''No One Here Gets Out Alive'' (1980) was the first

biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

about

Jim Morrison James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, poet and songwriter who was the lead vocalist of the rock band the Doors. Due to his wild personality, poetic lyrics, distinctive voice, unpredictable and err ...

, lead singer and lyricist of the L.A. rock band

the Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential rock acts ...

. Its title is taken from the Doors song " Five to One", and the book is divided into three sections: ''The Bow is Drawn, The Arrow Flies'' and ''The Arrow Falls'', for the early years of Morrison's life, his rise to fame with the Doors, and then his final years and death. The book was written by Jerry Hopkins and

Danny Sugerman Daniel Stephen Sugerman (October 11, 1954 – January 5, 2005) was the second manager of the Los Angeles-based rock band the Doors. He wrote several books about Jim Morrison and the Doors, including ''No One Here Gets Out Alive'' (co-authored with ...

. A companion video was made featuring interviews with the surviving members of the Doors, Hopkins, Sugerman and Paul A. Rothchild among others. It includes some rare footage and was the first video released by the band. It helped rekindle interest in the Doors by allowing fans that were too young or unable to remember, to see the Doors in action. ''No One Here Gets Out Alive'' was accused by some people for some historical inaccuracies, and the authors' views surrounding Morrison's death. Among those people were Rothchild who claimed that Danny Sugerman had changed some of his statements while he was interviewed by Jerry Hopkins. Guitarist

Robby Krieger Robert Alan Krieger (born January 8, 1946) is an American guitarist and founding member of the rock band the Doors. Krieger wrote or co-wrote many of the Doors' songs, including the hits " Light My Fire", " Love Me Two Times", " Touch Me", and ...

said in response of the book that Danny Sugerman "had his own ideas about what happened and various situations. He kind of put his own words into it, and what really annoyed me was that he tried to make Jim sound like was talking through Danny, and it wasn't the way Jim really was."

Background

Published nearly a decade after Morrison's death by journalist Jerry Hopkins, the first draft was written solely by Hopkins, based on extensive interviews with Morrison. But attempts to find a publisher during the years when the Doors were no longer popular, met with rejections from all major publishing houses. Ten years later, the second version of the manuscript, with additional sensationalistic content, added by

, was what made it into publication. The book's publication, following the 1978 release of Morrison's posthumous spoken word album (with music by the Doors) '' An American Prayer'', the prominent use of Doors music on the 1979 soundtrack for the film ''

Apocalypse Now ''Apocalypse Now'' is a 1979 American epic war film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The screenplay, co-written by Coppola, John Milius and Michael Herr, is loosely based on the 1899 novella '' Heart of Darkness'' by Joseph ...

'', and the 1980 release of the band's ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

'' album, all combined to bring the Doors and Morrison back into the popular culture.

References

Publication data

* ''No One Here Gets Out Alive'' (1980), Jerry Hopkins and Danny Sugerman ** 1980 Plexus Publishing hardcover: ** 1980 Plexus Publishing paperback: ** 1991 Plexus Publishing hardcover: ** 1991 Plexus Publishing paperback: ** updated 1995 Warner mass market paperback: ** 1995 Time Warner AudioBook: ** 1997 Barnes & Noble edition: 1980 non-fiction books Jim Morrison Biographies about musicians {{music-bio-book-stub