His poetic lyrics, distinctive voice, wild personality, performances, and the dramatic circumstances surrounded his life and early death.

Morrison is regarded by music critics and fans as one of the most iconic and influential frontmen in rock music history.

To this day Morrison is widely regarded as the prototypical rock star: surly, sexy, scandalous, mysterious.

Morrison was particularly inspired by the writings of several philosophers and poets.

He was influenced by Friedrich Nietzsche, whose views on aesthetics, morality, and the Apollonian and Dionysian duality would appear in his conversation, poetry and songs.

Morrison was eager to experience the life described in Kerouac’s ‘On the Road‘.

In the summer of 1965, after graduating from UCLA film school, Morrison led a bohemian lifestyle in Venice Beach.

Living on the rooftop of a building inhabited by his old UCLA cinematography friend he wrote the lyrics of many of the early songs the Doors would later perform live and record on albums.

He lived on canned beans and LSD for several months.

Morrison spent the majority of his adult life in an open, and at times very charged and intense, relationship with Pamela Courson.

Throughout his career, Morrison had regular sexual and romantic encounters with fans (including groupies) as well as ongoing affairs with other musicians, writers and photographers involved in the music business.

Morrison could be cruel and cold and then turn warm and loving. In the fall of ’71 Morrison seemed to be falling apart. He was was severely alcoholic, and many feared he was dying.

At the time of Morrison‘s death, there were multiple paternity actions pending against him, although no claims were made against his estate by any of the putative paternity claimants.

He died on July 3, 1971, at age 27. He was found by Pamela Courson in a bathtub at his Paris apartment.

The official cause of death was listed as heart failure, although no autopsy was performed, as it was not required by French law.

Morrison‘s will, which stated that he was an unmarried person, Courson was named his heir, and therefore in line to inherit his entire fortune.

On April 25, 1974, at age 27, Courson died of a heroin overdose on the living room couch at the Los Angeles apartment she shared with two male friends.

This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end

It hurts to set you free
But you’ll never follow me
The end of laughter and soft lies
The end of nights we tried to die

This is the end