July 3, 1971, 50 years ago: Jim Morrison, lead singer of rock band The Doors, dies in Paris. It wasn't publicly announced until July 8, as the circumstances of his death were unusual.
With the release of their self-titled debut album on January 4, 1967, The Doors -- lead singer Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robbie Krieger and drummer John Densmore -- merged rock and roll, jazz and classical influences, and Morrison's interest in older literature and poetry for their lyrics, to form one of the most spectacular bands of all time. Morrison's looks, stage presence and lyrics made them stand out. (Krieger wrote the lyrics to their hits "Light My Fire,""Love Me Two Times,""Touch Me" and "Love Her Madly," but Morrison wrote most of the others.)
The Doors during their controversial appearance
on The Ed Sullivan Show, September 17, 1967.
L to R: John Densmore, Robbie Krieger, Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek.
L to R: John Densmore, Robbie Krieger, Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek.
But Morrison was an alcoholic and a user of psychedelic drugs, and as they went along -- releasing Strange Days later in 1967, Waiting for the Sun in 1968, The Soft Parade in 1969, Morrison Hotel/Hard Rock Cafe in 1970, and L.A. Woman in 1971 -- he became more controversial and less reliable.
Much like a later Los Angeles-based band, Guns N' Roses, a Doors concert was unpredictable: You never knew when the lead singer was going to join with the others to give you a transcendent experience, or when he was going to start a riot, or whether he was going to show up at all.
On September 18, 1970, another of the icons of psychedelic rock, Jimi Hendrix, died as a result of mixing drugs and alcohol. When asked for her thoughts on it, bluesy rock singer Janis Joplin said, "There but for the grace of God go I." She wasn't kidding. She died just 16 days later.
When he found out about Jimi's death, Morrison asked his friends, "Do you believe in omens?" Like Janis, he didn't take the hint. When Janis died, Jim told his friends, "Believe it or not, you're drinking with number three."
In March 1971, Morrison left Los Angeles for Paris, home of so many writers and composers he'd admired, in the hopes of getting away from L.A., clearing his mind, and getting ready to make great art again. By this point, he had gotten fat, and had started using harder drugs like heroin. He was joined by Pamela Courson, his longtime girlfriend.
At first, the sabbatical seemed to work. He wrote of taking long walks through the great city. He lost weight, including some of the puffiness in his face that had led him to grow a beard.
But on July 31, at around 6:00 AM local time, Pamela found Jim in the bathtub, dead. He seemed to be looking up, with a smile and a look of peace on his face. He had seemed to celebrate death in some of his songs, and now he had achieved it.
No autopsy was performed. The official cause of death was heart failure. It has been speculated that the real cause was an accidental heroin overdose. It has also been rumored that his death was faked, and that he went elsewhere, to live out his years in obscurity, away from prying eyes. Pamela definitely died from heroin, 3 years later.
Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison. All 3 of them, dead within 10 months. All of 3 of them, dead at the age of 27. (The New York Times, who relegated Jim's death to a minor Page 1 story, mistakenly listed him as 25.)
Manzarek died of cancer in 2013, at the age of 77. Krieger is still alive, at 75. Densmore is now 76.
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July 3, 1971 was a Saturday. It was the off-season for the NFL, the NBA, the ABA and the NHL. But there was a full slate of Major League Baseball games that day:
* The New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox, 2-1 at Fenway Park in Boston. Luis Tiant allows only 3 hits, but 1 is a home run by Roy White. Fritz Peterson was the winning pitcher.
* The New York Mets beat the Atlanta Braves, 7-1 at Shea Stadium.
* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Montreal Expos, 6-3 at Jarry Park in Montreal.
* The Washington Senators beat the Cleveland Indians, 4-3 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.
* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Detroit Tigers, 8-1 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.
* The Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3-1 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
* The Minnesota Twins beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 7-1 at Milwaukee County Stadium.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Kansas City Royals, 1-0 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium. Tommy John pitched a 6-hit shutout.
* The Houston Astros beat the Cincinnati Reds, 4-3 at the Astrodome in Houston. Jack Hiatt singled home the winning run in the 13th inning.
* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres, 1-0 at San Diego Stadium. (It was later renamed Jack Murphy Stadium, Qualcomm Stadium and SDCCU Stadium.) Al Downing outdueled Dave Roberts, pitching a 6-hit shutout.
* The Oakland Athletics beat the California Angels, 5-3 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim).
* And the San Francisco Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 10-1 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.