orig. James Douglas Morrison
born Dec. 8, 1943, Melbourne, Fla., U.S.
died July 3, 1971, Paris, France
U.S. rock singer and songwriter.
He studied film at the University of California in Los Angeles, where he met Ray Manzarek (b. 1935); with Robbie Krieger (b. 1946) and John Densmore (b. 1945), they formed the psychedelic rock group the Doors, taking their name from Aldous Huxley 's book on mescaline, The Doors of Perception . The dark-edged eroticism of Morrison's baritone voice and pseudo-poetic lyrics helped make the band one of one of rock's most potent, controversial, and theatrical acts. Their popular hits of the 1960s included "Light My Fire" and "Hello I Love You." Morrison was known for his drinking and drug use and outrageous stage behaviour. In 1971 he left the Doors to write poetry and moved to Paris, where he died of heart failure.