Bill Siddons

Last updated

Bill Siddons (born 1948) is an American music manager. He is best known for managing The Doors from 1968 to 1972. [1]

Contents

The Doors

Siddons began his career as a teenage roadie with The Doors while attending Cal State Long Beach and six months later was asked to be the manager of the band in 1968. Siddons said in response about his initial meeting with singer Jim Morrison: "So what was my first impression of Jim? He scared me to death." [2]

When Morrison died in Paris on July 3, 1971, Pamela Courson (Morrison's girlfriend) immediately contacted Siddons. He flew to Paris and arranged the funeral and burial with Courson. However, he never saw Morrison's body due to there being a closed casket and his aversion to seeing his friend dead. “We buried Jim correctly,” says Siddons, “and that perhaps was my greatest achievement: making sure we kept it quiet until it was done the right way. Nothing to hide, but we knew what was going to happen because we'd just been through it with Jimi and Janis." [3]

After Morrison's death, Siddons continued to manage the remaining members of The Doors as they released two albums and toured. In 1972 he parted company with The Doors (later renamed as the Butts Band). He reunited with the remaining Doors in 1978 for the release and marketing of the Jim Morrison's poetry record, An American Prayer which reawakened interest in The Doors and their musical significance. His character appears in Oliver Stone's movie The Doors , in which Josh Evans plays him. [4]

Post-Doors career

After working with The Doors, Siddons continued his career as a manager in the music industry. He managed or co-managed acts including Crosby, Stills, and Nash; Poco, America, Van Morrison, Pat Benatar, Jerry Cantrell, Robert Palmer, John Klemmer and in more recent times was a co-founder of Core Entertainment. Core Entertainment was a professional management firm representing Alice in Chains, another band which has dealt with the death of its front man, and others. [1] Siddons co-managed Alice in Chains along with the band's original manager, Susan Silver, from 2005 to 2007. [5] [6] He currently runs Core Entertainment Org., and is partners with Jeremy Rosen Esq. in RoxCore Management, representing Ace of Base, Ozomatli, and Matisyahu.

Personal life

Siddons is married to comedian Elayne Boosler since 1994. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Doors</span> American rock band

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 influential and controversial rock acts of the 1960s, partly due to Morrison's lyrics and voice, along with his erratic stage persona. The group is widely regarded as an important figure of the era's counterculture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alice in Chains</span> American rock band

Alice in Chains is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1987 by guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell and drummer Sean Kinney, who later recruited bassist Mike Starr and lead vocalist Layne Staley. Starr was replaced by Mike Inez in 1993. William DuVall joined the band in 2006 as co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist, replacing Staley, who died in 2002. The band took its name from Staley's previous group, the glam metal band Alice N' Chains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Layne Staley</span> American rock musician (1967–2002)

Layne Thomas Staley was an American singer and songwriter who was the original lead vocalist of Alice in Chains, which rose to international fame in the early 1990s as part of Seattle's grunge movement. He was known for his distinctive vocal style as well as his harmonizing with guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell. Staley was also a member of the glam metal bands Sleze and Alice N' Chains, and the supergroups Mad Season and Class of '99.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Cantrell</span> American guitarist, singer and songwriter

Jerry Fulton Cantrell Jr. is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the founder, lead guitarist, co-lead vocalist, and main songwriter of the rock band Alice in Chains. The band rose to international fame in the early 1990s during Seattle's grunge movement, and is known for its distinctive vocal style and the harmonized vocals between Cantrell and Layne Staley. Cantrell started to sing lead vocals on Alice in Chains' 1992 EP Sap. After Staley's death in 2002, Cantrell took the role of Alice in Chains' lead singer on most of the songs from the band's post-Staley albums, Black Gives Way to Blue (2009), The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here (2013) and Rainier Fog (2018), with DuVall harmonizing with him in the new songs and singing Staley's vocals in the old songs in live concerts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robby Krieger</span> American guitarist

Robert Alan Krieger 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 "Love Her Madly". When the Doors disbanded following the death of lead singer Jim Morrison, Krieger continued to perform and record with other musicians including former Doors bandmates John Densmore and Ray Manzarek. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Doors and is listed by Rolling Stone as one of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ray Manzarek</span> American keyboardist (1939–2013)

Raymond Daniel Manzarek Jr. was an American keyboardist. He is best known as a member of the rock band the Doors, co-founding the band in 1965 with fellow UCLA Film School student Jim Morrison. Along with Alan Price of the Animals, Manzarek is credited for his abilities on organ-style keyboard instruments, thus pioneering new styles and sounds of playing key instruments in American popular music.

<i>L.A. Woman</i> 1971 studio album by the Doors

L.A. Woman is the sixth studio album by the American rock band the Doors, released on April 19, 1971, by Elektra Records. It is the last to feature lead singer Jim Morrison during his lifetime, due to his sudden death exactly two months and two weeks following the album's release. Even more so than its predecessors, the album is heavily influenced by blues. It was recorded without record producer Paul A. Rothchild after he quit the band over a perceived lack of quality in their studio performances. Subsequently, the band co-produced the album with longtime sound engineer Bruce Botnick.

<i>An American Prayer</i> 1978 studio album by The Doors

An American Prayer is the ninth and final studio album by the American rock band the Doors. Following the death of Jim Morrison and the band's breakup, the surviving members of the Doors reconvened to set several of Morrison's spoken word recordings to music. It was the only album by the Doors to be nominated for a Grammy Award in the "Spoken Word" category.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Velvet Revolver</span> American hard rock supergroup

Velvet Revolver was an American hard rock supergroup consisting of Guns N' Roses members Slash, Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum, alongside Dave Kushner formerly of punk band Wasted Youth, and Scott Weiland formerly of Stone Temple Pilots. The band formed in 2002 and was active until 2008, when Weiland left the band abruptly to rejoin Stone Temple Pilots.

<i>The Doors</i> (film) 1991 biographical film directed by Oliver Stone

The Doors is a 1991 American biographical film directed by Oliver Stone and written by Stone and Randall Jahnson. It tells the story of the American rock band the Doors and their influence on music and counterculture. It stars Val Kilmer as singer Jim Morrison, Meg Ryan as Morrison's girlfriend Pamela Courson, Kyle MacLachlan as keyboardist Ray Manzarek, Frank Whaley as lead guitarist Robby Krieger, Kevin Dillon as drummer John Densmore, Billy Idol as Cat and Kathleen Quinlan as journalist Patricia Kennealy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danny Sugerman</span> Musical artist

Daniel Stephen Sugerman 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, and the autobiography Wonderland Avenue: Tales of Glamour and Excess.

<i>Degradation Trip Volumes 1 & 2</i> 2002 studio album by Jerry Cantrell

Degradation Trip Volumes 1 & 2 is a double album by Jerry Cantrell, released on November 26, 2002, through Roadrunner Records. It is an expanded limited edition of Cantrell's Degradation Trip album, which was released five months earlier. All the songs were written long prior to the first release of Degradation Trip. The title was taken from the song "Solitude", the fifth track from the album. Roadrunner Records, uneasy toward the idea of a double album release, made Cantrell condense it, but promised to eventually release all of his material.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pamela Courson</span> Partner of Jim Morrison (1946–1974)

Pamela Susan Courson was a long-term companion of Jim Morrison, singer of the Doors. Courson stated she discovered Morrison's body in the bathtub of a Paris apartment in 1971. She died three years after him, in 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Love Street</span> 1968 single by the Doors

"Love Street" is a song performed by the American rock band the Doors. Sequenced as the second album track on Waiting for the Sun (1968), its lyrics were written by lead singer Jim Morrison and as with other songs, it was dedicated to his girlfriend Pamela Courson.

<i>The Lost Paris Tapes</i> Studio album by Jim Morrison

The Lost Paris Tapes is the title given to a recorded collection of unedited poems and songs by rock musician and poet Jim Morrison, lead singer of the Doors. Although Morrison intentionally made the recordings, they are considered bootlegs because they were never officially released to the public in their unedited form by Morrison or his heirs.

Nick Raskulinecz is an American record producer. He resides in Nashville, Tennessee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Morrison</span> American singer; lead vocalist of The Doors (1943–1971)

James Douglas Morrison was an American singer-songwriter and poet who was the lead vocalist of the rock band the Doors. Due to his wild personality, poetic lyrics, distinctive voice, unpredictable and erratic performances, and the dramatic circumstances surrounding his life and early death, Morrison is regarded by music critics and fans as one of the most influential frontmen in rock history. Since his death, Morrison's fame has endured as one of popular culture's top rebellious and oft-displayed icons, representing the generation gap and youth counterculture.

<i>Wilderness: The Lost Writings of Jim Morrison</i>

Wilderness: The Lost Writings of Jim Morrison is a book of poems by Jim Morrison, first published in 1988.

<i>Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970</i> (The Doors album) 1987 album by The Doors

Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970 is a live album by the American rock band the Doors, released on February 23, 2018, on Rhino Records. The concert was recorded at the Isle of Wight Festival in England on August 30, 1970, and this was released by Eagle Rock Entertainment. It was the group's final appearance as a foursome outside of the US and also the last full filming of a Doors concert.

Susan Jean Silver is an American music manager and businesswoman, best known for managing Seattle rock bands such as Soundgarden, Alice in Chains and Screaming Trees. Silver also owns the company Susan Silver Management, and co-owns the club The Crocodile in Seattle. Silver was named "the most powerful figure in local rock management" by The Seattle Times in 1991.

References

  1. 1 2 "Bill Siddons". it.darden.virginia.edu. Archived from the original on 23 March 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  2. "Bill Siddons meets Jim Morrison". waiting-forthe-sun.net. 2002. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  3. "Rock Star Dies". Modesto Bee. 9 July 1971. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  4. "Movies". The New York Times . Retrieved May 3, 2023.
  5. "Surviving ALICE IN CHAINS Members Explore Ways To Perform Together Again". Blabbermouth. August 15, 2005. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  6. "ALICE IN CHAINS Parts Ways With Management". Blabbermouth. December 4, 2007. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  7. Lee, Luaine (October 15, 2004). "Boosler parlays standup into game-show gig" . The Journal News . Hamilton, Ohio. Knight Ridder Tribune. p. D3. Retrieved May 5, 2023 via Newspapers.com.