Behind the Sudden Death of Jim Morrison

Jim Morrison seemed immortal. For nearly a decade, The Doors frontman, the Lizard King, the almost prophetic rock god burned bright only to fade out on this day (July 3) in 1971 at the tender age of 27. His death was sudden, shaking rock and roll to its core, and has since been shrouded in mystery, resulting in one of the genre’s greatest question marks.

Prior to His Death

The Doors would unknowingly play their final concert with Morrison on Dec. 12, 1970, at the New Orleans concert hall, The Warehouse. It was a disaster, ending with a belligerent Morrison smashing a hole through the stage floor with a mic stand and walking off.

The past year leading up to the gig had been anything but idyllic for Morrison and the band. A 1969 show in Miami, in which Morrison was accused of indecent exposure onstage, had resulted in the frontman being convicted and sentenced to six months in jail. He appealed his conviction, however, and remained free on bond.

At that time, the Doors embarked on a brief tour, and with the possibility of a jail stint looming for Morrison, the singer began drinking heavily and his once idolized rock and roll behavior grew all the more destructive.

After the New Orleans incident, the rest of the tour was called off and the band went back to Los Angeles to complete the album L.A. Woman. Once the record was finished, Morrison jetted off to Paris, France in an attempt to find peace. He would sadly pass away a few months later.

On this Day in 1971

Morrison’s body was found on the morning of July 3, 1971. He was found in the bathtub of the Paris apartment he shared with his longtime partner Pamela Courson. She was the one to discover him. While no autopsy was ever performed, his official cause of death was deemed heart failure by French officials. His passing immediately fell under the suspicion of fans and friends alike and has since been the subject of many a conspiracy theory.

The Surrounding Mysteries

Morrison’s death has been exhaustively investigated for decades with various theories arising about his sudden passing. Accounts have said the frontman actually died of a heroin overdose, a bitter end to his downward spiral, in the bathroom of Paris’ Rock & Roll Circus club. According to a book by Sam Bernett, titled The End: Jim Morrison, his body was then moved to the bathtub as some elaborate cover-up.

Dozens of rumors exist with one popular theory being that Morrison actually faked his own death to escape the public eye and live out his days in seclusion. The world may never know what really happened to the famed frontman on this day in 1971, but his music will continue to live on until the very end.

Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images