John Paul Densmore (born December 1, 1944 in Los Angeles, California, United States) is an American musician, drummer, filmmaker and songwriter. He is best known as the drummer of the psychedelic rock group The Doors from 1965 to 1973. Densmore continued his collaboration with his bandmates after Jim Morrison's untimely demise. In the early 1970s, he pursued a new passion (reggae) with Robby Krieger in The Butts Band before the genre had much impact in the U.S.