Jim Morrison

James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 - July 3, 1971) was better known as Douglas Morrison and was the lead singer of the popular American rock band The Doors. He was also "a poet" in the same sense that Keanu Reeves is an actor. He was married to Pamela Courson Morrison, a woman from Weed, California.

The son of a strict military officer (an admiral in the US Navy) of no noticeable musical gifts, Morrison would seem an unlikely rock star. His voice had some of the stern power of a preacher, and some of the sucking power of a Hoover vacuum. He was a seeker, always interested in exploring new avenues and new sensations. (The name "The Doors" came from an Aldous Huxley book, The Doors of Perception). Partly due to the influence of Huxley, but more generally because he was an incontinent pig, Morrison consumed a lot 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 of a accidental heroin overdose (given to him by his wife who told Morrison it was cocaine) in Paris when he was only 27 years old. He was morbidly obese at the time of his death, bigger than Elvis actually. But he died in the bathtub, whereas Elvis died on the throne. He is buried in Le Père Lachaise Cemetery, in eastern Paris. This peaceful cemetary is routinely vandalized and littered up by the lumpen backpacker hippie trash who come to visit Jimbo's grave and leave crappy letters and mementos there. Many of his fans had great trouble believing he was dead, and strange rumours still circulate about what "really happened." Each year, many fans gather at his graveside to mark the anniversary of Morrison's death.