What's the hustle behind it? Not like it's pretty obvious in vast majority of cases. But when I said standardized, I meant to break twelve notes by quarters and only use every 3rd note for the threshold - C, Eb, F#, A. It would look so much better and you wouldn't lose anything as well as if you really wanted it, you could easily adjust every singer on this forum to this new formula.

[Henny Macc]

Feb 25, 2021 7:43:41 GMT Velsarie Vivardesque said:

Henny Macc Why'd you be scared of discussing voice types? What's the hustle behind it? Not like it's pretty obvious in vast majority of cases.

Pretty much for the reasons that BAZanine already said. They're extremely arbitrary in a number of cases with popular singers, many of whom don't actually sing in the range that you would associate with that particular voice type - for example, there are tons of singers we've called baritones out there who have way more high singing than they do low singing; in fact for some of them, low singing is pretty sparse altogether. So in cases like those, it's ultimately a pretty useless label that we shouldn't bother trying to place a sense of importance on and then arguing about pedantically.

As far as them in relation to note thresholds go, "we shouldn't start his low notes at E3 because he doesn't sound low at that pitch" is a much more compelling argument than "we shouldn't start his low notes at E3 because he's a baritone", because as others have pointed out - there are other baritones that we've started lows for at that pitch, some of whom it was actually pretty necessary for because of how infrequently they use their low ranges.

[Velsarie Vivardesque]

Yeah I see but don't accentuate on the voice type I brought up, it's not important here at all, just an additional thing. He has lows down to D2 with a bold in E2 and natural A2s. And then again, he's a baritone anyway, so just by this fact alone E3 is his most common note, whether he hits it often or not. Just make up your mind if you're doing this to actually document the significant low notes the singers hit or to decorate thier vocal profiles with a bunch of useless inclusions so it doesn't look empty on either end. What does the hostess say?

[Henny Macc]

lol now you're basically arguing two contradictory points simultaneously. "Yeah I see but don't accentuate on the voice type I brought up, it's not important here at all, just an additional thing. He has lows down to D2 with a bold in E2 and natural A2s" - this is the very point I was trying to make, and if you had stopped there I would have agreed with you. But then you went on to say "And then again, he's a baritone anyway, so just by this fact alone E3 is his most common note, whether he hits it often or not".

If you admit that his voice type isn't important here at all and does not need to be emphasized, why would you immediately go into bringing it up in relation to how common E3s are for him as your next point?

[Velsarie Vivardesque]

I mean, even if we close our eyes on everything else, the fact that he's a baritone won't go anywhere, so regardless of what's being said, E3s won't be legit for him any way. It's on you to stop on that or focus on the other things I said. Just say it straight, do you also hop on the fact that E3s don't belong in the threads for males who sound like baritones?

[Baronessa]

Fun stuff, folks. But I have been considering shaving his thresholds to D3/F♯4 for the longest time. I just haven't gone through with it yet, because I disagree with the notion that E3 is his most common note or that it doesn't sound low for him. He died insanely young, so I believe his lows were not developed as much as they could have had he lived up to like maybe 35.

As for the highs, starting them at F♯4 wouldn't be as much of a loss considering he'd still have almost two octaves of high notes, but he did use some crazily raspy E4s to climactic effect a few times. F4 is an option as well.

[Bink]

there was a brief C#6 before the organ solo in Riders on the storm, should that be counted or no?