In July 1971, music fans were still reeling from the deaths of 60s icons Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin. But, another hard hit was yet to come.
Jim Morrison met Ray Manzarek and they formed the band The Doors in 1965. They were quickly joined by John Densmore on drums and Robby Krieger on guitar. In 1966, they opened for the Northern Irish band Them (featuring lead singer Van Morrison) at the famed Whiskey-A-Go-Go on Sunset Strip in LA. They got their big break when they were signed to Elektra Records in 1967. They released the single “Light My Fire” which quickly went to #1. Their success continued with the release of their second album Strange Days (which featured “People are Strange”) and their third, Waiting for the Sun (which featured “Hello, I Love You”). But by then, Morrison was having a problem with drinking. He would show up to recording sessions drunk and was frequently late to live gigs.
By 1969, the once handsome Morrison begun to put on weight and grew a beard. His behavior also grew more erratic. During a concert in Miami, Morrison, who had been drinking, reportedly exposed himself to concertgoers. He was arrested for indecent exposure and many subsequent Door’s concerts were cancelled. The band decided to take a break until October of 1970, when the rejoined to produce their last album together, L.A. Woman.
After the release of L.A. Woman, Morrison and girlfriend Pamela Courson decided to move to Paris to take some time off. Mystery still surrounds his July 3, 1971 death. His body was found reportedly in the bathtub of the apartment he and Pamela shared. The medical examiner ruled Morrison’s death to be from a heart attack and because there no evidence of foul play, an autopsy was not performed. Morrison was buried on July 7th before either his band mates or family could arrive to see his body. Courson later said that Morrison inhaled a substance he thought was cocaine, but turned out to be heroin and died of an overdose. But she, at one point, also said that she killed Morrison. Some people thought Morrison, tired of the limelight, faked his own death. There were also reports that he actually died in a nightclub and his body was then moved back to his apartment. Whatever happened, it must have tormented Courson for she herself died of an overdose of heroin three years later, at the age of 27.
Dead at the age of 27, Jim Morrison was buried in the Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris. The grave is still a popular tourist site of fans of the great, but eccentric singer.
Next up in the Forever 27 Club – Janis Joplin.