Jim Morrison Biography

Jim Morrison once said, “I see myself as a huge fiery comet, a shooting star. Everyone stops, points up and gasps "Oh look at that!" Then- whoosh and I'm gone...and they'll never see anything like it ever again... and they won't be able to forget me- ever.” Jim Morrison was not only the songwriter and singer for one of the most influential psychedelic rock groups of the 60’s, but also a powerful writer, poet and film director. Not only has he inspired many rock artists today, he has also given motivation to most of the rock bands of that era. His breakthrough with The Doors brought Jim all the wealth, power and prestige a person can achieve. And at the prime of his career, Jim Morrison’s life took its toll as he began experimenting with drugs and alcohol. Jim’s lyrics in, “Break on through” became reality as his experimentation with psychedelic drugs ultimately took Morrison “to the other side.”

James Douglas Morrison was born on December 8th, 1943 in Melbourne, Florida. He spent most of his youth years moving from state to state with his family due to the fact that his father was in the Navy. He actually didn’t get to meet his father until he was at the age of two. Morrison’s early life was the kind of nomadic existence that’s typical of many children who grow up in military families. Being raised in such a strict and authoritarian environment, Morrison was a dutiful and respectful child who did extremely well at school. His parents thought he would follow his fathers’ footsteps and head into the Navy, but Morrison wasn’t too fond of that. During his final high school years, he discovered alcohol and other sorts of psychiatric drugs. He became a disruptive student who started to not care much about education. Although he changed from prospective student to disruptive student, he still continued his education. He than moved to his grandparents’ home to attend classes in St. Petersburg Junior College than transferred to Florida State University. He finally completed his undergraduates’ degree in UCLA film school where he would meet and create what is now “The Doors”.

The band name supposedly comes from a book written by Aldous Huxley entitled, “The Doors of Heaven and Hell” that Morrison was heavily influenced by. There sound was highly innovative and creative for there time. They had no bassist to there band which was one of the reasons why there sound was so ground-breaking. Morrison’s poems and lyrics about death, murder, madness, sex and drugs fit perfectly and intertwined with the dark sound of The Doors. In 1967, after a few gigs, the band got signed to Elektra Records and began recording at a real time music studio. There first single was the famous, “Break on through”, but it wasn’t until the release of “Light my Fire” when the band began reaching national stardom. There first album which