The Doors Song That Was Inspired by a Real Serial Killer
- by Jordan Potter
Before Jim Morrison died in France aged just 27 in 1971, he had already left behind an immortal musical legacy as the mystical frontman of The Doors. The band struck gold early on with the release of their eponymous debut album in 1967. Their formula of poetic psychedelic blues struck a chord with the blossoming counterculture of babyboomer USA and soon found its way to foreign shores.
Over the five decades since his death, Morrison’s legacy has been transformed increasingly into something mystical and divine, thanks to his deeply spiritual and enigmatic persona in life and the mystery surrounding his demise. The late singer’s distinctly opaque and poetic lyrics have also proliferated this mysticism. A keen disciple of Beat Generation literature, Morrison enjoyed wordplay and hidden quirks, such as his anagram pseudonym, Mr. Mojo Risin’.
In a 1969 interview with Rolling Stone, Morrison revealed that his process for writing lyrics was rather autonomous, and words would just crop up during free improvisational blues jams. When asked if he had any Doors tracks he liked more than others, he replied: “I tell you the truth, I don’t listen to the stuff much. There are songs I enjoy doing more in person than others. I like singing blues—these free, long blues trips where there’s no specific beginning or end. It just gets into a groove.”
