185-476: The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, comprising vocalist Jim Morrison , keyboardist Ray Manzarek , guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore . They were among the most influential and controversial rock acts of the 1960s, primarily due to Morrison's lyrics and voice, along with his erratic stage persona and legal issues. The group is widely regarded as an important figure of
370-416: A neopagan handfasting ceremony with her. According to Kennealy, the couple signed a handwritten document, and were declared wed by a Celtic high priestess and high priest on Midsummer night in 1970, but none of the necessary paperwork for a legal marriage was filed with the state. No witness to this ceremony was ever named. In an interview for the book Rock Wives , Kennealy was asked if Morrison took
555-587: A Paris apartment at the age of 27 , amid several conflicting witness reports. Since no autopsy was performed, the cause of Morrison's death remains disputed. Although the Doors recorded two more albums after Jim Morrison died, his death greatly affected the band's fortunes, and they split up two years later. In 1993, Morrison was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with the other Doors members. Rolling Stone , NME , and Classic Rock have ranked him among
740-423: A Summer (1939). The novel won Huxley a British literary award, the 1939 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction. Huxley also incorporated Bird into the novel. During this period, Huxley earned a substantial income as a Hollywood screenwriter; Christopher Isherwood, in his autobiography My Guru and His Disciple , states that Huxley earned more than $ 3,000 per week (approximately $ 50,000 in 2020 dollars) as
925-674: A bad way." Huxley's engagement with Eastern wisdom traditions was entirely compatible with a strong appreciation of modern science . Biographer Milton Birnbaum wrote that Huxley "ended by embracing both science and Eastern religion". In his last book, Literature and Science , Huxley wrote that "The ethical and philosophical implications of modern science are more Buddhist than Christian...." In "A Philosopher's Visionary Prediction", published one month before he died, Huxley endorsed training in general semantics and "the nonverbal world of culturally uncontaminated consciousness", writing that "We must learn how to be mentally silent, we must cultivate
1110-420: A bathroom shower stall when a police officer happened upon them. Unaware that he was the lead singer of the band, the officer told Morrison and the fan to leave, to which Morrison said, "Eat it." The policeman took out a can of mace and warned Morrison, "Last chance", to which Morrison replied, "Last chance to eat it." There is some discrepancy as to what happened next: according to No One Here Gets Out Alive ,
1295-400: A beard, and begun dressing more casually, abandoning the leather pants and concho belts for slacks, jeans, and T-shirts. The Soft Parade , the Doors' fourth album, was released later that year. It was the first album where each band member was given individual songwriting credit, by name, for their work. Previously, each song on their albums had been credited simply to "The Doors". During
1480-471: A bit. There were guys down there, black guys, that would go each day before I went on. It took about five minutes and they would get twenty or twenty-five years in jail. If I hadn't had unlimited funds to continue fighting my case, I'd be in jail right now for three years. It's just if you have money you generally don't go to jail. On December 8, 2010 – the 67th anniversary of Morrison's birth – Florida governor Charlie Crist and
1665-423: A comparatively low Billboard chart peak at No. 9, L.A. Woman contained two Top 20 hits and went on to be their second bestselling studio album, surpassed in sales only by their debut. The album explored their R&B roots, although during rehearsals they had a falling-out with Paul Rothchild, who was dissatisfied with the band's effort. Denouncing "Love Her Madly" as " cocktail lounge music ", he quit and handed
1850-565: A concert by the Velvet Underground at The Trip in Los Angeles, and Andy Warhol claimed in his book Popism that his "black leather" look had been heavily influenced by the dancer Gerard Malanga who performed at the concert. Conversely, Krieger and Manzarek claim that Morrison was inspired to wear leather pants by Marlon Brando from his role in The Fugitive Kind . No One Here Gets Out Alive repeatedly mentions that Morrison
2035-661: A concert on March 1, 1969, at the Dinner Key Auditorium in Miami, a visibly intoxicated Morrison attempted to spark a riot in the audience, in part by screaming, "You wanna see my cock?" and other obscenities. Three days later, six warrants for his arrest were issued by the Dade County Public Safety Department for indecent exposure , among other accusations. Consequently, many of the Doors' scheduled concerts were canceled. On September 20, 1970, Morrison
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#17328585088752220-739: A drug binge (including marijuana, hashish and unspecified pills). The group flew back to the United States and played nine more dates before returning to work in November on their fourth LP. They ended the year with a successful new single, " Touch Me " (released in December 1968), which reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 in the Cashbox Top 100 in early 1969; this was the group's third and last American number-one single. On March 1, 1969, at
2405-524: A dystopian London, Huxley portrays a society operating on the principles of mass production and Pavlovian conditioning . Huxley was strongly influenced by F. Matthias Alexander , on whom he based a character in Eyeless in Gaza . During this period, Huxley began to write and edit non-fiction works on pacifist issues, including Ends and Means (1937), An Encyclopedia of Pacifism , and Pacifism and Philosophy , and
2590-467: A leading advocate of the Perennial Philosophy , which holds that the same metaphysical truths are found in all the major religions of the world. In the 1920s, Huxley was skeptical of religion, "Earlier in his career he had rejected mysticism, often poking fun at it in his novels [...]" Gerald Heard became an influential friend of Huxley, and since the mid-1920s had been exploring Vedanta, as
2775-449: A man to say that he is certain of the objective truth of any proposition unless he can produce evidence which logically justifies that certainty.” Aldous Huxley's agnosticism, together with his speculative propensity, made it difficult for him fully embrace any form of institutionalised religion. Over the last 30 years of his life, he accepted and wrote about concepts found in Vedanta and was
2960-609: A mutual agreement that they should end their live act, claiming Morrison was ready to retire from performing. Despite Morrison's conviction and the fallout from their appearance in New Orleans, the Doors set out to reclaim their status as a premier act with the album L.A. Woman , recorded in Los Angeles in 1971. The album included rhythm guitarist Marc Benno on several tracks and prominently featured bassist Jerry Scheff , best known for his work in Elvis Presley 's TCB Band . Despite
3145-478: A new lead singer. They formed the Butts Band in 1973 there, signing with Blue Thumb Records . They released an album titled Butts Band the same year, then disbanded in 1975 after a second album with Phil Chen on bass. Manzarek made three solo albums from 1974 to 1983 and formed a band called Nite City in 1975, which released two albums in 1977–1978. Krieger released six solo albums from 1977 to 2010. In 2002,
3330-414: A new song in 2012, of which Manzarek said, "I like to say this is the first new Doors track of the 21st century". The recording session and song are part of a documentary film, Re:GENERATION , which recruited five popular DJs/producers to work with artists from five separate genres and had them record new music. Manzarek and Skrillex had an immediate musical connection: "Sonny plays his beat, all he had to do
3515-639: A number of original songs and distinctive cover versions , such as their rendition of " Alabama Song " from Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill 's opera 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 ". On the evening of December 9, 1967, during a concert in New Haven, Connecticut , Morrison
3700-470: A producer tell the band they would never appear on his show again, and their planned six further bookings were canceled. In a defiant tone, Morrison said to the producer, "Hey man. So what? We just did the Sullivan Show!" By the release of their second album, Strange Days , the Doors had become one of the most popular rock bands in the U.S. Their blend of blues and dark psychedelic rock included
3885-511: A return to a more conventional direction after the experimental The Soft Parade , with their fifth LP Morrison Hotel in 1970. Featuring a consistent blues rock sound, the album's opener was " Roadhouse Blues ". The record reached No. 4 in the United States and revived their status among their core fanbase and the rock press. Dave Marsh , the editor of Creem magazine, said of the album: "the most horrifying rock and roll I have ever heard. When they're good, they're simply unbeatable. I know this
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#17328585088754070-445: A rock star, as "a great poet"; she constantly encouraged him and pushed him to write. Courson attended his concerts and focused on supporting his career. Like Morrison, she was described by many as fiery, determined and attractive, as someone who was tough despite appearing fragile. Manzarek called Pamela "Jim's other half" and said, "I never knew another person who could so complement his bizarreness." After her death in 1974, Courson
4255-445: A screenwriter, and that he used much of it to transport Jewish and left-wing writer and artist refugees from Hitler's Germany to the US. In March 1938, Huxley's friend Anita Loos , a novelist and screenwriter, put him in touch with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), which hired him for Madame Curie which was originally to star Greta Garbo and be directed by George Cukor . (Eventually, the film
4440-665: A seal of legend and immortality. There was no opportunity for the band to go into the seventies intact. Perhaps that's a good thing. I can't imagine the Doors in the era of disco . L.A. Woman ' s follow up album, Other Voices , was being planned while Morrison was in Paris. The band assumed he would return to help them finish the album. After Morrison died, the surviving members considered replacing him with several new people, such as Paul McCartney on bass, and Iggy Pop on vocals. But after neither of these worked out, Krieger and Manzarek took over lead vocal duties themselves. Other Voices
4625-474: A series of black-and-white photos of a shirtless Morrison in a photo shoot known as "The Young Lion" photo session. These photographs are considered among the most iconic images of Jim Morrison and are frequently used as covers for compilation albums, books, and other memorabilia related to Morrison and the Doors. The Doors achieved national recognition in 1967 after signing with Elektra Records . The single " Light My Fire " spent three weeks at number one on
4810-454: A way of understanding individual human life and the individual's relationship to the universe. Heard and Huxley both saw the political implications of Vedanta, which could help bring about peace, specifically that there is an underlying reality that all humans and the universe are a part of. In the 1930s, Huxley and Gerald Heard both became active in the effort to avoid another world war, writing essays and eventually publicly speaking in support of
4995-525: A wealth of intimate detail. Never have the casual and unstudied utterances of a great religious teacher been set down with so minute a fidelity." In 1944, Huxley wrote the introduction to the Bhagavad Gita – The Song of God , translated by Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood, which was published by the Vedanta Society of Southern California. As an advocate of the perennial philosophy, Huxley
5180-471: A writer and broadcaster, philosopher and interpreter of contemporary science. Heard was nearly five years older than Huxley, and introduced him to a variety of profound ideas, subtle interconnections, and various emerging spiritual and psychotherapy methods. Works of this period included novels about the dehumanising aspects of scientific progress , (his magnum opus Brave New World ), and on pacifist themes ( Eyeless in Gaza ). In Brave New World , set in
5365-573: A year after Other Voices during the spring of 1972, and the album was released in August 1972. For the tours during this period, the Doors enlisted Jack Conrad on bass (who had played on several tracks on both Other Voices and Full Circle ) as well as Bobby Ray Henson on rhythm guitar. They began a European tour covering France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, including an appearance on
5550-517: Is doubly valuable; it is valuable because it gives the experiencer a better understanding of himself and the world and because it may help him to lead a less self-centered and more creative life." Having tried LSD in the 1950s, he became an advisor to Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert in their early-1960s research work with psychedelic drugs at Harvard. Personality differences led Huxley to distance himself from Leary, when Huxley grew concerned that Leary had become too keen on indiscriminately promoting
5735-521: Is regarded by music critics and fans as one of the most influential frontmen in rock history. Since his death, his fame has endured as one of popular culture's top rebellious and oft-displayed icons , representing the generation gap and youth counterculture . Together with keyboardist Ray Manzarek , Morrison founded the Doors in 1965 in Venice, California . The group spent two years in obscurity until shooting to prominence with their number-one hit single in
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5920-619: Is seen on a beach and Morrison is lip-synching the song in playback. The music video did not gain any commercial success and the performance fell into relative obscurity. It was not until they appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show that they gained attention on television. The Doors made their international television debut on October 16, 1967, performing a live version of "The End" for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) at their Parliament Street Colour Studio in Toronto. It
6105-603: Is the best record I've listened to ... so far". Rock Magazine called it "without any doubt their ballsiest (and best) album to date". Circus magazine praised it as "possibly the best album yet from the Doors" and "good hard, evil rock, and one of the best albums released this decade". The album also saw Morrison returning as main songwriter, writing or co-writing all of the album's tracks. The 40th anniversary CD reissue of Morrison Hotel contains outtakes and alternative takes, including different versions of "The Spy" and "Roadhouse Blues" (with Lonnie Mack on bass guitar and
6290-591: Is the unmanifested principle of all manifestations. That the Ground is at once transcendent and immanent. That it is possible for human beings to love, know and, from virtually, to become actually identical with the divine Ground. That to achieve this unitive knowledge of the Godhead is the final end and purpose of human existence. That there is a Law or Dharma which must be obeyed, a Tao or Way which must be followed, if men are to achieve their final end. For Huxley, one of
6475-613: The Billboard Hot 100 chart in July/August 1967, a far cry from the Doors opening for Simon and Garfunkel or playing at a high school as they did in Connecticut that same year. Later on, the Doors appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show , a popular Sunday night variety series that had given the Beatles and Elvis Presley national exposure. Ed Sullivan requested two songs from the Doors for
6660-508: The Dinner Key Auditorium in the Coconut Grove neighborhood of Miami, Florida, the Doors gave the most controversial and consequential performance of their career, one that nearly "derailed the band". The auditorium was a converted seaplane hangar that had no air conditioning on that hot night, and the seats had been removed by the promoter to boost ticket sales. Morrison had been drinking all day and had missed connecting flights to Miami. By
6845-543: The Maharishi Mahesh Yogi 's meditation practices at the time, attending scheduled classes, but Morrison was not involved in these series of classes. Morrison was inspired to name the band after the title of Aldous Huxley 's book The Doors of Perception (a reference to the unlocking of doors of perception through psychedelic drug use). Huxley's own concept was based on a quotation from William Blake 's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell , in which Blake wrote: "If
7030-541: The McCarran Act , the judge had to adjourn the proceedings. He withdrew his application. Nevertheless, he remained in the U.S. In 1959, Huxley turned down an offer to be made a Knight Bachelor by the Macmillan government without giving a reason; his brother Julian had been knighted in 1958, while his brother Andrew would be knighted in 1974. In the fall semester of 1960 Huxley was invited by Professor Huston Smith to be
7215-644: The Peace Pledge Union . But, they remained frustrated by the conflicting goals of the political left – some favoring pacifism (as did Huxley and Heard), while other wanting to take up arms against fascism in the Spanish Civil War . After joining the PPU, Huxley expressed his frustration with politics in a letter from 1935, “…the thing finally resolves itself into a religious problem — an uncomfortable fact which one must be prepared to face and which I have come during
7400-594: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame , and for several one-off projects in the 21st century. In 2002, Manzarek, Krieger, and Ian Astbury of the Cult on vocals started performing as "The Doors of the 21st Century". Densmore and the Morrison estate successfully sued them over the use of the band's name. After a short time as Riders on the Storm, they settled on the name Manzarek–Krieger and toured until Manzarek's death in 2013. The Doors were
7585-657: The Vedanta Society of Southern California , founded and headed by Swami Prabhavananda . Together with Gerald Heard, Christopher Isherwood and other followers, he was initiated by the Swami and was taught meditation and spiritual practices. From 1941 until 1960, Huxley contributed 48 articles to Vedanta and the West , published by the society. He also served on the editorial board with Isherwood, Heard, and playwright John Van Druten from 1951 through 1962. In 1942 The Gospel of Ramakrishna
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7770-557: The era's counterculture . The band took its name from the title of the English writer Aldous Huxley 's book The Doors of Perception , itself a reference to a quote by the English poet William Blake . After signing with Elektra Records in 1966, the Doors with Morrison recorded and released six studio albums in five years, some of which are generally considered among the greatest of all time, including their debut The Doors (1967), Strange Days (1967), and L.A. Woman (1971). Dubbed
7955-652: The " 100 Greatest Artists of All Time ". The Doors began with a chance meeting between acquaintances Jim Morrison and Ray Manzarek on Venice Beach in July 1965. They recognized each other as they had both attended the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television . Morrison confided in Manzarek that he had been writing songs. As Morrison would later relate to Jerry Hopkins in Rolling Stone , "Those first five or six songs I wrote, I
8140-536: The "Kings of Acid Rock", they were one of the most successful bands of their time and by 1972, the Doors had sold over 4 million albums domestically and nearly 8 million singles. Morrison died in uncertain circumstances in 1971. The band continued as a trio, releasing two more albums until disbanding in 1973. In 1978, they reformed for the album An American Prayer , which combined new music with Morrison's recitings of his poetry recorded in 1969 and 1970. They reunited again briefly in 1993 when they were inducted into
8325-399: The "little man in blue". It was an obscenity-laced account to the audience, describing what had happened backstage and taunting the police, who were surrounding the stage. Later, the police lieutenant approached Morrison, during which Morrison thrust the microphone against his mouth and remarked, "Say your thing, man." The concert came to an abrupt end when Morrison was dragged from the stage by
8510-403: The 1930s, connected with him again in the U.S. in the early 1960s and wrote that "the enormous intellect, the beautifully modulated voice, the gentle objectivity, all were unchanged. He was one of the most highly civilized human beings I had ever met." Biographer Harold H. Watts wrote that Huxley's writings in the "final and extended period of his life" are "the work of a man who is meditating on
8695-537: The Bates method and the extreme and pure natural lighting of the southwestern American desert. He reported that, for the first time in more than 25 years, he was able to read without glasses and without strain. He even tried driving a car along the dirt road beside the ranch. He wrote a book about his experiences with the Bates method, The Art of Seeing , which was published in 1942 (U.S.), 1943 (UK). The book contained some generally disputed theories, and its publication created
8880-694: The Carnegie Visiting professor of humanities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). As part of the MIT centennial program of events organised by the Department of Humanities, Huxley presented a series of lectures titled, "What a Piece of Work is a Man" which concerned history, language, and art. Robert S. de Ropp (scientist, humanitarian, and author), who had spent time with Huxley in England in
9065-523: The Cult , Travis Meeks , Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots , and Scott Stapp of Creed . On May 29, 2007, Perry Farrell's group the Satellite Party released its first album Ultra Payloaded on Columbia Records . It featured "Woman in the Window", a new song with a pre-recorded vocal performance by Morrison. Manzarek along with Krieger, Densmore and DJ/producer Skrillex ( Sonny Moore ) recorded
9250-682: The DVD Live at the Hollywood Bowl . While in Los Angeles, Morrison spent time with Mick Jagger , discussing their mutual hesitation and awkwardness about dancing in front of an audience, with Jagger asking Morrison's advice on "how to work for a big crowd". On September 6 and 7, 1968, the Doors played in Europe for the first time, with four performances at the Roundhouse in London with Jefferson Airplane , which
9435-490: The Doors disbanded in 1973. The third post-Morrison album, An American Prayer , was released in 1978. It consisted of the band adding musical backing tracks to previously recorded spoken word performances of Morrison reciting his poetry. The record was a commercial success, acquiring a platinum certificate. Two years later, it was nominated for a Grammy Award in the "Spoken Word Album" category, but it ultimately lost to John Gielgud 's The Ages of Man . An American Prayer
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#17328585088759620-509: The Doors for copyright infringement; however, songwriter Ray Davies ultimately chose not to sue. Kinks guitarist Dave Davies was particularly irritated by the similarity. In concert, Morrison was occasionally dismissive of the song, leaving the vocals to Manzarek, as can be seen in the documentary The Doors Are Open . A month after a riotous concert at the Singer Bowl in New York City,
9805-399: The Doors gave a memorable performance of "Light My Fire" on The Ed Sullivan Show . According to Manzarek, network executives asked that the word "higher" be removed, due to a possible reference to drug use. The group appeared to acquiesce, but performed the song in its original form, because either they had never intended to comply with the request or Jim Morrison was nervous and forgot to make
9990-462: The Doors unless Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam was the lead singer. Jim Morrison James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, songwriter and poet who was the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band The Doors . Due to his energetic persona, poetic lyrics, distinctive voice, erratic and unpredictable performances, along with the dramatic circumstances surrounding his life and early death, Morrison
10175-520: The Doors' forthcoming album. Released in July 1969, The Soft Parade was their first-and-only to feature brass and string arrangements. The concept was suggested by Rothchild to the band, after listening to many examples by various groups who also explored the same radical departure. Both jazz-influenced Densmore and Manzarek agreed with the recommendation, but Morrison declined to incorporate orchestral accompaniment on his compositions. The lead single, "Touch Me", featured saxophonist Curtis Amy . While
10360-405: The Doors' last public performance with Morrison, at The Warehouse in New Orleans, on December 12, 1970, Morrison apparently had a breakdown on stage. Midway through the set he slammed the microphone numerous times into the stage floor until the platform beneath was destroyed, then sat down and refused to perform for the remainder of the show. After the concert, Densmore, Manzarek and Krieger came to
10545-541: The Doors, recorded a six-song demo on September 2, 1965, at World Pacific Studios in Los Angeles. The band took their name from the title of Aldous Huxley 's book The Doors of Perception , itself derived from a line in William Blake 's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell : "If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is: infinite". In late 1965, after Manzarek's two brothers left, guitarist Robby Krieger joined. From February to May 1966,
10730-837: The Garsington lifestyle. Jobs were very scarce, but in 1919, John Middleton Murry was reorganising the Athenaeum and invited Huxley to join the staff. He accepted immediately, and quickly married the Belgian refugee Maria Nys (1899–1955), also at Garsington. They lived with their young son in Italy part of the time during the 1920s, where Huxley would visit his friend D. H. Lawrence . Following Lawrence's death in 1930 (he and Maria were present at his death in Provence), Huxley edited Lawrence's letters (1932). Very early in 1929, in London, Huxley met Gerald Heard ,
10915-525: The German show Beat-Club . Like Other Voices , Full Circle did not perform as well commercially as their previous albums. While Full Circle was notable for adding elements of funk and jazz to the usual Doors sound, the band struggled with Manzarek and Krieger leading (neither of the post-Morrison albums had reached the Top 10 while all six of their albums with Morrison had). Once their contract with Elektra had lapsed
11100-558: The Highway", among other songs, may have been written about her. Though the relationship was "tumultuous" much of the time, and both also had relationships with others, they always maintained a unique and ongoing connection with one another until the end of Morrison's life. Throughout his career, Morrison had regular sexual and romantic encounters with fans (including groupies ) such as Pamela Des Barres , as well as ongoing affairs with other musicians, writers, and photographers involved in
11285-456: The London Fog the band "became this collective entity, this unit of oneness ... that is where the magic began to happen." The group soon graduated to the more esteemed Whisky a Go Go after being booked by Ronnie Haran, where they were the house band (starting from May 1966), supporting acts, including Van Morrison 's group Them . On their last night together the two bands joined up for " In
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#173285850887511470-508: The Lovin' Spoonful 's John Sebastian on harmonica). July 1970 saw the release of the group's first live album, Absolutely Live , which peaked at No. 8 position on the charts. The record was completed by producer Rothchild, who confirmed that the album's final mixing consisted of many bits and pieces from various and different band concerts. "There must be 2000 edits on that album," he told an interviewer years later. Absolutely Live also includes
11655-591: The Midnight Hour " and a twenty-minute jam session of " Gloria ". On August 10, 1966, they were spotted by Elektra Records president Jac Holzman , who was present at the recommendation of Love singer Arthur Lee , whose group was with Elektra Records. After Holzman and producer Paul A. Rothchild saw two sets of the band playing at the Whisky a Go Go, they signed them to the Elektra Records label on August 18 —
11840-480: The Other Side) ", which was their first single release. The film featured the four group members playing the song on a darkened set with alternating views and close-ups of the performers while Morrison lip-synched the lyrics. Morrison and the Doors continued to make short music films, including " The Unknown Soldier ", " Strange Days " and " People Are Strange ". On September 18, 1967, photographer Joel Brodsky took
12025-586: The Rolling Stones in concert. Both Morrison and his friend and traveling companion Tom Baker were charged with "interfering with the flight of an intercontinental aircraft and public drunkenness". If convicted of the most serious charge, Morrison could have faced a ten-year federal prison sentence for the incident. The charges were dropped in April 1970 after an airline stewardess reversed her testimony to say she mistakenly identified Morrison as Baker. The Doors staged
12210-542: The Sun became their first and only album to reach number 1 on the US charts, and the single " Hello, I Love You " (one of the six songs performed by the band on their 1965 Aura Records demo) was their second US No. 1 single. Following the 1968 release of "Hello, I Love You", the publisher of the Kinks ' 1964 hit " All Day and All of the Night " announced they were planning legal action against
12395-561: The Theater Arts department of the College of Fine Arts in 1965. Refusing to attend the graduation ceremony, he went to Venice Beach in Los Angeles, and the university later mailed his diploma to his mother in Coronado, California . He made several short films while attending UCLA. First Love , the first of these films, made with Morrison's classmate and roommate Max Schwartz, was released to
12580-624: The U.S., mainly southern California , until his death, and for a time in Taos, New Mexico , where he wrote Ends and Means (1937). The book contains tracts on war , inequality , religion and ethics . Heard introduced Huxley to Vedanta ( Upanishad-centered philosophy ), meditation , and vegetarianism through the principle of ahimsa . In 1938, Huxley befriended Jiddu Krishnamurti , whose teachings he greatly admired. Huxley and Krishnamurti entered into an enduring exchange (sometimes edging on debate) over many years, with Krishnamurti representing
12765-547: The United States and Canada throughout the first half of 1970. The group later made it to the Isle of Wight Festival on August 29; performing on the same day as John Sebastian , Shawn Phillips , Lighthouse , Joni Mitchell , Tiny Tim , Miles Davis , Ten Years After , Emerson, Lake & Palmer , the Who , Sly and the Family Stone and Melanie ; the performance was the last captured on
12950-503: The United States, " Light My Fire ", taken from their self-titled debut album . Morrison recorded a total of six studio albums with the Doors, all of which sold well and many of which received critical acclaim. He frequently gave spoken word poetry passages while the band was playing live. Manzarek said Morrison "embodied hippie counterculture rebellion". Morrison developed an alcohol dependency , which at times affected his performances on stage. In 1971, Morrison died unexpectedly in
13135-409: The art of pure receptivity.... [T]he individual must learn to decondition himself, must be able to cut holes in the fence of verbalized symbols that hems him in." Huxley described himself as agnostic, a word coined by his grandfather Thomas Henry Huxley , a scientist who championed the scientific method and was a major supporter of Darwin's theories. This is the definition he gave, “…it is wrong for
13320-461: The article: For those of us who are not congenitally the members of an organized church, who have found that humanism and nature-worship are not enough, who are not content to remain in the darkness of ignorance, the squalor of vice or the other squalor of respectability, the minimum working hypothesis would seem to run to about this: That there is a Godhead, Ground, Brahman, Clear Light of the Void, which
13505-419: The attractive features of Vedanta is that it provided a historic and established philosophy and practice that embraced the Perennial Philosophy ; that there is a commonality of experiences across all the mystical branches of the world's religions. Huxley wrote in the introduction of his book The Perennial Philosophy : The Perennial Philosophy is primarily concerned with the one, divine Reality substantial to
13690-411: The band performing " Crawling King Snake " was filmed. As far as is known, this is the last clip of the Doors performing with Morrison. On March 11, 1971, near the end of the mixing of L.A. Woman , Morrison took a leave of absence from the Doors and moved to Paris with Pamela Courson ; he had visited the city the previous summer. On July 3, 1971, following months of residency, Morrison was found dead in
13875-469: The band to a halt. At one point, Morrison removed the hat of an onstage police officer and threw it into the crowd; the officer reacted by taking Morrison's hat and throwing it in the same direction. Manager Bill Siddons recalled, "The gig was a bizarre, circus-like thing, there was this guy carrying a sheep and the wildest people that I'd ever seen." Equipment chief Vince Treanor said, "Somebody jumped up and poured champagne on Jim so he took his shirt off, he
14060-399: The band used several other musicians for this role, often using more than one bassist on the same album. Kerry Magness, Leroy Vinnegar , Harvey Brooks , Ray Neopolitan, Lonnie Mack , Jerry Scheff , Jack Conrad (who played a major role in the post Morrison years touring with the group in 1971 and 1972), Chris Ethridge, Charles Larkey and Leland Sklar are credited as bassists who worked with
14245-506: The band was trying faintly to maintain their previous momentum, efforts to expand their sound gave the album an experimental feel, causing critics to attack their musical integrity. According to Densmore in his biography Riders on the Storm , individual writing credits were noted for the first time because of Morrison's reluctance to sing the lyrics of Krieger's song " Tell All the People ". Morrison's drinking made him difficult and unreliable, and
14430-499: The band's Roadhouse Blues Tour . On December 8, 1970, his 27th birthday, Morrison recorded another poetry session. Part of this would end up on An American Prayer in 1978 with music, and is currently in the possession of the Courson family. Shortly thereafter, a new tour to promote their upcoming album would comprise only three dates. Two concerts were held in Dallas on December 11. During
14615-409: The band's debut album, Strange Days was the first Doors album recorded with a studio musician, playing bass on the majority of the record, and this continued on all subsequent studio albums. Manzarek explained that his keyboard bass was well-suited for live situations but that it lacked the "articulation" needed for studio recording. Douglas Lubahn played on Strange Days and the next two albums; but
14800-405: The band. On December 9, 1967, the Doors performed a now-infamous concert at New Haven Arena in New Haven, Connecticut , which ended abruptly when Morrison was arrested by local police. Morrison became the first rock artist to be arrested onstage during a live performance. Prior to the start of the concert, Morrison was either having a private conversation with or kissing a female fan backstage in
14985-399: The bath by Courson. Despite the absence of an official autopsy, the cause of death was listed as heart failure. He was buried in the "Poets' Corner" of Père Lachaise Cemetery on July 7. Morrison died at age 27, the same age as several other famous rock stars in the 27 Club . In 1974, Morrison's girlfriend Pamela Courson also died at the age of 27. Morrison's passing stamped the Doors with
15170-434: The breakdown in family communications as the result of an argument over his assessment of his son's musical talents. He said he could not blame his son for being reluctant to initiate contact and that he was proud of him. Morrison spoke fondly of his Scottish and Irish ancestry and was inspired by Celtic mythology in his poetry and songs. Celtic Family Magazine revealed in its 2016 Spring Issue that his Morrison clan
15355-430: The central problems of many modern men". Huxley had deeply felt apprehensions about the future the developed world might make for itself. From these, he made some warnings in his writings and talks. In a 1958 televised interview conducted by journalist Mike Wallace , Huxley outlined several major concerns: the difficulties and dangers of world overpopulation; the tendency towards distinctly hierarchical social organisation;
15540-492: The change (the group has given conflicting accounts). Either way, "higher" was sung out on national television, and the show's host, Ed Sullivan , canceled another six shows that had been planned. After the program's producer told the band they would never perform on the show again, Morrison reportedly replied: "Hey man. We just did the Sullivan Show." On December 24, the Doors performed "Light My Fire" and "Moonlight Drive" live for The Jonathan Winters Show . Their performance
15725-488: The circle. Not long afterwards, Huxley wrote his book on widely held spiritual values and ideas, The Perennial Philosophy , which discussed the teachings of renowned mystics of the world. Huxley became a close friend of Remsen Bird, president of Occidental College . He spent much time at the college in the Eagle Rock neighbourhood of Los Angeles. The college appears as "Tarzana College" in his satirical novel After Many
15910-427: The city. During this time, he shaved his beard and lost some of the weight he had gained in the previous months. He also telephoned John Densmore to ask him how L.A. Woman was doing commercially; he was the last band member to ever speak with him. On July 3, 1971, Morrison was found dead in the bathtub of the apartment at approximately 6:00 a.m. by Courson. He was 27 years old. The official cause of death
16095-424: The club's bathrooms after a purported heroin overdose around 2:00 a.m. and that his body was taken away from the club by two men supposed to be the drug dealers. Because of the lack of an autopsy, however, these statements could never be confirmed. According to music journalist Ben Fong-Torres , it was suggested that his death was kept a secret, and the reporters who had telephoned Paris were told that Morrison
16280-467: The concertgoers an obscenity-filled version of the incident. New Haven police arrested him for indecency and public obscenity, but the charges were later dropped. Morrison was the first rock performer arrested onstage. In 1968, the Doors released their third studio album, Waiting for the Sun . On July 5, the band performed at the Hollywood Bowl ; footage from this performance was later released on
16465-409: The criticism to Huxley's widow, Laura: [December 11, 1963, a few weeks after Aldous Huxley’s death] The publisher had suggested John Lehmann should write the biography. Laura [Huxley] asked me what I thought of the idea, so I had to tell her that John disbelieves in, and is aggressive toward, the metaphysical beliefs that Aldous held. All he would describe would be a clever young intellectual who later
16650-424: The crowd with messages of both love and hate, saying, "Love me. I can't take it no more without no good love. I want some lovin'. Ain't nobody gonna love my ass?" and alternately, "You're all a bunch of fuckin' idiots!" and "You’re all a bunch of slaves!" while screaming "What are you gonna do about it?" over and over again. As the band began their second song, "Touch Me", Morrison started shouting in protest, forcing
16835-447: The crowd, simulated oral sex on Krieger, and was drunk at the time of his performance. Morrison turned down a plea bargain that required the Doors to perform a free Miami concert. He was convicted and sentenced to six months in jail with hard labor, and ordered to pay a $ 500 fine. Morrison remained free, pending an appeal of his conviction, and died before the matter was legally resolved. In 2007 Florida Governor Charlie Crist suggested
17020-530: The crucial importance of evaluating the use of technology in mass societies susceptible to persuasion; the tendency to promote modern politicians to a naive public as well-marketed commodities. In a December 1962 letter to brother Julian, summarizing a paper he had presented in Santa Barbara , he wrote, "What I said was that if we didn't pretty quickly start thinking of human problems in ecological terms rather than in terms of power politics we should very soon be in
17205-563: The deaths of Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin . All of these popular musicians died at the age of 27, leading to the emergence of the 27 Club urban legend . Since the date of his demise, there have been a number of conspiracy theories concerning Morrison's death. Morrison's early life was the semi-nomadic existence typical of military families. Jerry Hopkins recorded Morrison's brother, Andy, explaining that his parents had determined never to use corporal punishment such as spanking on their children. They instead instilled discipline by
17390-477: The doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is, infinite." Although Morrison was known as the lyricist of the group, Krieger also made 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 ". On the other hand, Morrison, who did not write most songs using an instrument, would come up with vocal melodies for his own lyrics, with
17575-418: The dressing room, in one version of the story, an angry and defiant Morrison told the band he wasn't changing a word and sang the song with the original lyrics deliberately; in another, Morrison sang mistakenly the unaltered lyric out of anxiety from performing on live television. Either way, Sullivan was unhappy and refused to shake hands with Morrison or any other band member after their performance. He then had
17760-500: The drugs. Differing accounts exist about the details of the quality of Huxley's eyesight at specific points in his life. Circa 1939, Huxley encountered the Bates method , in which he was instructed by Margaret Darst Corbett . In 1940, Huxley relocated from Hollywood to a 40-acre (16 ha) ranchito in the high desert hamlet of Llano, California , in northern Los Angeles County . Huxley then said that his sight improved dramatically with
17945-448: The earliest live recordings of the band to circulate. On November 18, 2008, the Doors published a compilation of these recordings, Live at the Matrix 1967 , on the band's boutique Bright Midnight Archives label. On August 25, 1967, they appeared on American television, guest-starring on the variety TV series Malibu U , performing "Light My Fire", though they did not appear live. The band
18130-961: The end of his life, Huxley was widely acknowledged as one of the foremost intellectuals of his time. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature nine times, and was elected Companion of Literature by the Royal Society of Literature in 1962. Huxley was a pacifist . He grew interested in philosophical mysticism , as well as universalism , addressing these subjects in his works such as The Perennial Philosophy (1945), which illustrates commonalities between Western and Eastern mysticism, and The Doors of Perception (1954), which interprets his own psychedelic experience with mescaline . In his most famous novel Brave New World (1932) and his final novel Island (1962), he presented his visions of dystopia and utopia , respectively. Huxley
18315-998: The event is likely exaggerated, writing that, "he says we saw a dead Indian on the side of the road, and I don't even know if that's true." Raised a military brat , Morrison spent part of his childhood in San Diego , completed third grade at Fairfax Elementary School in Fairfax County, Virginia , and attended Charles H. Flato Elementary School in Kingsville, Texas , while his father was stationed at NAS Kingsville in 1952. He continued at St. John's Methodist School in Albuquerque, New Mexico , and then Longfellow School Sixth Grade Graduation Program in San Diego. In 1957, Morrison attended Alameda High School in Alameda, California for his freshman year and
18500-497: The experience he had there of "an ordered universe in a world of planless incoherence" was an important source for the novel. Huxley completed his first (unpublished) novel at the age of 17 and began writing seriously in his early twenties, establishing himself as a successful writer and social satirist. His first published novels were social satires, Crome Yellow (1921), Antic Hay (1923), Those Barren Leaves (1925), and Point Counter Point (1928). Brave New World (1932)
18685-469: The fan ran away and Morrison was maced; but Manzarek recounts in his book that both Morrison and the fan were sprayed. The Doors' main act was delayed for an hour while Morrison recovered, after which the band took the stage very late. According to music journalist Gillian G. Gaar, the police still did not consider the issue resolved and wanted to charge him. Halfway through the first set, Morrison proceeded to create an improvised song about his experience with
18870-499: The first American band to accumulate eight consecutive Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)-certified Gold LPs. According to the RIAA, they have sold 34 million albums in the United States and over 100 million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling bands of all time . The Doors have been listed as one of the greatest artists of all time by magazines including Rolling Stone , which ranked them 41st on its list of
19055-407: The first members of the Doors, forming the group during that summer. Manzarek narrated the story that he was lying on Venice Beach one day when he coincidentally encountered Morrison. He was impressed with Morrison's poetic lyrics, claiming that they were "rock group" material. Subsequently, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore joined. All three musicians shared a common interest in
19240-400: The first release of the lengthy piece "Celebration of the Lizard". Although the Doors continued to face de facto bans in more conservative American markets and earned new bans at Salt Lake City 's Salt Palace and Detroit's Cobo Hall following tumultuous concerts, the band managed to play 18 concerts in the United States, Mexico and Canada following the Miami incident in 1969, and 23 dates in
19425-579: The first semester of his sophomore year. In 1959, his family returned to Northern Virginia , where he graduated from George Washington High School, now a middle school in Alexandria , in June 1961. While attending George Washington High School, Morrison maintained a grade average of 88 and tested in the top 0.1% with an IQ of 149. Morrison's senior year English teacher later said, "Jim read as much and probably more than any student in class, but everything he read
19610-521: The first time in 15 years to perform in tribute to Manzarek and benefit Stand Up to Cancer . That day would have been Manzarek's 77th birthday. The night featured Exene Cervenka and John Doe of the band X , Rami Jaffee of the Foo Fighters , Stone Temple Pilots ' Robert Deleo, Jane's Addiction 's Stephen Perkins , Emily Armstrong of Dead Sara , Andrew Watt , among others. After Morrison died in 1971, Densmore and Krieger went to London looking for
19795-573: The first week of January 1967. It included the nearly 12-minute musical drama "The End". In November 1966, Mark Abramson directed a promotional film for the lead single " Break On Through (To the Other Side) ". The group also made several television appearances, such as on Shebang , a Los Angeles television show, miming to a playback of "Break On Through". In early 1967, the group appeared on The Clay Cole Show (which aired on Saturday evenings at 6 p.m. on WPIX Channel 11 out of New York City) where they performed their single "Break On Through". Since
19980-901: The form of Morrison's short prose poems. He was also influenced by William S. Burroughs , Jack Kerouac , Allen Ginsberg , Louis-Ferdinand Céline , Lawrence Ferlinghetti , Charles Baudelaire , Vladimir Nabokov , Molière , Franz Kafka , Albert Camus , Honoré de Balzac , Jean Cocteau , and most French existentialist philosophers. Morrison soon transferred to the film program at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he enrolled in Jack Hirschman 's class on Antonin Artaud in UCLA's Comparative Literature program. Artaud's surrealist theater brand profoundly impacted Morrison's dark poetic sensibility of cinematic theatricality. Morrison completed his undergraduate degree at UCLA's film school within
20165-601: The greatest rock singers of all time. Morrison was born on December 8, 1943, in Melbourne, Florida , to Clara Virginia (née Clarke; 1919–2005) and Lt.(j.g.) George Stephen Morrison (1919–2008), a future rear admiral in the United States Navy . His ancestors were Scottish, Irish, and English. In August 1964, Admiral Morrison was commanding U.S. naval forces during the Gulf of Tonkin incident . The following year, in 1965,
20350-521: The group flew to Great Britain for their first performance outside North America. They held a press conference at the ICA Gallery in London and played shows at the Roundhouse . The results of the trip were broadcast on Granada TV 's The Doors Are Open , later released on video. They played dates in Europe, along with Jefferson Airplane , including a show in Amsterdam where Morrison collapsed on stage after
20535-427: The group had a residency at the "rundown" and "sleazy" Los Angeles club London Fog , appearing on the bill with "Rhonda Lane Exotic Dancer". The experience gave Morrison confidence to perform in front of a live audience, and the band as a whole to develop and, in some cases, lengthen their songs and work " The End " and " Light My Fire " into the pieces that would appear on their debut album . Manzarek later said that at
20720-569: The group's third album in April 1968 was marred by tension as a result of Morrison's increasing dependence on alcohol and the rejection of the 17-minute " Celebration of the Lizard " by band producer Paul Rothchild, who considered the work not commercial enough. Approaching the height of their popularity, the Doors played a series of outdoor shows that led to frenzied scenes between fans and police, particularly at Chicago Coliseum on May 10. The band began to branch out from their initial form for this third LP, and began writing new material. Waiting for
20905-445: The handfasting ceremony seriously. She is seen on video saying, "Probably not too seriously". She added, he turned "really cold" when she claimed she became pregnant, leading her to speculate that maybe he had not taken the wedding as seriously as she had. Kennealy showed up unexpectedly in Miami during the indecency trial, and Morrison was curt with her. She later said, "he was scared to death. They were really out to put him away. Jim
21090-851: The head with a bottle of whiskey during a fight in front of witnesses, and thereafter referred to Morrison as "that asshole" whenever his name was brought up in conversation. During her appearance on the Dick Cavett Show in 1969, when host Dick Cavett offered to light her cigarette, asking "May I light your fire , my child?", she jokingly replied, "That's my favorite singer ... I guess not." Rock critic Patricia Kennealy described her fling with Morrison in No One Here Gets Out Alive , Break On Through , and later in Kennealy's own memoir, Strange Days: My Life With and Without Jim Morrison . Kennealy said that Morrison participated in
21275-568: The incident was a leading pretext used to justify U.S. engagement in the Vietnam War . Morrison had a younger sister, Anne Robin, who was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1947, and a younger brother, Andrew Lee Morrison, who was born in Los Altos, California in 1948. In 1947, when he was three to four years old, Morrison allegedly witnessed a car accident in the desert, during which a truck overturned and some Native Americans were lying injured on
21460-584: The last year to find it easier to face.” Huxley and Heard turned their attention to addressing the big problems of the world through transforming the individual, "[...] a forest is only as green as the individual trees of the forest is green [...]" This was the genesis of the Human Potential Movement , that gained traction in the 1960s. In the late 1930s, Huxley and Heard immigrated to the United States, and beginning in 1939 and continuing until his death in 1963, Huxley had an extensive association with
21645-415: The lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." In 1953, Huxley and Maria applied for United States citizenship and presented themselves for examination. When Huxley refused to bear arms for the U.S. and would not state that his objections were based on religious ideals, the only excuse allowed under
21830-673: The manifold world of things and lives and minds. But the nature of this one Reality is such that it cannot be directly and immediately apprehended except by those who have chosen to fulfill certain conditions, making themselves loving, pure in heart, and poor in spirit. Huxley also occasionally lectured at the Hollywood and Santa Barbara Vedanta temples. Two of those lectures have been released on CD: Knowledge and Understanding and Who Are We? from 1955. Many of Huxley's contemporaries and critics were disappointed by Huxley's turn to mysticism; Isherwood describes in his diary how he had to explain
22015-630: The middle of 1965, after graduating with a bachelor's degree from the UCLA film school, Morrison led a bohemian lifestyle in Venice Beach. Living on the rooftop of a building inhabited by his UCLA classmate, Dennis Jakob, he wrote the lyrics of many of the early songs the Doors would later perform live and record on albums, such as " Moonlight Drive " and " Hello, I Love You ". According to fellow UCLA student Ray Manzarek , he lived on canned beans and LSD for several months. Morrison and Manzarek, who had met months earlier as cinematography students, were
22200-443: The military tradition known as "dressing down", which consisted of yelling at and berating the children until they were reduced to tears and acknowledged their failings. Once Morrison graduated from UCLA, he broke off most contact with his family. By the time his music ascended to the top of the charts (in 1967) he had not been in communication with his family for more than a year and falsely claimed that everyone in his immediate family
22385-405: The more rarefied, detached, ivory-tower perspective and Huxley, with his pragmatic concerns, the more socially and historically informed position. Huxley wrote a foreword to Krishnamurti's quintessential statement, The First and Last Freedom (1954). Huxley and Heard became Vedantists in the group formed around Hindu Swami Prabhavananda , and subsequently introduced Christopher Isherwood to
22570-462: The music business. They included Nico ; singer Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane ; and editor Gloria Stavers of 16 Magazine , as well as an alleged alcohol-fueled encounter with Janis Joplin . David Crosby stated many years later that Morrison treated Joplin cruelly at a party at the Calabasas, California , home of John Davidson while Davidson was out of town. She reportedly hit him over
22755-572: The new technology, notably the Moog synthesizer they now had available. The commercial success of Strange Days was middling, peaking at number three on the Billboard album chart but quickly dropping, along with a series of underperforming singles. The chorus from the album's single " People Are Strange " inspired the name of the 2009 documentary of the Doors, When You're Strange . Although session musician Larry Knechtel had occasionally contributed bass on
22940-485: The only road of escape from the self–imposed necessity of self–destruction. As a means of personally realizing the "divine Reality", he described a "Minimum Working Hypothesis" in the Introduction to Swami Prabhavananda's and Christopher Isherwood's translation of the Bhagavad Gita and in a free-standing essay in Vedanta and the West , a publication of Vedanta Press . This is the outline, that Huxley elaborates on in
23125-617: The only source." Morrison went to live with his paternal grandparents in Clearwater, Florida , and attended St. Petersburg Junior College . In 1962, he transferred to Florida State University in Tallahassee , and appeared in a school recruitment film. At Florida State, Morrison was arrested on September 28, 1963, for disturbing the peace and petty larceny while drunk at a home Florida State Seminoles football game at Doak Campbell Stadium . A voracious reader from an early age, Morrison
23310-425: The other band members contributing chords and rhythm. Morrison did not play an instrument live (except for maracas and tambourine for most shows, and harmonica on a few occasions) or in the studio (excluding maracas, tambourine, handclaps , and whistling ). However, he did play the grand piano on " Orange County Suite " and a Moog synthesizer on " Strange Days ". In May 1966, Morrison reportedly attended
23495-454: The police. The audience, already restless from waiting so long for the band to perform, became unruly. Morrison was taken to a local police station, photographed and booked on charges of inciting a riot, indecency and public obscenity. Charges against Morrison, as well as those against three journalists also arrested in the incident ( Mike Zwerin , Yvonne Chabrier and Tim Page ), were dropped several weeks later for lack of evidence. Recording of
23680-447: The possibility of a posthumous pardon for Morrison, which was announced as successful on December 9, 2010. Densmore, Krieger and Manzarek have denied the allegation that Morrison exposed himself on stage that night. Morrison, who was increasingly distancing himself from the music, announced to the other Doors members his intention to quit the group; Manzarek convinced him to stay for six more months, ahead of completing The Soft Parade ,
23865-525: The posthumous publication of J. D. Unwin 's 1940 book Hopousia or The Sexual and Economic Foundations of a New Society . On 21 October 1949, Huxley wrote to George Orwell, author of Nineteen Eighty-Four , congratulating him on "how fine and how profoundly important the book is". In his letter, he predicted: "Within the next generation I believe that the world's leaders will discover that infant conditioning and narcohypnosis are more efficient, as instruments of government, than clubs and prisons, and that
24050-466: The production to Bruce Botnick and the Doors. The title track and two singles (" Love Her Madly " and " Riders on the Storm ") remain mainstays of rock radio programming, with the latter being inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for its special significance to recorded music. In the song "L.A. Woman", Morrison makes an anagram of his name to chant "Mr. Mojo Risin". During the sessions, a short clip of
24235-511: The prominent Huxley family , he graduated from Balliol College, Oxford , with a degree in English literature . Early in his career, he published short stories and poetry and edited the literary magazine Oxford Poetry , before going on to publish travel writing , satire, and screenplays. He spent the latter part of his life in the United States, living in Los Angeles from 1937 until his death. By
24420-558: The public when it appeared in a documentary about the film Obscura . While living in Venice Beach, Morrison befriended writers at the Los Angeles Free Press , and he advocated for the publication until his 1971 death, conducting a lengthy and in-depth interview with Bob Chorush and Andy Kent of the Free Press in December 1970, and was planning to visit the headquarters of the busy newspaper shortly before leaving for Paris. In
24605-587: The publication of The Doors of Perception , in which he recounted this experience, Huxley and Swami Prabhavananda disagreed about the meaning and importance of the psychedelic drug experience, which may have caused the relationship to cool, but Huxley continued to write articles for the society's journal, lecture at the temple, and attend social functions. Huxley later had an experience on mescaline that he considered more profound than those detailed in The Doors of Perception . Huxley wrote that "The mystical experience
24790-412: The recording sessions dragged on for months. Studio costs piled up, and the Doors came close to disintegrating. Despite all this, the album was immensely successful, becoming the band's fourth hit album. During the recording of their next album, Morrison Hotel , in November 1969, Morrison again found himself in trouble with the law after harassing airline staff during a flight to Phoenix, Arizona to see
24975-429: The recording sessions for the album began, producer Paul A. Rothchild – who had overseen all of their previous recordings – left the project, and engineer Bruce Botnick took over as producer. I got a phone call and I didn't believe it because we used to hear shit like that all the time—that Jim jumped off a cliff or something. So we sent our manager off to Paris, and he called and said it
25160-409: The show, "People Are Strange" and "Light My Fire". Sullivan's censors insisted that the Doors change the lyrics of the song "Light My Fire" from "Girl we couldn't get much higher" to "Girl we couldn't get much better" for the television viewers; this was reportedly due to what was perceived as a reference to drugs in the original lyrics. After giving reluctant assurances of compliance to the producer in
25345-432: The side of the road. He referred to this incident in the Doors' song " Peace Frog " from their 1970 album Morrison Hotel , and in his spoken word performances "Dawn's Highway" and "Ghost Song" on the posthumous 1978 album An American Prayer . Morrison described this incident as the most formative event of his life, and made repeated references to it in the imagery in his songs, poems, and interviews. Morrison believed
25530-602: The single acquired only minor recognition, the band turned to "Light My Fire"; it became the first single from Elektra Records to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, selling over one million copies. From March 7 to 11, 1967, the Doors performed at the Matrix Club in San Francisco. The March 7 and 10 shows were recorded by Peter Abram, co-owner of the Matrix. These recordings are notable as they are among
25715-486: The song " Strange 2013 ", appearing on his album Something Else , which features new instrumentation by the band and samples of Morrison's vocals from the song " Strange Days ". In their final collaboration before Manzarek's death, the three surviving Doors provided backing for poet Michael C. Ford 's album Look Each Other in the Ears . On February 12, 2016, at The Fonda Theatre in Hollywood, Densmore and Krieger reunited for
25900-452: The spirits or the ghosts of those "dead Indians leaped into [his] soul," and that he was "like a sponge, ready to sit there and absorb it." Morrison's family does not recall this traffic incident happening in the way he told it. According to the Morrison biography No One Here Gets Out Alive , his family did drive past a car accident on an Indian reservation when he was a child, and he was very upset by it. The book The Doors , written by
26085-458: The start of a long and successful partnership with Rothchild and sound engineer Bruce Botnick . The Doors were fired from the Whisky on August 21, 1966, when Morrison added an explicit retelling and profanity-laden version of the Greek myth of Oedipus during "The End". The Doors recorded their self-titled debut album around August 1966, at Sunset Sound Studios . The record was officially released in
26270-508: The state clemency board unanimously signed a complete posthumous pardon for Morrison. All the other members of the band, along with Doors' road manager Vince Treanor, have insisted that Morrison did not expose himself on stage that night. Following The Soft Parade , the Doors released Morrison Hotel . After a lengthy break, the group reconvened in October 1970 to record their final album with Morrison, titled L.A. Woman . Shortly after
26455-508: The summer of 1962. In a 2005 interview with the St. Petersburg Times , she said Morrison spoke to her before a photo shoot for the Doors' fourth album and told her the first three albums were about her. She also stated in the interview that she was not a fan of the band and never attended a concert by them. Werbelow broke off the relationship in Los Angeles in the summer of 1965, a few months before Morrison began rehearsals. Manzarek said of Werbelow, "She
26640-415: The surviving members of the band, explains how Morrison's account of the incident differed from that of his father, who is quoted as saying, "We went by several Indians. It did make an impression on him. He always thought about that crying Indian." This is contrasted sharply with Morrison's tale of "Indians scattered all over the highway, bleeding to death." In another book, his sister says that his version of
26825-492: The time he arrived, drunk, the concert was over an hour late. The restless crowd of 12,000, packed into a facility designed to hold 7,000, was subjected to undue silences in Morrison's singing, which strained the music from the beginning of the performance. Morrison had recently attended a play by an experimental acting company the Living Theatre and was inspired by their "antagonistic" style of performance art. Morrison taunted
27010-447: The two together formed a new version of the Doors which they called the Doors of the 21st Century . Due to legal battles with Densmore and the Morrison estate over use of the Doors name, they changed their name several times and ultimately toured under the name " Manzarek–Krieger " or "Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger of the Doors". The group toured extensively throughout their career. In July 2007, Densmore announced he would not reunite with
27195-420: The way he would improvise poetry to a rock beat, even his habit of crouching down by the bass drum during instrumental breaks." On the final night, the two Morrisons and their two bands jammed together on " Gloria ". Van later described Jim as being "really raw. He knew what he was doing and could do it very well." In November 1966, Morrison and the Doors produced a promotional film for " Break On Through (To
27380-806: Was 14 (his father later remarried). He contracted the eye disease keratitis punctata in 1911; this "left [him] practically blind for two to three years" and "ended his early dreams of becoming a doctor". In October 1913, Huxley entered Balliol College, Oxford , where he studied English literature. He volunteered for the British Army in January 1916, for the Great War ; however, he was rejected on health grounds, being half-blind in one eye. His eyesight later partly recovered. He edited Oxford Poetry in 1916, and in June of that year graduated BA with first class honours . His brother Julian wrote: I believe his blindness
27565-424: Was Jim's first love. She held a deep place in his soul." Manzarek also noted that Morrison's song "The End" was intended originally to be "a short goodbye love song to Mary," with the longer oedipal middle section a later addition. Morrison spent the majority of his adult life in an open and at times very charged and intense relationship with Pamela Courson. Through to the end, Courson saw Morrison as more than
27750-505: Was a "person graced with a talent" admired by many of his peers. Interviewed by Bob Chorush of the L.A. Free Press , Morrison expressed both bafflement and clarity about the Miami incident: I wasted a lot of time and energy with the Miami trial. About a year and a half. But I guess it was a valuable experience because before the trial, I had a very unrealistic schoolboy attitude about the American judicial system . My eyes have been opened up
27935-474: Was a blessing in disguise. For one thing, it put paid to his idea of taking up medicine as a career ... His uniqueness lay in his universalism. He was able to take all knowledge for his province. Following his years at Balliol, Huxley, being financially indebted to his father, decided to find employment. He taught French for a year at Eton College , where Eric Blair (who was to take the pen name George Orwell ) and Steven Runciman were among his pupils. He
28120-410: Was an active member of the Peace Pledge Union (PPU) . In 1937, Huxley moved to Hollywood with his wife Maria, son Matthew Huxley , and friend Gerald Heard. Cyril Connolly wrote, of the two intellectuals (Huxley and Heard) in the late 1930s, "all European avenues had been exhausted in the search for a way forward – politics, art, science – pitching them both toward the US in 1937." Huxley lived in
28305-399: Was arrested on stage in an incident that further added to his mystique and emphasized his rebellious image. Before the show, a police officer found Morrison and a woman in the showers backstage. Not recognizing the singer, the policeman ordered him to leave, to which Morrison mockingly replied, "Eat me." He was subsequently maced by the officer, and the show was delayed. Once onstage, he told
28490-572: Was based on one that Morrison had written and recorded in early 1969, providing both vocals and piano. The Doors reunited at the turn of the century to record music for the Stoned Immaculate: The Music of The Doors tribute album. Following the sessions, band members reunited in 2000 to perform on VH1 Storytellers . For the live performance, the band was joined by Angelo Barbera and numerous guest vocalists, including Perry Farrell of Jane's Addiction , Pat Monahan , Ian Astbury of
28675-467: Was born in Godalming , Surrey, England, on 26 July 1894. He was the third son of the writer and schoolmaster Leonard Huxley , who edited The Cornhill Magazine , and his first wife, Julia Arnold , who founded Prior's Field School . Julia was the niece of poet and critic Matthew Arnold and the sister of Mrs. Humphry Ward . Julia named him Aldous after a character in one of her sister's novels. Aldous
28860-590: Was buried by her family as Pamela Susan Morrison. Her parents petitioned the court for inheritance of Morrison's estate. The probate court in California judged that she and Morrison had what qualified as a common-law marriage . Morrison's will at the time of his death named Courson as the sole heir. Morrison dedicated his published poetry books The Lords and New Creatures and the lost writings Wilderness to Courson. A number of writers have speculated that songs like " Love Street ", "Orange County Suite" and "Queen of
29045-505: Was completed by MGM in 1943 with a different director and cast.) Huxley received screen credit for Pride and Prejudice (1940) and was paid for his work on a number of other films, including Jane Eyre (1944). He was commissioned by Walt Disney in 1945 to write a script based on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and the biography of the story's author, Lewis Carroll . The script was not used, however. Huxley wrote an introduction to
29230-448: Was convicted of indecent exposure and profanity by a six-person jury in Miami after a sixteen-day trial. Morrison, who attended the October 30 sentencing "in a wool jacket adorned with Indian designs", silently listened as he was sentenced to six months in prison and had to pay a $ 500 fine. However, Morrison remained free on a $ 50,000 bond while the verdict was being appealed. At the sentencing, Judge Murray Goodman told Morrison that he
29415-409: Was corrupted by Hollywood and went astray after spooks. In early 1953, Huxley had his first experience with the psychedelic drug mescaline . Huxley had initiated a correspondence with Doctor Humphry Osmond , a British psychiatrist then employed in a Canadian institution, and eventually asked him to supply a dose of mescaline; Osmond obliged and supervised Huxley's session in southern California. After
29600-449: Was dead (or claimed that he was an only child). However, Morrison told Hopkins in a 1969 interview for Rolling Stone magazine that he did this because he did not want to involve his family in his musical career. His sister similarly believed that "he did it to protect my dad, who was moving up in the Navy, and to keep his life separate, not to shake it up on both sides." Morrison's father
29785-509: Was described by his brother, Julian, as someone who frequently contemplated "the strangeness of things". According to his cousin and contemporary Gervas Huxley, he had an early interest in drawing . Huxley's education began in his father's well-equipped botanical laboratory, after which he enrolled at Hillside School near Godalming. He was taught there by his own mother for several years until she became terminally ill. After Hillside he went on to Eton College . His mother died in 1908, when he
29970-475: Was devastated that he wasn't getting any public support." Morrison moved to Paris with Pamela and never had his day in court due to his unexpected passing while living there. Aldous Huxley Aldous Leonard Huxley ( / ˈ ɔː l d ə s / AWL -dəs ; 26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. His bibliography spans nearly 50 books, including non-fiction works , as well as essays, narratives , and poems. Born into
30155-552: Was drawn to the Gita , as he explained in the Introduction, written during WWII, when it was still not clear who would win: The Bhagavad Gita is perhaps the most systematic scriptural statement of the Perennial Philosophy. To a world at war, a world that, because it lacks the intellectual and spiritual prerequisites to peace, can only hope to patch up some kind of precarious armed truce, it stands pointing, clearly and unmistakably, to
30340-609: Was especially drawn to the look and posture of the ancient Greek king Alexander the Great . In June 1966, Morrison and the Doors were the opening act at the Whisky a Go Go in the last week of the residency of Van Morrison 's band Them . Van's influence on Jim's developing stage performance was later noted by Brian Hinton in his book Celtic Crossroads: The Art of Van Morrison : "Jim Morrison learned quickly from his near namesake's stagecraft, his apparent recklessness, his air of subdued menace,
30525-440: Was filmed by Granada Television for the television documentary The Doors Are Open , directed by John Sheppard. Around this time, Morrison – who had long been a heavy drinker – started showing up for recording sessions visibly inebriated . He was also frequently appearing in live performances and studio recordings late or stoned. By early 1969, the formerly svelte Morrison had gained weight, grown
30710-553: Was finally completed in August 1971, and released in October 1971. The record featured the single "Tightrope Ride", which received some radio airplay. The trio began performing again with additional supporting members on November 12, 1971, at Pershing Municipal Auditorium in Lincoln, Nebraska, followed by shows at Carnegie Hall on November 23, and the Hollywood Palladium on November 26. The recordings for Full Circle took place
30895-641: Was his fifth novel and first dystopian work. In the 1920s, he was also a contributor to Vanity Fair and British Vogue magazines. During the First World War , Huxley spent much of his time at Garsington Manor near Oxford, home of Lady Ottoline Morrell , working as a farm labourer. While at the Manor, he met several Bloomsbury Group figures, including Bertrand Russell , Alfred North Whitehead , and Clive Bell . Later, in Crome Yellow (1921), he caricatured
31080-446: Was just taking notes at a fantastic rock concert that was going on inside my head. And once I'd written the songs, I had to sing them." With Manzarek's encouragement, Morrison sang the opening words of " Moonlight Drive ": "Let's swim to the moon, let's climb through the tide, penetrate the evening that the city sleeps to hide." Manzarek was inspired, thinking of the music he could play to accompany these "cool and spooky" lyrics. Manzarek
31265-524: Was listed as heart failure, although no autopsy was performed as it was not required by French law . Courson said that Morrison's last words , as he was bathing, were, "Pam, are you still there?" Several individuals who say they were eyewitnesses, including Marianne Faithfull , claim that his death was due to an accidental heroin overdose. Sam Bernett, founder and manager of the Rock 'n' Roll Circus night club, affirmed that he had found Morrison unconscious in
31450-518: Was mainly remembered as being an incompetent schoolmaster unable to keep order in class. Nevertheless, Blair and others spoke highly of his excellent command of language. Huxley also worked for a time during the 1920s at Brunner and Mond , an advanced chemical plant in Billingham in County Durham, northeast England. According to an introduction to his science fiction novel Brave New World (1932),
31635-483: Was not deceased but tired and resting at a hospital. Morrison's friend, film director Agnès Varda , admitted that she was the one who was responsible for hiding the incident from becoming public. In her last media interview before her death in 2019, Varda confirmed that she was one of the only four mourners to attend Morrison's burial. Morrison's death came two years to the day after the death of Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones and approximately nine months after
31820-565: Was not supportive of his career in music. One day, Andy brought over a record thought to have Morrison on the cover, which was the Doors' debut album . Upon hearing the record, Morrison's father wrote him a letter telling him "to give up any idea of singing or any connection with a music group because of what I consider to be a complete lack of talent in this direction." In a letter to the Florida Probation and Parole Commission District Office dated October 2, 1970, Admiral Morrison acknowledged
32005-664: Was originally from the Isle of Lewis in Scotland, while his Irish side, the Clelland clan who married into the Morrison line, were from County Down in Northern Ireland. Morrison was sought after by many as a photographer's model, confidant, romantic partner and sexual conquest. He had several serious relationships and many casual encounters. By many accounts, he could also be inconsistent with his partners, displaying what some recall as "a dual personality". Rothchild recalls, "Jim really
32190-533: Was particularly inspired by the writings of several philosophers and poets. He was influenced by Friedrich Nietzsche , whose views on aesthetics, morality, and the Apollonian and Dionysian duality would appear in his conversation, poetry, and songs. Some of his formative influences were Plutarch 's Parallel Lives and the works of the French Symbolist poet Arthur Rimbaud , whose style would later influence
32375-399: Was play the one thing. I listened to it and I said, 'Holy shit, that's strong'." Manzarek formulates, "Basically, it's a variation on ' Milestones ', by Miles Davis , and if I do say so myself, sounds fucking great, hot as hell." The track, called " Breakn' a Sweat ", was recorded for Skrillex's EP Bangarang . In 2013, the remaining members of the Doors recorded with rapper Tech N9ne for
32560-547: Was published by the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center in New York. The book was translated by Swami Nikhilananda , with help from Joseph Campbell and Margaret Woodrow Wilson , daughter of US president Woodrow Wilson. Aldous Huxley wrote in the foreword, "...a book unique, so far as my knowledge goes, in the literature of hagiography. Never have the small events of a contemplative's daily life been described with such
32745-446: Was re-mastered and re-released with bonus tracks in 1995. In 1993, the Doors were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame . In the ceremony, Manzarek, Krieger and Densmore reunited to perform "Roadhouse Blues", "Break On Through" and "Light My Fire". Eddie Vedder filled in on lead vocals, while Don Was played bass. For the 1997 boxed set , the surviving members of the Doors reconvened to complete "Orange County Suite". The track
32930-561: Was recorded in September when they were in Toronto and transmitted on the show O'Keefe Centre Presents . The misconception that it was at the O'Keefe Centre stems mostly from the title, as the venue shown in the video has a dance floor, which the Centre didn't have. But after its initial broadcasts, the performance remained unreleased except in bootleg form until the release of The Doors Soundstage Performances DVD in 2002. On September 17, 1967,
33115-506: Was so offbeat I had another teacher (who was going to the Library of Congress ) check to see if the books Jim was reporting on actually existed. I suspected he was making them up, as they were English books on sixteenth- and seventeenth-century demonology . I'd never heard of them, but they existed, and I'm convinced from the paper he wrote that he read them, and the Library of Congress would've been
33300-535: Was soaking wet. 'Let's see a little skin, let's get naked,' he said, and the audience started taking their clothes off." Having removed his shirt, Morrison held it in front of his groin area and started to make hand movements behind it. Manzarek described the incident as a mass "religious hallucination". On March 5, the Dade County Sheriff's office issued a warrant for Morrison's arrest, claiming Morrison had exposed his penis while on stage, shouted obscenities to
33485-543: Was taped for later broadcast. From December 26 to 28, the group played at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco; during one set, in the middle of " Back Door Man ", the band stopped performing to watch themselves on The Jonathan Winters Show on a television set wheeled onto the stage. The Doors spent several weeks in Sunset Studios in Los Angeles recording their second album, Strange Days , experimenting with
33670-429: Was the grandson of Thomas Henry Huxley , the zoologist , agnostic , and controversialist who had often been called "Darwin's Bulldog". His brother Julian Huxley and half-brother Andrew Huxley also became outstanding biologists. Aldous had another brother, Noel Trevenen Huxley (1889–1914), who took his own life after a period of clinical depression . As a child, Huxley's nickname was "Ogie", short for "Ogre". He
33855-541: Was then in an unsuccessful band called Rick & the Ravens with his brothers Rick and Jim, while drummer John Densmore was playing with the Psychedelic Rangers and knew Manzarek from meditation classes. Densmore joined the group later in August 1965. Together, they combined varied musical backgrounds, from jazz , rock, blues , and folk music idioms. The five, along with bass player Patty Sullivan, and now christened
34040-546: Was true. –Robby Krieger, recalling when the band learned about Morrison's death. After recording L.A. Woman with the Doors in Los Angeles, Morrison announced to the band his intention to go to Paris. His bandmates generally felt it was a good idea. In March 1971, he joined girlfriend Pamela Courson in Paris at an apartment she had rented at 17–19, Rue Beautreillis in Le Marais , 4th arrondissement . In letters to friends, he described going alone for long walks through
34225-500: Was two very distinct and different people. A Jekyll and Hyde . When he was sober, he was Jekyll, the most erudite, balanced, friendly kind of guy ... He was Mr. America. When he would start to drink, he'd be okay at first, then, suddenly, he would turn into a maniac. Turn into Hyde." One of Morrison's early significant relationships was with Mary Werbelow, whom he met on the beach in Clearwater, Florida, when they were teenagers in
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