The Day Jim Morrison Died….
…not that I remember it when it happened! But like many of us who came of age in the 1980s, as the music of the Doors experienced a renaissance that perhaps rivaled or even surpassed their popularity during their 1960s heyday, I was pretty much drawn into the mesmerizing, magical, haunting music of the Doors. Of course, there was that whole enticing mystery about whether Jim Morrison was really dead, or had slipped off to Africa to escape the spotlight’s glare. But this day, his “supposed” date of death in 1971, became an important day, regardless what you believed about his death, (or lack thereof). Personally, I believe he did pass on that day, (although I admit I wasn’t quite as convinced back in the 1980s, when the rumors were in full spin). But I think it’s pretty much been proven by most reliable sources that the “faked death” scenario was not plausible.
What I am unclear about is quite how that Doors music fit into that era of early 1980s music. During a time of exciting, electric change in the music scene, as vital “new wave” bands like the Cars, the Knack, the Police, Blondie and the B-52s were busy washing away the dying embers of 1970s disco, this long-lost 1960s band suddenly comes roaring into the spotlight, (Morrison even appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone in the summer of 1981, featuring the then-controversial tagline, “He’s hot, he’s sexy…and he’s dead!”). For myself, I took it all in at the time. I was right in there riding that “new wave” scene, but also fascinated with the 60s bands like the Doors and the Jefferson Airplane. Maybe it was simply the fact that the music scene of our generation didn’t have any truly charismatic, engaging leaders who could speak with depth & conviction. Steve Perry of Journey, God bless him, was not exactly the voice of a generation, (though he did have a nice voice, if you happened to like that sort of “corporate rock”, another trend of the early 80s). And the new wave bands, well… they sort of projected a cool, distant aloofness that precluded any of the individual bandmembers from becoming too iconic. So, what’d we do? Grabbed an icon from the past who could speak to us of shaman’s blues, lizard kings, crystal ships and unknown soldiers . That warm, deep, intimate voice that lead us on countless journeys into our own minds, exploring vast realms heretofore unseen. (And let’s not forget the other 3 Doors…Ray Manzarek, John Densmore, and Robby Krieger… without whom Jim Morrison might never have made it out of that beach in Venice, California.
And so, Jim, on this day we salute you, and thank you, for the art you left behind. It is still vibrant, it is still important…and it still rocks!
