If you’ve ever seen Oliver Stone’s bananas retelling of Jim Morrison’s life in The Doors, you probably have an idea of what Jim Morrison’s brief foray into professional filmmaking was like. A listless young man of indeterminate origin obsessed with the darker side of culture and spirituality makes lascivious films that earn the scorn of his classmates before he dramatically quits to embrace life as a poet.
Jim Morrison was a frontman more prone to a scrape than a toddler’s knees, in fact, he was near enough the original musical maverick. When The Doors first formed in 1965, starting a song with a lightning crack and an apocalyptical atmosphere was out of the question.
Jim Morrison was the self-styled Lizard King: A leather-pants-loving rock deity who fronted The Doors and represented the dark and druggy flipside of the utopian ’60s dream. Thanks largely to Morrison’s brooding voice and mystical poetry, The Doors' music freaked out squares and thrilled millions of teenagers looking to break on through to the other side of consciousness.
SHE SAID THAT SPARKS LITERALLY FLEW WHEN THEY MET, AND IN LATER YEARS SHE CLASHED WITH THE ESTATE OF HER LOVE RIVAL PAMELA COURSON
Formed in Los Angeles, 1965, by vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore, The Doors would go on to become one the era’s most iconic rock bands. Undoubtedly, their focal point was Morrison, a mysterious poet, who quickly became one of the heroes of the countercultural movement. Then and now, he has been ascribed a demi-god-like stature—a walking, talking embodiment of the rebellion.
Fifty years ago, on July 3, 1971, Jim Morrison — lead singer of the rock group The Doors — died in Paris. It was the first year of NPR and Mike Walters, an early host of All Things Considered, worked his way up to that news by reciting a few relevant lyrics from "An American Prayer," a song written by Morrison.
AUTHOR PENNED MEMOIR STRANGE DAYS: MY LIFE WITH AND WITHOUT JIM MORRISON ABOUT HER TIME WITH DOORS SINGER
Patricia Kennealy-Morrison—the one-time rock journalist and partner of Doors singer Jim Morrison—died July 23rd at the age of 75.
Whether you think that Jim Morrison was a Blakean visionary or ‘just’ a fine shouter in a decent rock n’ roll band, there’s no denying that the good people at Harper Collins have pushed the boat—or perhaps that should be the crystal ship—right out here.
JIM MORRISON’S DEATH SPAWNED A DIZZYING ARRAY OF CONSPIRACY THEORIES, BUT COUNT JEAN DE BRETEUIL FEATURES IN MANY
For every idealistic dream of the summer of love and hippie counterculture, there is usually a far darker and uglier side. For every flower power moment, there is dirt under your fingernails and, for every enlightening and ground shaking anthem, there is a singer who absolutely hated it. All that and more is compounded within The Doors euphoric song ‘Light My Fire’.
