Angels Dance and Angels Die: The Tragic Romance of Pamela and Jim Morrison

by Patricia Butler

Book Overview

Exploring the turbulent relationship between legendary Doors frontman Jim Morrison and his common-law wife Pamela Courson, 'Angels Dance & Angels Die' tells the story of Courson and Morrison before their fateful meeting in 1965, up until her death from a heroin overdose in April 1974.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0825673410
• ISBN13: 9780825673412
• Release Date: November 2007
• Publisher: Omnibus Press
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.3" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Eloquent, honest, unbiased, informative, romantic and beautiful.

Angels Dance and Angels Die is a completely unbiased telling of Jim Morrison's life with his commonlaw life, Pamela Courson ( or as Jim said, she was his "cosmic mate"). Throughout the years many have cashed in on their "experiences" with Morrison, ahem, Patricia Kennealy- I read her book. It singes with jealousy of Jim Morrison's devotion to Pamela Morrison and defamates Pamela's character, and unfortunately, Pamela isn't exactly here to defend herself now, is she? If this book hadn't been written, the world, not just Doors fans, would be deprived of one of the most romantic, tragic love stories ever told. However this book isn't just a "story." It is unbiased, eloquent, and painstakingly honest. All the crazy rumors of Jim's death are put to rest. And the ultimate suicide of Pamela Morrison was heartbreaking to read. As I read, I tried to imagine what it would have been like to be Pamela at the moment Jim Morrison passed away. Her so- called friends stopped coming around, members of the Doors tried to sue her because Jim had left Pamela EVERYTHING in his will. Death is funny, it brings out the best and the worst in people. And Pamela was only 24 years old. Imagine. The night before Pamela died, she was having dinner with a friend, at the end of the dinner she stood up and revealed, "It's time for me to be with Jim now." In the morning she was dead. There is a song by Corinna Fugate called Angels Dance and Angels Die. This book will be remembered as one of the greatest romances ever written. To quote Ray Manzareck: It's Romeo and Juliet. It's Heloise and Abelard. It's Jim and Pam.

Patricia Butler did her homework!!!

This book was so interesting, I finished it in a few days. Couldn't put it down. This is not a "fairytale". This is a book Ms. Butler obviously did a lot of research on. There's an extensive SOURCES section at the end of the book. For each chapter, everyone she interviewed, every source, is listed. Ray and Dorothy Manzarek, Robby Krieger, Julia Densmore-Negron, Bill (former Doors manager) Siddons, and many otheres in the Doors camp, too many to list here, are interviewed. People who knew Jim and Pam as far back as elementary school are interviewed. It makes for a very interesting read. Since so many people who knew Jim and Pam are constantly quoted, this book never feels like a delusional fairytale. It's not the biased POV of a single individual with an axe to grind, it's the words of MANY people who knew Jim and Pam for years. The book didn't tell me anything about Pam's favorite bands, but I did get a sense of what drew her and Morrison together. They both came off as sort of "outcasts" in highschool, rebels who didn't fit in and refused to conform. There's consistency here. So many people described Pam as "sweet", but also someone gutsy enough to stand up to Jim if she had to. The book also gets into Jim's pattern with other women. A pattern of using other women as sounding boards to vent his frustrations with Pam, stringing these women along with poetry, letters, books, lots of attention, then returning to Pam. One of these women, named Anne, is interviewed. Her story reminded me a lot of Patricia Kennealy's, only without all the self-importance and bitterness. Anne wisely learned not to take Jim too seriously. There are some very interesting interviews in here. I started reading "Strange Days" by Patricia Kennealy before this book. So imagine my surprise when Babe Hill is interviewed in "Angels Dance" and talks about a woman who came to FL during Jim's trial, claiming she was pregnant and married to Jim. Babe doesn't mention any names, but this interested me very much! Anyway, Babe goes on to ask Jim if it's true he's married, Jim tells him possibly, he doesn't know, he was drunk, and there were no feelings for this woman. This isn't something Butler "made up", this is what Babe Hill told her when he was interviewed. Leon Barnard, the Doors European publicist, recalls the last conversation he had with Jim. "He said that Pamela had gotten under his skin, that she was his cosmic mate. He considered her to be his cosmic counterpart. He felt that he couldn't live without her, that she was the one he always returned to and she was the compliment to his existence". This isn't a made-up fairytale. It's Leon Barnard, someone who knew Jim personally, being interviewed by Patricia Butler. People who have no agenda and nothing to gain. People who witnessed Pam grieving during the aftermath of Morrison's death are interviewed. If you put it all together, along with John Densmore's book "Riders on the Storm", and Ray Manzar

The Truest Account thus far!

This is the truest account of Pamela and Jim's relationship that I've read thus far! Patricia Butler did an excellent job and research, it had to be accurate otherwise Hopkins wouldn't have done the intro. I believe Butler's account of Pam and Jim more than I will EVER believe Patricia Kennealy and that farce of a Pagan Wedding she forced on Jim when he was high and drunk and thought they only did it for fun, he never once believed that he was married to Patricia Kennealy, and to tack on Morrison's name behind hers, now that's guts. I have no wish to read the tale of Patricia Kennealy... who has always talked about herself and her feelings in her writings, not caring about what Jim would have really thought. Yes I believe Pam and Jim loved each other and they were 'cosmic mates' and I hope Pam and Jim are at peace wherever they may be in the afterlife.

A Great Bio, A Great Read

I have to admit it, I've been intrigued with Jim Morrison for close to 20 years now and, I've read a lot of book which all seem to re-hash the same story. This book was genuinely different though. Perhaps because it was written by a woman and perhaps just because the author did her homework and turned over stones no one had looked under before. Whatever the case, this book gives a unique perspective of Jim, Pamela and, the Doors. It brings to life a much more human side of Jim that seems very hard to convey and yet Patricia Butler has done just that. You can almost feel the anguish and grief Jim must have felt as beinig labelled a "rock star". In the same respect, you can almost feel the anguish and grief Pam must have felt by some of Jim's behavior. This is truly a good book even, if you're not a huge Doors fan, I highly recomend it.

Biography carried to a higher level

A good biography is one that captures the reader's attention and doesn't let go until the entire life story has been told. A great biography not only tells the story of a life, it shares the life in a personal, intimate way not achieved in other works. Patricia Butler has written a great biography. After reading this book, one comes to know both Jim and Pamela Morrison as much more than just names from our shared musical past. We meet them on the most intimate of levels, learning what makes them tick -- with each other, with their friends and families, with the fans of the Doors. This isn't a book just for fans of the Doors; it's a book for anyone who wants to know a modern-day Romeo and Juliet story. Buy this book, and read it. You will not be sorry that you did. Well done, Ms. Butler, well done indeed!