James Douglas “Jim” Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, songwriter and poet best remembered as the lead singer of The Doors.
Because of his songwriting, wild personality and performances, he is regarded by critics and fans as one of the most iconic and influential frontmen in rock music history, and because of the dramatic circumstances surrounding his life and death, in the latter part of the 20th century, he was one of the popular culture’s most rebellious and oft-displayed icons, representing generational gap and youth counterculture.
Morrison was also well known for improvising spoken word poetry passages while the band played live. Morrison was ranked number 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 said that Morrison “embodied hippie counterculture rebellion…” Morrison was sometimes referred to by other monikers, such as “Lizard King” and “King of Orgasmic Rock”.