Jim Morrison was an American rock singer who became famous as the frontman of The Doors. He gained the greatest popularity thanks to his turbulent life, but also psychedelic lyrics. Why is Morrison said to be a genius crowd manipulator? How did the singer of The Doors die? Find out more about the enigmatic and short life of Jim Morrison - the artist was only 27 years old on the day of his death.
Jim Morrison was born on December 8, 1943, in Melbourne (United States). The boy's father (George Morrison) served in the army during World War II, which is why the Morrison family often changed their place of residence. For a short time, the Morrisons even lived in New Mexico, where Jim became fascinated with reptiles. The boy loved to spend time with them, hanging out in the desert and calling himself "The Lizard King." His love for lizards, geckos, and snakes was evident throughout Jim's life. It was often expressed, among others, by in prose and poetry he wrote.
The Morrison family eventually took root in California. George has never been in good contact with his son, mainly due to his constant absence from home. After returning from the front, he tried to rebuild his bond with Jim, but to no avail. The memories of war spoke louder through George than the feelings for his son. Some fans even assumed that Jim's later rebellious tendencies might have been born of the character his father displayed at home.
Young Jim has always liked to fantasize and create all kinds of stories, incl. about yourself and your family. For example, he told his friends that his parents were Indian and had died in a car accident. He also said that… the spirit of an Indian inhabited his body. The boy was enchanted by the works of Friedrich Nietzsche and William Blake. He was only 15 years old, and he was already inspired by nineteenth-century "accursed poets" such as Paul Verlaine or Arthur Rimbaud. Probably at the age of 15, he also began to write his first poems full of anxiety and darkness.
Jim decided to leave his family home very early. In 1965 he graduated from film studies at the University of California, where he met Ray Manzark - a classical pianist. The men met by chance on a beach in Venice (Los Angeles). Manzarek, as a musician by education, apparently noticed Jima's musical potential very quickly. When Morrison sang one of the lyrics he had written to Manzark, Ray was surprised. He immediately suggested to Morrison: "Let's start a band! You will write lyrics and sing in it! ”. Jim agreed. Soon Robby Krieger (guitarist) and John Densmore (drummer) joined the guys. This is how the famous psychedelic band The Doors was created. The band managed to release several music albums during Jim's lifetime:
- The Doors (1967)
- Strange Days (1967)
- Waiting for the Sun (1968)
- The Soft Parade (1969)
- Morrison Hotel (1970)
LA. Woman (1971) - the band's famous song "Riders on the Storm" appeared on the album. Jim Morrison recorded this song as his last song before his death.
Already during his studies, Jim began experimenting with stimulants. Alcohol, LSD, and marijuana became the inseparable companions of his life. By nature, Jim was a rather strange type of man who never spoke outright about his past. He put all his feelings on paper, and then on the songs he sang. Morrison had a dark aura around him, full of ambiguities and mysteries, which was intensified by the increasing amount of drugs taken.
The psychedelic sound of The Doors began to attract crowds of fans to the concerts. A growing group of listeners raved about the singer's vision of the surrounding reality. Everyone was staring at Morrison like a holy picture - especially when he sang about free love, the absurdities of the world, and stimulants. Colleagues from The Doors called "Jimbo" after Jim, and fans gave him the nickname "Mr. Charisma". Jim Morrison, however, was still faithful to the nickname he had made up for himself in the New Mexico desert.
The career of The Doors developed rapidly with subsequent albums. However, not only was the band's fame increasing, but also Morrison's addiction to stimulants. Alcohol and drugs made it difficult for the singer to work normally in a recording studio and also to perform on stage. He regularly passed out in front of several thousand fans, and sometimes he did not come to the concert at all, which frustrated the audience. On March 1, 1969, Jim Morrison exposed himself to the stage during a performance in Miami. He strongly urged fans to do the same for which he was arrested. Ultimately, the court acquitted the singer.
The following years were a series of scandals, frequent interventions by law enforcement services, addiction to alcohol and drugs, as well as the artist's awkward balancing between life and death. On the one hand, Morrison, with his psychedelic lyrics and dark personality, has become an icon of pop culture. To this day, he has a huge number of fans around the world who are delighted with his work. On the other hand, Morrison proved to be a troublesome artist who dragged himself into the "black abyss" not only himself but all his surroundings. It has never been clear which of the artist's many faces is the real one. Jim put on an enormous amount of masks, deceiving fans. Once he was a rocker and romantic, then an alcoholic and rebel, and then an outstanding poet. Jim Morrison's image has become more famous over time than The Doors and his entire artistic output.
In the last years of his life, Pamela Courson, his partner at the time, was closest to Morrison. Jim always introduced Pamela as his wife, though they did not formally marry each other. The couple lived a turbulent life, full of break-ups and returns. However, the young people loved each other very much. The problem was that Pamela didn't like the band members of The Doors at all, believing that Morrison was wasting her writing talent on them. It was she who persuaded Jim to quit the band and go with the woman to Paris.
On July 3, 1971, Pamela found her beloved dead in their shared flat. Jim was lying in a tub in which he decided to take a bath late in the evening. French physician Max Vassille concluded that the artist died of natural causes. Jim reportedly suffered from regular asthma attacks and stomach ailments, but the official cause of his death was a heart attack. However, no autopsy was performed to investigate the real cause of Morrison's death.
The death of the artist became a source of conspiracy theories, numerous rumors, and media speculation. The most popular story is that Jim Morrison died of a heroin overdose. Supposedly, it was mistaken for cocaine. Yet another version of the story tells of the artist's death at the Rock'n'Roll Circus nightclub. It was there that Jim reportedly spent the last moments of his short life, using heroin and drinking alcohol. Many witnesses say he was kicked out of the clubhouse, then driven home and put in a bathtub of lukewarm water to lower his body temperature. By putting them in a bathtub with warm water, people who had overdosed on heroin were saved. The people who saw Jim Morrison at Rock'n'Roll Circus that night reportedly swore to remain silent about the musician's death.
Under what circumstances did Jim Morrison actually die? We'll probably never know. The information about the death of the singer of The Doors was released to the media only a few days after the funeral. Jim was buried in Paris at the Père-Lachaise Cemetery. Despite the fact that the artist died at the age of only 27, he managed to become a music legend. Jim Morrison is today one of the most influential musicians in world history who changed the face of psychedelic rock forever.
Bibliography:
- Mick Wall: The Doors. When the music goes silent, In Rock Publishing House, Warsaw 2016
- Hopkins Jerry: Jim Morrison. Król Jaszczur, Anakonda Publishing House, Warsaw 2013
- Jerry Hopkins, Danny Sugerman: Nobody gets out of here alive. The Story of Jim Morrison, In Rock Publishing House, Warsaw 2006
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