06:11 PM CST on Friday, January 2, 2004

BY ALAN PEPPARD / The Dallas Morning News

Unlike his friend and bandmate Jim Morrison, Doors drummer John Densmore did not live hard and die young. Like any sensible man, the Southern Californian married a Dallas woman. Then they had a son and banked John's royalty checks.

The man with the fast hands gave tasty drum licks to songs like "Light My Fire," "Hello, I Love You" and "The End." His wife, filmmaker Leslie Neale, was born in Dallas' Presbyterian Hospital. The couple hit town last weekend for a holiday visit with Leslie's family. They turned up at one of the coolest record stores in town, Bill's Records in the shopping center at Spring Valley and Coit roads.

"He looks terrific," says proprietor Bill Wisener. "He's like all of us, he's aged. But he's still recognizable and very, very nice."

While picking up music by singer/songwriter Ben Harper and looking for a George Harrison DVD, John happily autographed a few things for Bill, a lifelong Doors fan. "I loved The Doors in the '60s," says Bill. "When Jim Morrison died, I cried. I never dreamed that I'd meet one of them this many years later."