Obituary

The Times – UK July 10 1971

JIM MORRISON, whose death in Paris last Saturday was reported yesterday, lived much of his life like any dime novelist’s idea of a rock ‘n’ roll star. At his prime every performance was a ritual, a mock crucifixion enacted in skin tight black leather and reaching its climax with the scream of “We want the world and we want it now!”

Born 27 years ago in California, Morrison formed his band, The Doors, where he met organist Ray Manzarek in Italy in 1965. The following year they began playing in Los Angeles, and became one of the first of the American “New Wave” bands to catch on with the public. Their biggest hit single was “Light My Fire,” and their albums were consistent best sellers.

Morrison’s writing for the band often flirted with quasi literary imagery, and his stage appearances contained a strong element of theatre. The music itself was never as strong as the band’s collective imagination suggested: Morrison was in fact not a very good singer, and possessed a very limited technical and emotional range. It was his face, with its look of a fallen angel and his agonized bearing which drew him so many admirers.

Recently the band’s power waned drastically. Their appearance at last year’s Isle Of Wight Festival was a disappointment, and Morrison talked of returning to his first love, films.