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Celebrating a Rock Legend on the Anniversary of His Untimely Death

Jim Morrison lives on

Paul Combs
4 min readJul 3, 2023
Image: Wikimedia Commons

I have always had an odd ability to remember dates, some of them so obscure that they really shouldn’t be taking up space in my increasingly overloaded brain. Historic battles, political events, and dates I saw Springsteen in concert are all instantly recalled, yet I can’t remember what I had for lunch yesterday or where the heck my glasses are (most of the time, I’m actually wearing them while searching for them).

The one area where recall of dates fails me is with birthdays. I can remember the birthdays of most family members, but other than them, the only two I know with certainly are Springsteen’s (Sep 23) and Jesus’ (Dec 25). Even Hemingway’s is fuzzy in my mind; I know it’s toward the end of July, but can never recall if it’s the 21st, 23rd, or 26th (a quick search confirms July 21st). However, I always remember that he died on July 2nd, just as I know off the top of my head that Clarnce “Big Man” Clemons died on June 18th and Carlos Ruiz Zafon died on June 19th.

This inexplicable ability to remember when famous people crossed to the far shore is the reason for this story, because it was 52 years ago today that iconic Doors frontman Jim Morrison shuffled off this mortal coil. Found in the bathtub of his Paris apartment on July 3, 1971, his…

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Paul Combs
Paul Combs

Written by Paul Combs

Writer, bookseller, would-be roadie for the E Street Band. My ultimate goal is to make books as popular in Texas as high school football...it may take a while.

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