Happy Friday!
It was 99 degrees (37˚C) outside in Dallas yesterday, now a balmy 96˚ as Dallas continues to host enthusiastic fans (who love our brisket) for the World Cup and we get ready for America's 250th birthday party tomorrow.
While listening to the radio last week, the announced the death anniversary of Clive Jay Davis, a famous and successful record executive who signed many legendary artists, including Janis Joplin and Whitney Houston. I thought to myself, "but they both died of drug overdoses, what are we celebrating?" Not to be morose, but here's another one.
Jim Morrison, American singer, songwriter and poet, died on July 3, 1971. He was born in Melbourne, Florida. His father was a rear admiral in the U.S. Navy. He witnessed a tragic car accident in the northern New Mexico desert as a young child. He remembered seeing an overturned truck and some Native Americans lying dead and bleeding on the side of the road. This was formative in his life, and he referred to it many times in songs, poems and interviews, believing that the spirits or ghosts of the dead Indians "leaped into his soul" and he was "like a sponge, ready to sit there and absorb it." Like many childhood memories, no one else in the family recalled the accident the way he described and there is no official record of it, but it was traumatic for him, nonetheless.
He and his family moved around because of his father's military service. He read a lot in high school, particularly English 16th and 17th century demonology texts. He attended Florida State University, where he was arrested in 1973 for disturbing the peace and petty larceny after getting drunk at a Seminoles football game. His undergraduate degree was in film from the UCLA (Los Angeles). As is typical of those times, or maybe just his personality, he skipped the graduation ceremony to go to Venice Beach.
After graduation in 1965, he lived on the rooftop of a building in Venice Beach - subsisting on canned beans - with a classmate and wrote lyrics that would later be performed by the Doors, including Hello, I Love You. Morrison and fellow UCLA student Ray Manzarek formed The Doors with guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore. The group was named after Aldous Huxley's book The Doors of Perception, referring to unlocking those doors using psychedelic drugs. He wrote most of the songs for The Doors without using an instrument, which was filled in by other band members. The band made short music films and became nationally known in 1967 after signing with Elektra Records – Light My Fire was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 3 weeks. They appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show, where he was requested to change the words to Light My Fire to "girl we couldn't get much better" (instead of higher) to erase the drug reference. Morrison refused. Ed Sullivan was pissed off and cancelled their future appearances.
Morrison's second arrest occurred in December 1967 while he was on stage during a concert in New Haven, CT. Prior to the show, a policeman discovered him with a woman in the shower backstage. He was ordered to leave, replied, "Eat me" and was maced, delaying the show. He told the story on stage using various 4-letter words and was arrested. The charges were later dropped. This gave him even more notoriety, as the first rock performer to be arrested on stage.
Having long been a heavy drinker, his alcoholism became more public in 1968 when he showed up to recording sessions and concerts late, obviously drunk and stoned. Formerly slim and good looking (see the "Young Lion" photo of him), he gained weight and grew a beard. He tried to start a riot on stage in Miami in 1969, being visibly intoxicated and screaming obscenities to the audience. He was arrested yet again for indecent exposure and other infractions, this time being convicted, resulting in the cancellation of many subsequent concerts. $50,000 later, he got out of jail, but it was an eye opener about being incarcerated and he made the case that his actions were as a freedom of speech issue. He was pardoned by Florida governor Charlie Crist posthumously in 2010.
Morrison also wrote notebooks of poetry that were sold for a handsome sum at auction. He was influenced by other writers, philosophers and poets, as well as other vocalists such as Elvis and Frank Sinatra. He was estranged from his family but had some serious relationships and many casual encounters with fans and musicians, including one with Janis Joplin where he was drunk at a party. They got into a fight after he insulted her, and she hit him over the head with a bottle of Southern Comfort (she was from Texas, after all). He was described as "Jekyll and Hyde", depending on whether his was sober or drinking. He certainly got around - there were 37 paternity actions against him when he died, although no claims were made against his estate.
Morrison left The Doors and went to Paris in March 1971 to join his girlfriend, Pamela Courson. He was found dead in the bathtub on July 3, 1971, at the age of 27. There was no autopsy. His death was attributed to an accidental heroin overdose. He died 2 years to the day after the death of Brian Jones from the Rolling Stones and 9 months after Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin, all of whom died at age 27. He was buried in Paris, initially with no gravestone. His father placed a flat stone on his grave in 1990, written in Greek, and translated as either "true to his own spirit" or "according to his own daemon". He was inducted with the other members of the Doors to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993 and ranked as one of the best lead singers of all time.
Sadly, we have lost a lot of great artists to drugs.
Have a good weekend and Happy Independence Day in the U.S.!
Deb
Honestly, I couldn't find a music video of The Doors that was remotely appropriate for Happy Friday (just sex, drugs, rock and roll and police). So...here's something a little more upbeat for Saturday, July 4 (although watch out if you are prone to motion sickness). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvdoKvHYxcA&t=8s