Jim Morrison Morrison was also well known for improvising spoken word poetry passages while the band played live. Morrison was ranked #47 on "Rolling Stone"s list of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time", and number 22 on "Classic Rock" magazine's "50 Greatest Singers in Rock." Ray Manzarek, who co-founded the Doors with him, said Morrison "embodied hippie counterculture rebellion." Morrison developed an alcohol dependency during the 1960s, which at times affected his performances on stage. He died unexpectedly at the age of 27 in Paris. As no autopsy was performed, the cause of Morrison's death remains unknown. James Douglas Morrison was
The Doors Venice Beach in July 1965. Morrison told Manzarek he had been writing songs (Morrison said "I was taking notes at a fantastic rock'n'roll concert going on in my head") and with Manzarek's encouragement sang "Moonlight Drive". The members came from a varied musical background of jazz, rock, blues, and folk idioms. Keyboardist Manzarek was in a band called Rick & the Ravens with his brothers Rick and Jim, while drummer John Densmore was playing with the Psychedelic Rangers and knew Manzarek from meditation classes. In August 1965, Densmore joined the group, which had been renamed the Doors. The five (Morrison