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BENZ-LGB · #17 11-20-2007, 10:25 AM

On Jim Morrison (also from Wiki):

James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an iconic American singer, songwriter, writer, film director, and poet. He was best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the popular American rock band The Doors, and is considered to be one of the most charismatic and influential frontmen in the history of rock music.[1] He was also the author of several poetry books, a documentary, and a short film. Morrison died in Paris at the age of 27.

Early years
Morrison was born in Melbourne, Florida, to Admiral George Stephen Morrison and Clara Clarke Morrison. Morrison had a sister, Anne Robin Morrison, who was born in 1947 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and a brother, Andrew Lee Morrison, who was born 1948 in Los Altos, California. Jim Morrison was of Scottish and Irish ethnic heritage.

In 1947, Morrison purportedly witnessed a car accident in the desert, where a family of Native Americans was injured and possibly killed. He referred to this incident in a spoken-word performance on the song "Dawn's Highway" from the album, An American Prayer, and again in the songs "Peace Frog", and "Ghost Song", all linked by the spoken line from "Dawn's Highway":

Indians scattered on dawn's highway bleeding
Ghosts crowd the young child's fragile eggshell mind

Morrison believed the incident to be the most formative event in his life and made repeated references to it in the imagery in his songs, poems, and interviews.

With his father in the Navy, Morrison's family moved often. He spent part of his childhood in San Diego, California. In 1958, Morrison attended Alameda High School in Alameda, California (near Oakland). However, he graduated from George Washington High School (now George Washington Middle School) in Alexandria, Virginia in June 1961.

Morrison went to live with his paternal grandparents in Clearwater, Florida, where he attended classes at St. Petersburg Junior College. In 1962, he transferred to Florida State University where he appeared in a school recruitment film.[2]

In January 1964, Morrison moved to Los Angeles, California. He completed his undergraduate degree in UCLA's film school, the Theater Arts department of the College of Fine Arts in 1965. Jim made two films while attending UCLA. "First Love", the first of the two films, was released to the public when it appeared in a documentary about the film called "Obscura".

[edit] The Doors
Main article: The Doors

Jim (far left) with his bandmates in The Doors. From left to right: Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger and John Densmore.In 1965, after dropping out of UCLA, Morrison led a Bohemian lifestyle in nearby Venice Beach. Photographer Joel Brodsky took a series of black-and-white photos of Morrison. Known as "The Young Lion" photo session, the pictures included the shot that was later featured on the Best of the Doors LP cover.

Morrison and fellow UCLA student Ray Manzarek were the founding members of The Doors. Shortly thereafter, drummer John Densmore and guitarist Robby Krieger joined. Krieger auditioned at Densmore's recommendation, and was then added to the lineup.

While it is widely believed that the Doors took their name from the title of Aldous Huxley's The Doors of Perception (a reference to the 'unlocking' of 'doors' to perception through psychedelic drug use), Huxley's own title was a quote from William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, in which Blake wrote that "If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, infinite."

In June 1966, at the famed Whisky-A-Go-Go, The Doors were the opening act for the Northern Irish group Them, whose leader was Van Morrison. According to Ray Manzarek, in his book, Light My Fire, "Jim was transfixed by Van. He studied his every move. He put the eye on him and he absorbed....The last night... saw us all in a monster jam session...Jim Morrison and Van Morrison onstage at the same time! And singing 'Gloria.'"[3]

Although Morrison is known as the lyricist for the group, Krieger also made significant lyrical contributions, writing or co-writing some of the group's biggest hits, including "Light My Fire," "Love Me Two Times," "Love Her Madly" and "Touch Me."[4]

Decades before music videos became commonplace, Morrison and The Doors produced a promotional film for "Break On Through," which was to be their first single release. The video featured the four members of the group playing the song on a darkened set with alternating views and close-ups of the performers while Morrison lip-synced the lyrics. Morrison and The Doors continued to make music videos, including "The Unknown Soldier", "Moonlight Drive", "Light my Fire", and "People Are Strange".

The Doors achieved national recognition after signing with Elektra Records in 1967.[5] The single "Light My Fire" eventually reached number one on the Billboard Pop Singles chart.[6] Later, The Doors appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show, a popular Sunday night variety series that had introduced The Beatles and a young, wriggling Elvis Presley to the nation. Ed Sullivan requested two songs from The Doors for the show, People are Strange, and Light My Fire. The censors insisted that they change the lyrics of "Light My Fire" from "Girl we couldn't get much higher" to "Girl we couldn't get much better." This was reportedly due to what could be perceived as a reference to drugs in the original lyric. During the rehersal, Jim changed the lyrics to be in compliance with host Ed Sullivan. Morrison then proceeded to sing the song with the original lyrics on live TV. He later said that he had simply forgotten to make the change, which Manzarek corroborates to the present day. This infuriated Sullivan so much that he refused to shake their hands after their performance. They were never invited back.[7]The producer of the show reportedly screamed at the monitors as Morrison sung the lyric, that The Doors would never do the Ed Sullivan show ever again. Jim came back to that comment by stating "Hey, we just did the Ed Sullivan show."

By the release of their second album, Strange Days, The Doors had become one of the most popular rock bands in the United States. Their blend of blues and rock tinged with psychedelia included a number of original songs and distinctive cover versions, such as the memorable rendition of "Alabama Song", from Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill's operetta, "Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny". The band also performed a number of extended concept works, including the songs "The End", "When The Music's Over", and "Celebration of the Lizard".

In 1968, The Doors released their third studio LP, Waiting for the Sun. Their fourth LP, The Soft Parade, was released in 1969. It was the first album where the individual band members were given credit on the inner-sleeve for the songs they had written.

After this, Morrison started to show up for recording sessions inebriated (he can be heard hiccuping on the song "Five To One"). He was also frequently late for live performances. As a result, the band would play instrumental music or force Ray Manzarek to take on the singing duties.

By 1969, the formerly svelte singer began to change his appearance. He gained weight, grew a beard, and began dressing more casually - abandoning the leather pants and concho belts for regular slacks, jeans and T-shirts.

During a 1969 concert at The Dinner Key Auditorium in Miami, Morrison attempted to spark a riot in the audience. He failed, but a warrant for his arrest was issued by the Dade County Police department three days later for indecent exposure. Consequently, many of The Doors' scheduled concerts were canceled.[8] In the years following the incident, Morrison has been exonerated. In 2007 Florida Governor Charlie Crist suggested the possibility of a posthumous pardon for Morrison.[9]

Following The Soft Parade, The Doors released the Morrison Hotel LP. After a lengthy break, the group reconvened in October 1970 to record their last LP with Morrison, L.A. Woman. Shortly after the recording sessions for the album began, producer Paul A. Rothchild -- who had overseen all their previous recordings -- left the project. Engineer Bruce Botnick took over as producer.

JM is the only Bruin I've ever liked.

BTW, Go Bruins, beat Oregon!

(Hey Carl, JM's family and your family were practically neighbors!)