Butts Band came about as a consequence of
the Doors trying to find a replacement for lead singer
Jim Morrison, who had died in July 1971. The three remaining Doors had released two albums (
Other Voices in 1971 and
Full Circle in 1972), with
Ray Manzarek and Krieger sharing vocals. Unable to recruit a singer in the US, the three Doors went to London in 1973 seeking an experienced lead singer and auditioned several British singers, including
Howard Werth (the singer of
Audience),
Kevin Coyne (from Siren) and
Jess Roden (who was the leader of
Bronco). Werth rehearsed with the band for a week.
Elektra Records founder
Jac Holzman favoured Werth to replace Morrison, as he had at one stage foreseen Audience taking over the Doors' spot on Elektra, but Audience had disbanded and Holzman now envisioned Werth and the Doors merging as the "new Doors". However, the three remaining Doors felt that adding a new singer was not working out and decided to disband. With Manzarek returning to Los Angeles, Krieger and Densmore began looking for a new project, linking up with Roden,
Phil Chen and Roy Davies to form the Butts Band (allegedly named after a cave where Roden's previous band used to practice). The band signed with
Blue Thumb Records and began working on their first album, with longtime Doors sound engineer/co-producer
Bruce Botnick taking the producer role. Recording was split between studios in London (three weeks at
Olympic Studios) and Kingston, Jamaica (for another three weeks) on their way home to California. Their
self-titled debut album was released in 1973. ==Former members==