Rock legend Jim Morrison Died in Paris, July 3, 1971

Most of the world would not find out about Morrison’s mysterious death until July 9.

In April 1971, Elektra released L.A. Woman. The album reached number nine on the Billboard album chart and then remained in the top 200 for 36 weeks. Later, in June, “Riders on the Storm” came out as a single and eventually hit number 14.

Before he left for France, Jim gave an impromptu interview to Ben Fong-Torres, an editor at Rolling Stone. The singer explained that the Doors were “at a crossroads of our career,” particularly since young audiences wanted new music by new bands, not an “anachronism” like their group. He spoke of making movies and other interests. By most accounts, Morrison’s future plans didn’t seem to include the Doors.

Jim arrived in Paris on June 12, 1971. He went to Pam’s room at the Hotel George V, which he likened to a whorehouse. She wasn’t there. Before long he was across the street, reportedly drinking whiskey—one after another.

One morning John Densmore answered the phone. It was Jim calling from France. He wanted to find out how L.A. Woman was doing. Densmore told him how the first single had become a hit and that the album was getting a lot of airplay. Jim replied, “I’ll be back and we’ll do some more.”

Three weeks later he would be dead.