Remembering Jim Morrison: A Surface-Level Look at the Mysterious Lizard King

Today we remember Jim Morrison, who would have been turning 79 today.

James Douglas "Jim" Morrison, born December 8, 1943 was a singer and poet. He was best known for his time as the frontman of The Doors starting in 1965 up to his death in 1971 at the age of 27. Due to how close his death was in proximity to other musicians at the time such as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Brian Jones, it was his death along with theirs that helped to create and feed into the urban legend of the 27 club.

Credit: Michael Ochs Archives

Much of his writing was influenced by heavy usage of LSD, with Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek claiming he lived on nothing but canned beans and LSD for several months after graduating college, with the Doors being named after Aldous Huxley's "The Doors of Perception".

Other influences for his music and poetry include a car accident he witnessed as a child on a Native American reservation in the desert, although details are rather fuzzy due to his exaggeration of the story. He made claims of a visible dead body on the road, although, it was never proved that the body in question even existed. If it did, he would have been the only outside witness going by to have seen it. 

The accident itself inspired the song "Peace Frog" (featured on Morrison Hotel") as well as his spoken word pieces "Ghost Song" and "Dawn's Highway", which were both featured on "An American Prayer". His family spoke of the accident, acknowledging it as something that deeply upset and made an impression on him, as he was three to four years old at the time.

According to Ray Manzarek, he "embodied hippie counterculture rebellion" causing him to become an icon of rebellion in general. This image partially stemmed from a string of arrests and charges against him throughout his career, which included indecency, public obscenity, and indecent exposure. He managed to make history as the first rock musician to be arrested onstage in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1967 after being maced by a police officer when he was found with a woman in the backstage showers. He decided to give concertgoers a rather vivid version of the story when he was able to perform later that night, which led to the arrest. The charges that stemmed from this incident were eventually dropped.

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Often alongside those charges was Morrison's dependency on alcohol. He would often show up to recording sessions, social events, and performances visibly intoxicated, which is when he was described as cold, distant, and often cruel. Those who knew him often described him as two different people, much like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Warm and loving when sober, but unfortunately not otherwise. Medical effects of his alcoholism may have led to his death in 1971, but there are no confirmed causes listed other than heart failure. His partners, bandmates, and loved ones are left without proper closure to this day.

The Doors had managed to release two albums after his death, but the fortunes of the remaining members were as good as destroyed at that point. Without Jim Morrison, they were no longer the Doors.

Are you planning on playing some Doors today? What are your favorite songs by them? Feel free to write me and let me know. 

Happy Listening!