Jim Morrison
Jim Morrison was the lead singer and song writer for the rock band The Doors and had a strange life and death. He spent most of his short life traveling and reading and writing songs and poetry which was translated into his music for his band which was very popular. Unfortunately for much of the music world, Jim Morrison died (or disappeared depending on popular theory) very young.
Jim Morrison was born in 1943 in Melbourne, Florida to a navy family with a strict conservative point of view. However, Morrison would develop a very different worldview, becoming a bohemian in California who would sleep on couches, travel all over the place, read, write, and think. He went to UCLA and there decided, on the spur of the moment, to form the band that would become The Doors. He wrote the lyrics for the songs which were heavily influenced by his life. Many of his songs and poetry make reference to one of his earlier, formative memories; that of a car accident involving several native Americans which injured many and possibly killed some; the incident imprinted itself in Morrison’s mind and influenced his work. Many of his live performances had shamanistic influences. The Doors would become one of the most popular rock bands in America, despite many who tried to censor them due to seeming references to drugs in many of the lyrics.
Morrison had a history of drug use, alcoholism and womanizing and all of these things may have factored in his death at the age of 27 in his bathtub at home. Most believe that it was from a heart attack; however, there are those who believe that he was assassinated by the American government or that he even faked his own death to get out of the music business. More likely however, he died either of a heart attack or a drug overdose and with this loss came a huge loss in the rock and roll world of the 1970s. His influence would be felt with singers like Patti Smith and his songs both attracted and repelled listeners, making them irresistible and strangely timeless.
Although Morrison was more the traditional ‘live fast, die young’ rockstar, he was also very well read, well educated and unlike many who simply spout off, he knew what he was talking about and why. It is important that, in order to be timeless, song writers create music that not only talks about the times they live in, but also put it into the correct context and meanings and Jim Morrison did that, ensuring that he would live long past his body’s expiration.
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