ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Amidst the persistent haze of the “anything goes”, hedonistic Free Love swinging 60s, with its culture of excess and casual debauchery, it was easy to lose sight of the fact that James (Not Jimbo) Morrison was suffering, very publicly, from an incurable disease.
Alcoholism.
Even his closest friends and associates, members of The Doors, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore, didn’t recognize at the time that alcohol was slowly killing their friend right before their eyes. Night after night, town after town, amidst the backdrop of skewed innocence and the newly emerging riches of the Rock N Roll lifestyle, Jim Morrison was dying.
Years later, when amateur American anthropologist filmmaker Oliver Stone turned his lens upon the Mythology of the Man in the Black leather pants, surviving members of The Doors would work (and ultimately quit their positions) as Special Advisors To The Filmmaker. When Stone began taking liberties with the truth, making stuff up, all three abandoned the project.
In his fictional account of The Doors, director Stone erroneously depicts a clearly flustered Jim Morrison storming out of class because his instructor and fellow students neither liked nor understood his student film. Morrison, the highly romanticized lead character in Stone’s epic tale, presented stereotypically as the rebellious lone wolf protagonist, quits school to live freely amidst the sun and fun of sandy Venice Beach and all the scantily clad teenage girls who call it home.
The only problem with this scenario is that it is not true. Except for the part about Venice Beach and the half naked girls. That came later.
Jim Morrison graduated from George Washington High School in Alexandria, Virginia, in 1961, later earning a bachelor's degree in theater arts (cinematography/film), graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) from UCLA the University of California Los Angeles in 1965.
Previous to earning his degree at UCLA, Morrison had also studied at St. Petersburg Junior College in St. Petersburg/Clearwater, Florida, from 1961 until 1962 before transferring to Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida, in the fall of 1962 before transferring to UCLA.
James (Not Jimbo) Morrison was an intellectual. A thinker. A published poet. And a student of 19th century French teen poet Arthur Rimbaud, so much so that he took time out from his highly publicized Rock N Roll lifestyle to write a humble note of thanks to a 60 year old devout scholar of 19th century French literature.
Morrison wrote to Duke University professor Wallace Fowlie regarding his English translations of teen poet Arthur Rimbaud. In his 1968 letter, Morrison thanked Wallace Fowlie and wrote:
"I read French but not too easily and I needed your translation. I am a rock singer and your book travels with me wherever I go."
Additionally, Morrison was a visionary futurist. Sixty years ago he predicted the future of popular music, computerized “one man band” electronic music and DJ culture that would rely heavily on electronics, tapes, and machines, envisioning:
"one person with a lot of machines, tapes, and electronics set up, singing or speaking and using machines."
In a 1969 interview with journalist Jerry Hopkins for Rolling Stone magazine, Morrison further reflected on the evolution of Rock N Roll.
He noted that traditional rock was "kind of dying out" as artists returned to blues and country roots and theorized that a new generation would emerge combining these roots with a third, electronic component.
His description eerily foreshadowed the rise of solo electronic music producers, DJs, and hip-hop artists who can act as an entire band using a computer or electronic setup.
This exact interview quote was later popularized when electronic artist Skrillex sampled Morrison's voice in the 2012 Break’n A Sweat collaboration with the surviving members of The Doors.
Tragically though, Jim Morrison was also a drunk. A very public drunk. One who drank on the job. Continuously. And it was slowly killing him.
And so the dichotomy of the two selves of James Douglas Morrison was born.
Jimbo The Drunk
and
James The Scholar
James The student
James The poet
James The intellectual
James The thinker
James The man
Today, on the latest episode of The GXO Podcast, we’re delighted to have this unique opportunity to introduce you to the insights and thoughtful musings of a wonderfully talented and engaging young man;
Accomplished, sensitive, hopeful and well spoken.
We give you James (Not Jimbo) Douglas Morrison: 20th Century Artist. Human Being.
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