Celebrate Jim Morrison’s 70th Birthday With Benefit Concert at New Mural in Long Beach

: by Richard Guzman, Press Telegram; on December 06, 2013

Long Beach photographer Jim Coke stands under one of his 20 foot long photo of The Doors lead singer Jim Morrison which on Dec. 8 will be his 70th birthday in Long Beach, CA. Tuesday December 3, 2013. Coke is organizing a benefit concert which will take place in front of the recently installed Jim Morrison mural in front of Fingerprint records. The record store is also currently displaying a photo exhibit of the doors with photos taken by Coke. The show will benefit Food Finders. (Thomas R. Cordova/Press-Telegram/Daily Breeze)

On an otherwise plain wall in an alley near Fourth Street in Long Beach, rebellious Doors frontman Jim Morrison hovers about 15 feet above the ground. Grasping a microphone with both hands and with his head tilted back as he sings, he appears to be flying through the air like a rock star superhero.

The recently installed 20-foot-long mural is appropriately called “Flying Morrison.” The picture was taken in the summer of 1967 by Long Beach resident Jim Coke during a concert in Northridge and Sunday it will serve as the backdrop for a benefit concert on the day that would have marked the Lizard King’s 70th birthday.

Four bands are on the roster for the 1 p.m. concert: Granite Planet, the Greg Carroll Band, the Psychedelic Cosmic Cowboys and L.A. Air Raid. The show will start with a reading by Chris Boyle, a former publicist for the Doors who began working for the band after seeing it perform in Long Beach in 1970. He will read a selection of poems written by Morrison and share some stories from the time he spent with the singer.