There were many fascinating characters also. The person who has caaught my interest in recent years has been Jim Morrison (1943-1971), the frontman of the rock group, The Doors. Morrison was a singer, songwriter, filmmaker, and poet. His stage presence was charismatic and charming. He often threw in poetry during the group's sets during concerts.
Their music was dark and brooding, quite different from the many acts of his time. Jim was wild onstage. Offstage he was quiet and shy. He created his image of 'Lizard King' and 'Mojo Risin' only to later reject it. The more pressures of fame came to him, the more he sought escape through drugs and alcohol.
I read his book of poems,The American Night. Morrison's words were dark, sometimes sexualy explicit, sad, and angry.Though he was one of most popular rock stars at that time, Jim also viewed himself as a poet. He was a rebel, seeking escape from a world he found chafing. He saw the coming of the time when creativity and musical invention would be compromised. I see Jim Morrison as a modern day Hamlet who is caught in between two worlds. He fled toParis, France to recharge and become the poet he felt that he was. He died there in July, 1971 at age twenty-seven.
Jim Morrison was creative, intelligent and sensitive. When high or drunk, he could be cruel, angry, and vulgar. I watched some of the interviews he had and found him to be reflective and charming. It's sad that he never found the freedom or the peace that he sought so desperately. Along with Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin who died months before his demise, lost were creative, talented, sensitive, and sometimes misunderstand people.
One thing can be said about Jim Morrison is that he never compromised his beliefs. His gravestone aptly reads in Greek 'True to his Own Spirit'.
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