Jim Morrison was born in Florida on December 8th, 1943. His father, a high ranking naval officer, brought up his children under strict discipline and the relationship between the two was problematic. Perhaps because of this, the sensitive child became somewhat withdrawn and isolated. Jim would later express extreme hostility towards his family and the traditional values it stood for.

"A friend is someone who lets you have total freedom to be yourself."

At the age of four, Jim witnessed a bloody traffic accident that was to have a profound impact on his life. Somewhere between Albuquerque and Santa Fe the Morrison family came across an overturned truck. It had been involved in a collision and its occupants, a group of Indians, were lying on the road, bleeding to death. The horrible event traumatized the young Jim Morrison who believed that the spirit of an Indian, a shaman, had entered his own soul.

"The only time I really open up is on stage. I feel spiritual up there... I don't really feel I've done a complete job unless we've gotten everybody in the theatre on common ground."

Among Jim's favorite authors was the controversial German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, whose views were opposed to those of tradition and Christianity. In Beyond Good and Evil, Nietzsche summed up his ideas about man and morality. He wrote about two types of men: an inferior man who lives in helplessness and fear, and the 'superman,' who, because of the greatness of his mind, is beyond good and evil and answers to no-one. The lower man keeps the powerful and talented under control, but Nietzsche prophesied the coming of an Antichrist who would destroy God and the rule of nothingness. Jim would spend the rest of his life trying to be that person.

"I like ideas about the breaking away or overthrowing the established order. I am interested in anything about revolt, disorder, chaos, especially activity that seems to have no meaning. It seems to me to be the road towards freedom- external revolt is a way to bring about internal freedom."

In 1964, without his parents' consent, Jim enrolled at UCLA. There, he met keyboard player Ray Manzarek who upon hearing his songs suggested forming a rock group. Within weeks, together with Robbie Krieger as guitarist and John Densmore as drummer, The Doors was formed. The name of the group was taken from Aldous Huxley's book on mescaline The Doors of Perception, which quoted a phrase of the 18th century poet and mystic William Blake, 'If the doors of perception were cleansed, things would appear as they truly are, infinite.'

"There are things known, and there are things unknown, and inbetween is
The Doors."

The group was an immediate success. Morrison's poetic lyrics and Manzarek's musical genius made The Doors one of the most original and popular band in the states. Their first album was a best-seller and the single 'Light My Fire' reached number one in the summer of 1967.

"O great creator of being, grant us one more hour to perform our art and perfect our lives."

Though sensitive and shy in his private life, Jim was wild and uninhibited on stage. His music was about sex, death, revolt, and it was so in touch with the dark side of human nature that it frightened many - especially parents. For his fans, though, Jim was a visionary, a spiritual leader destined to liberate man from authority and oppression - in many ways the embodiment of everything the 60s stood for.

"If my poetry aims to achieve anything, it's to deliver people from the limited ways in which they see and feel."

Jim did not just mistrust the Establishment, he despised it. At every opportunity, he encouraged people to think for themselves, to question authority and power, and for those in control this was extremely dangerous. Soon, The Doors were banned from radio and their concerts cancelled. The police, of course, always at hand, would arrest Morrison for any minor offence. Not deterred, though, he fought on, but his frequent bouts with the law would take their toll.

"When you make your peace with authority, you become authority."

Ironically, Jim's image which had contributed so much to his success also led to his undoing. While he was admired for his showmanship and his looks, few had any interest in his message. This proved devastating for Jim whose life was by now spinning out of control. In March 1969, Morrison was arrested for exposing himself on stage. With little reliable evidence, he was given the maximum sentence possible: 8 months' hard labor and $600 fine for profanity and indecent exposure.

"I think I was just fed up with the image that had been created around me... and so I put an end to it in one glorious evening."

Jim wanted to change the world and failed. He had been abused by society and abandoned by his fans. He was no longer interested in music and left for Paris to work on his poetry. On July 3rd, 1971, at the age of 27, Jim was found dead at his Paris home by his longtime girlfriend Pamela Courson. There was no autopsy and the exact cause of death was never established.

"When the music's over, turn out the light."