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Revision as of 06:41, 26 October 2002 by Someone else (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 - July 3, 1971), better known as Jim Morrison, was the lead singer and lyricist of the popular American rock band The Doors. He was also a poet. Morrison dated Pamela Courson before his death, though they never married.
Born in Melbourne, Florida, Morrison was son to a strict military officer (an admiral in the US Navy) of no noticeable musical gifts. Morrison would seem an unlikely rock star, but his poetry and unique singing voice, combined with the other three talents of The Doors provided a means of expression unseen before.
Morrison was a seeker, interested in exploring new avenues and new sensations. He led a bohemian lifestyle in California, attending UCLA, drifting about and sleeping on couches and rooftops, reading books voraciously before dropping out of college in favor of his band The Doors. (The name "The Doors" came from an Aldous Huxley book, The Doors of Perception). Morrison consumed a variety of drugs, drank constantly, and indulged in various bacchanalia. His shamanistic live performances have influenced others, including Patti Smith, as has his hedonistic lifestyle.
Jim Morrison died in Paris in his bathtub at the age of 27; many fans and biographers have speculated that the cause of death was a drug overdose though the official report listed "heart attack" as the cause of death. Morrison is buried, at present, in Le Père Lachaise Cemetery in eastern Paris: because his fans there are generally perceived as nuisances, leaving litter and graffiti behind them, it has been suggested that a new burial site will have to be found.
Many of his fans have great trouble believing he is dead, and strange rumours still circulate about what "really happened." Whatever the dimensions of Jim Morrison's life, the Doors music continues to live on with each succeeding generation.