Jim Morrison 059

Look closer for four lyrics and seven song titles: “Girl, you gotta love your man.” (Riders on the Storm); “Woke up this morning and I got myself a beer.” (Roadhouse Blues); “When you’re strange” (People Are Strange); “Seven horses seem to be on their mark.” (Love Her Madly); Break On Through; Light My Fire; Love Me Two Times; Hello I Love You; L.A. Woman; Riders On The Storm; Touch Me.

James Douglas Morrison (12/8/1943 – 7/3/1971), an American singer, poet, songwriter was lead vocalist of the Doors. His wild personality, poetic lyrics, distinctive voice, unpredictable, erratic performances, the dramatic circumstances surrounding his life and early death, makes Morrison by music critics and fans, one of the most influential frontmen in rock history. Since his death, his fame endured as one of popular culture’s top rebellious and oft-displayed icons, representing the generation gap, youth counterculture. Manzarek said he “embodied hippie counterculture rebellion”.

Together with pianist Ray Manzarek, Morrison founded the Doors in 1965 in Venice, California. The group spent two years in obscurity until the prominence of the number-one single in the United States, “Light My Fire”, from their self-titled debut album. Morrison recorded a total of six studio albums with the Doors, all sold well receiving critical acclaim. Morrison improvised poetry while they played live. 

Morrison developed an alcohol dependency, which at times affected his performances on stage. In 1971, Morrison died in Paris at the age of 27. No autopsy was performed. The cause of Morrison’s death is disputed.

The Doors recorded two albums after Morrison died. His death affected the band’s fortunes. They split up two years later. Rolling Stone readers’ pick (2011) placed Jim Morrison 5th place, “Best Lead Singers of All Time”. Another Rolling Stone list, “The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time”, he was 47th. He was 22^nd on Classic Rock magazine’s “50 Greatest Singers in Rock”. In 1993, Morrison was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Doors.

Poetry and Film

Morrison began writing during adolescence. At UCLA he studied the related fields of theater, film, and cinematography. He self-published two volumes of his poetry in 1969, titled The Lords / Notes on Vision and The New Creatures. The Lords has brief descriptions of places, people, events, and Morrison’s thoughts on cinema. The New Creatures is more poetic in structure, feel and appearance. The two books were combined and titled The Lords and The New Creatures and were the only writings published during his lifetime. Morrison’s friend, Beat poet Michael McClure, wrote the afterword for Jerry Hopkins’ biography of Morrison, No One Here Gets Out Alive. McClure and Morrison collaborated on several unmade film projects, including a film version of McClure’s play The Beard, in which Morrison would have played Billy the Kid.

The Lost Writings of Jim Morrison Volume I titled Wilderness, was released 1988, a New York Times Bestseller. Volume II, The American Night, released 1990, was also a success. Morrison recorded his poetry twice. First was March 1969 in Los Angeles. Second was Dec. 8, 1970. The latter session was attended by Morrison’s friends and included a variety of sketch pieces. Some of the segments from the 1969 session were issued on the bootleg album The Lost Paris Tapes and were later used as part of the Doors’ 1978, An American Prayer album reaching 54 on music charts.

Morrison’s best-known, seldom seen cinematic endeavor is HWY: An American Pastoral, a project he started in 1969. Morrison financed the venture, formed a production company and maintained complete control. Paul Ferrara, Frank Lisciandro, and Babe Hill assisted. Morrison played the main character, a hitchhiker turned killer/car thief. Morrison asked his friend, composer/pianist Fred Myrow, to select the soundtrack for the film.                                

– credit wikipedia.com

“The band’s goals were as lofty as their inspirations. They wanted to marry rock ‘n’ roll with poetry. They aimed to unite performer and audience by plugging directly into the source of real magic and power, the Universal Mind, which connects us all. They would settle for nothing less. For them that meant no gimmicks, nothing up their sleeve, no elaborate staging or special effects.”       

– Danny Sugerman “No One Here Gets Out Alive, The Doors: Illustrated History”

                                                    

“Nothing else can survive a holocaust, but poetry and songs. No one can remember an entire novel. No one can describe a film, a piece of sculpture, a painting. But so long as there are human beings, songs and poetry can continue.”                                                             

– Jim Morrison

The artwork: 

The first print of this illustration is available for charitable donation. Contact lisafromlsu@gmail.com for details.

Digital Print on Archival Matte – Original illustration done in graphite and prisma colors: Sunburst Yellow for the 1968 album, “Waiting for the Sun”; Burnt Umber for the song Light My Fire; Copenhagen Blue because Copenhagen, Denmark has 25 inches of rain per year, Riders on the Storm.

DERIVATIVE Work references: Face from i2-prod_mirror_co_uk – 2_CS15664367; shirt from images_fineartamerica_com – jim-morrison-1969-frank-bez

What you get:
$40 (36.95 + 3.05 tax)
11 x 14 Print Package with Authenticity Sheet
signed and numbered (run of 125)
Domestic Priority Mail $8 (Free shipping)