Jim Morrison Tribute Confirmed

The time to hesitate is through, no time to wallow in the mire.

These lyrics come from "Light my Fire," a song written by legendary rock band The Doors. On December 8, what would have been singer Jim Morrison’s 70th birthday had he not "broke on through to the other side" on July 3, 1971, Doors fans are going to Paris (the city in which he died) to pay tribute to the Lizard King via reading his poetry.

But who is Jim Morrison and what are The Doors? The Doors were a prominent psychedelic rock band of the mid-late 60’s, with many hits such as "Light My Fire," "Hello, I Love You," "People Are Strange," and "The End." Unlike other rock bands of the time, there was no bassist in the band; instead they used keyboardist Ray Manzarek to play two keyboards at the same time. The band primarily relied on the work of the keyboards for their signature sound, similar to contemporaries Iron Butterfly and Vanilla Fudge.

Unfortunately, over-success caught up to them, and Jim Morrison, the lead singer, went to Paris to get away from it all, where he overdosed to death at 27, like Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin a few months earlier. The band managed to release two more albums, but got much backslash since fans were far more interested in the philosophy (and looks) of Jim Morrison.

The legacy of the Doors still lives on, even though only two members are alive to this day (Ray Manzarek recently died in May 2013). Drummer John Densmore and guitarist Robby Krieger still do tours and recently made up their feud since Manzarek’s death. And in July, an extinct lizard was discovered and named after, well, the Lizard King himself! It’s not every year there’s a species named after a classic rock band (okay, a few years ago, there was a loach named after Led Zeppelin, but this is a Doors article).

-Catherine Cober