James Douglas Morrison

James Douglas Morrison was born in Melbourne, Florida, on December 8, 1943. His father, Steve Morrison, was a U.S. Navy admiral. In 1942, after graduating from the Naval Academy, he had married Clara (Clarke) Morrison, the daughter of a lawyer. In 1946 he returned from the Pacific and during the following years the family moved according to his numerous postings.
Morrison was early interested in literature, he excelled at school, and he had an IQ of 149. Morrison studied theatre arts at the University of California. With his fellow student Ray Manzarek, keyboardist, John Densmore, drummer, and Robbie Kriger, guitarist, he formed a group which was in 1965 christened The Doors. They never added a bass player to their group. Its name was taken from Aldous Huxley's book on mescaline, The Doors of Perception, which quoted William Blake 's poem ("If the doors of perception were cleansed / All things would appear infinite"). All the members of the band read much, not only Morrison. Their first album, The Doors (1967), mixed performances from Bertolt Brecht /Kurt Weil's 'Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)' to Willie Dixon's 'Back Door Man'. It also included such Doors classics as 'Break on Through' (to the Other Side)' and 'The End'. The lyrics Morrison wrote in 1965 dominated the first two Doors albums. In July 1967 the band had its first single chart success with 'Light My Fire'.
Morrison's drinking, exhibitionistic performances, and drug-taking badly affected his singing and input at recordings. "Let's just say I was testing the bounds of reality," he confessed in 1969 in Los Angeles. "I was curious to see what would happen. That's all it was: just curiosity." In Miami in 1969 the audience thought it saw Jim's "snake" - he was charged with exposing himself on stage, in full view of 10.000 people. The police did not arrest him on the spot, for fear that it would cause a riot. Next year Morrison was sentenced 8 months' hard labor and a $500 fine for "profanity" and "indecent exposure", but he remained free while the sentence was appealed against. The Soft Parade (1969), which experimented with brass sections, was received with mixed emotions but it had a hit single, 'Touch me'.



After Miami everything changed and Morrison put his leather pants in closet. He grew a beard, started to take distance to his fans, and devote more time with projects outside the band. John Densmore has later told in an interview, that although he knew Jim well, there was so much about him that he could not find out. Possessed by his inner visions and urge to write and create music, Morrison also had troubles to explain his aims. He also felt that his time was running short: "O great creator of being, grant us one more hour / to perform our art and perfect our lives."
After finishing sessions for a new album, L.A. Woman, Morrison escaped to Paris, where he hoped to follow literary career. "See me change," he sang. He never came back from Paris. His first book, The Lords and the New Creatures, was published by Simon and Schuster in 1971. It went into paperback after selling 15.000 in hardback. An earlier book, An American Prayer, was privately printed in 1970, but not made widely available until 1978. On 3 July 1971 Morrison was found death in his bathtub. He had regurgitated a small amount of blood on the night of July 2, but claimed he felt fine. Recently had consulted a local doctor concerning a respitory problem.
Morrison was buried at Pére Lachaise cemetary in Paris, which houses remains of many famous artists, statesmen and legendaries from Edith Piaf to Oscar Wilde. In 1990 his graffitti-covered headstone was stolen. Pamela Courson Morrison, died in Hollywood of heroin overdose on April 25, 1974. In 1979 Francis Ford Coppola used The Doors' performance of 'The End' in his Vietnam War film, Apocalypse Now, and in 1991 director Oliver Stone made the film biography The Doors, starring Val Kilmer. Wilderness: The Lost Writings of Jim Morrison was published in 1989. It was compiled from the Morrison literary estate by his friends

THE MIAMI INCIDENT

The Doors were scheduled to play a concert at the Dinner Key Auditorium on March 1, 1969. The Doors manager, Bill Siddons had made a deal with the Miami promoter, Ken Collier to accept a flat fee of $25,000 instead of sixty percent of the gross receipts. Collier then sold between eight to nine thousand tickets at more than the agreed price. Collier also removed seats to allow more people into the auditorium. An auditorium designed to hold seven thousand people was now packed tight with about thirteen thousand.
Jim Morrison missed his scheduled flight into Miami and spent the time waiting for the next flight, drinking in the airport lounge. Once he boarded the plane he continued drinking. During a stopover in New Orleans he missed his flight again and consumed even more drinks waiting for the next flight. By the time he reached Miami he was extremely drunk. Once he took the stage he was almost falling down drunk. He was abusive towards the audience, he would start a song only to stop it after a few lines, he would bum even more drinks from members of the audience. At some point in the concert he then asked the audience, "Do you wanna see my cock?" He allegedly then exposed himself for a brief instant and continued on with the show.
The next day the Doors started a planned vacation. While out of the country, the press in Miami had a field day with the alleged exposure incident. Pressure was put on local officials to do something about it. On March 5 1969, Bob Jennings from the state attorney's office acted as complainant. A warrant was issued for the arrest of Jim Morrison on one felony count of lewd and lascivious behaviour and three misdemeanor counts of indecent exposure, open profanity and drunkenness.
Jim turned himself in to the FBI in Los Angeles on April 4, 1969. On November 9, 1969 he entered a not guilty plea in Miami. The trial did not start until August 12, 1970. Max Fink was Jim's defense lawyer, the prosecuter was Terrence McWilliams and Judge Murray Goodman presided over the case. Much evidence was heard from witnesses for both sides. Most of it was contradictory. On September 20, 1970 the jury found Jim Morrison guilty on the misdemeanor charges of indecent exposure and profanity. He was found not guilty on the felony charge and the misdemeanor for drunkenness. He was released on a $50,000 bond and returned to Miami on October 30, 1970 for sentencing.
Judge Goodman sentenced Jim to six months of hard labor and a $500 fine for public exposure and sixty days of hard labor for profanity. The sentences would run concurrently. He would be eligible for release after two months and would be on probation for two years and four months. His lawyer filed an immediate appeal. Until the appeal could be heard, Jim would be free on the $50,000 bond.
Jim Morrison was to die in Paris, France July 3, 1971 before his legal problems could be resolved.
Fans and historians alike have long questioned the details of Morrison's death. Some believe him to be the victim of a drug overdose, while others blame the CIA. There are even those who speculate that he is alive to this day, living in Africa or the Seychelles Islands.