27: Jim Morrison

The 27 Club #6

by Chris Salewicz

Jim Morrison, musician, singer and poet was found dead, the victim of a suspected heroin overdose, in a Paris apartment bathtub in 1971. He was 27.Morrison was a talented, charismatic, wild-tempered cultural cipher. He struggled to cope with his exalted status and his death, officially from heart failure, remains shrouded in mystery.In 27: Jim Morrison, acclaimed music critic Chris Salewicz pays homage to Morrison as a rock icon, whilst acknowledging the dark side of this conflicted character. It is the sixth title in a series of exclusive music ebooks, an ambitious project examining the perils of genius, celebrity and excess. Other titles in the series include 27: Amy Winehouse, 27: Kurt Cobain, 27: Jimi Hendrix and 27: Janis Joplin.

Genres: Music

480 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 3, 2013

About the author

Chris Salewicz's writing on music and popular culture has appeared in publications around the globe. He is the author of more than a dozen books, including Redemption Song: The Ballad of Joe Strummer."

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read a few books in this interesting series of short ebooks, about musicians who died at the tragically young age of 27. However, this one I found slightly disappointing compared to the others. I am not sure whether that was because it was less detailed than others in the series, or whether Jim Morrison just seemed such a complicated character that it felt as though this barely covered any of his short life and career.

When asked why the band did not reign in Morrison’s excesses, one replied that he was simply unstoppable. Indeed, it seemed that even this book, dedicated to his story, could not contain or realistically portray what the man represented. The book begins with a rather unsavoury incident in a nightclub, involving Morrison, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix – all of whom would be dead by the age of 27.... The author then briefly touches on his childhood and an extremely difficult relationship with his parents, before describing his early interest in film studies and then his life as a musician.

Morrison appeared to be a combination of extremely bright, troubled and volatile. Even from this short read, you can obtain glimpses of how infuriated other members of the Doors became with his excessive drinking and drug use - especially on stage and in the studio. As well as the terrible waste of his young life ending so soon, you feel that he was on a path of self destruction that people witnessed, realised was coming, but were unable to stop. I suppose that these books do enable you to read both a potted life of the subject and also encourage you to discover more if you are interested. I certainly feel, after reading this, that I would like to read a longer, more in depth biography of Jim Morrison – his life and his music.