Jim Morrison

Singer, poet and chief lyricist of the Doors, one of rock's most influential and controversial frontmen.

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Jim Morrison was an American singer-songwriter and poet who fronted the Doors as lead vocalist and main lyricist. His charisma, poetic words, distinctive voice and unpredictable stage behaviour, together with the dramatic events of his short life, have made him one of the most influential and controversial frontmen rock has produced. He recorded six studio albums with the Doors, and the band's number-one US single "Light My Fire" brought them to prominence. Long after his death he remains a symbol of rebellion, the generation gap and youth counterculture, and publications including Rolling Stone, NME and Classic Rock rank him among the greatest rock singers.

Quick Facts

Birth name

James Douglas Morrison

Birthplace

Melbourne, Florida, U.S.

Born

8 December 1943

Died

3 July 1971

Place of death

Paris, France

Burial place

Père Lachaise Cemetery

Education

Florida State University (attended); University of California, Los Angeles (BA)

Occupation

Singer
songwriter
poet

Facts from the source article.

Lore & Background

James Douglas Morrison was born on December 8, 1943, in Melbourne, Florida, son of Clara Virginia Morrison and George Stephen Morrison, later a rear admiral in the United States Navy. The family moved often, and he attended schools in San Diego, Virginia, Texas, Albuquerque and Alameda before graduating from George Washington High School in Alexandria in June 1961. He was a voracious, unusual reader. After Florida State University, he transferred to the UCLA film program, where Antonin Artaud's surrealist theater shaped his dark, cinematic poetry, and he finished his degree in 1965. Living on a Venice Beach rooftop, he wrote early lyrics such as "Moonlight Drive" and "Hello, I Love You".

Reader's Guide

Morrison and keyboardist Ray Manzarek, who met as cinematography students, founded the Doors in Venice, California, in 1965; guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore joined soon after. Morrison often recited spoken word poetry during live sets. The band's shows were provocative, and his arrest on stage in New Haven in 1967 and the Miami concert of 1969 led to legal trouble and added to his notoriety. His alcohol dependency sometimes hurt his performances. He died in a Paris apartment in 1971 at 27; no autopsy was done, so the cause is still disputed. He entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Doors in 1993.

Did You Know?

A car crash he saw as a child in New Mexico in 1947 fed into the song "Peace Frog" from Morrison Hotel.
At Florida State he was arrested on September 28, 1963, at a Seminoles football game.
He skipped his UCLA graduation, and the diploma was mailed to his mother in Coronado.
His spoken word pieces appear on the posthumous 1978 album An American Prayer.