| James Douglas “Jim” Morrison was born on December 8, 1943, at Melbourne, Florida, U.S. The singer, songwriter, writer and poet was the lead singer of the psychedelic American rock band ‘The Doors’. The son of Admiral George Stephen Morrison and Clara Clark Morrison, he studied at George Washington High School in Alexandria, Virginia and St. Petersburg Junior College in Clearwater, Florida. He also studied film at UCLA in Los Angeles, California.
In 1965, Morrison impressed keyboardist Ray Manzarek with his recitation of the song ‘Moonlight Drive’ and the two, along with drummer John Densmore and guitarist Robby Krieger, formed the ‘The Doors’, a name inspired by Aldous Huxley’s book, ‘The Doors of Perception’. The band scaled great heights with a killer combination of Morrison’s surreal lyrics that delved into mysticism, sex and death; Manzarek’s blues and psychedelic keyboard sections; Krieger’s classical style of guitar playing; and Densmore’s sharp drumming.
Back in his college days, Morrison was much interested in literature, philosophy and poetry. He began writing his own poems, publishing them in a volume titled “The Lords and The New Creatures”. He also recorded his poems that were later released as an album, “An American Prayer”. Along with Manzarek, Morrison made short films of a number of their songs like “Break On Through”, much before the advent of music videos. His most famous cinematic project was “HWY”, in 1969, with which he started his own production company to make the project an independent one.
Morrison was in a long-term relationship with Pamela Courson, his “common-law” wife. The two had a fiery relationship; Morrison had a number of other relationships with fans and other celebrities. Patricia Kennealy, a wiccan, also claimed that they were married, although unrecognized by the law. Morrison moved to Paris in 1971 with Pamela to break away from his wild lifestyle. On July 3, 1971, he was found dead in his bathtub. Jim Morrison lies buried in the ‘Poets’ Corner’ in the Père Lachaise cemetery at Paris. Thousands of fans visit the grave every year to pay respect to one of rock music’s greatest icons. |
