True to His Own Spirit

Today in Music History: September 17

Each day leads to a step back in time as witness to the changes in music through the decades. The lyrics. The melodies. The harmony. The rhythm. The beat. The instruments. But, that's not all. Let's not forget the devices that provide the ability to listen to the songs, any genre, for it is not possible to attend every performance of every performer around the world. The journey on this day begins at the beginning...way before iTunes!

1931 The first long-playing record, a 33 1/3 rpm recording, was demonstrated at the Savoy Plaza Hotel in New York by RCA-Victor. The venture was doomed to fail however due to the high price of the record players, which started around $95 (about $1140 in today's dollars) and wasn't revived until 1948.

Moving on down the road into the music of the day let's make a stop during the 60s Music Revolution. A tidbit of trivia adds a bit of spice to the music. The musician in the spotlight on this day definitely 'seasoned' his performances, not always in a fashionable manner.

Promotional photo of The Doors in late 1966
(l–r: Densmore, Krieger, Manzarek and Morrison)
Source: en.wikipedia.org

Jim Morrison A charismatic singer and songwriter, Jim Morrison, studied film at UCLA where he met the members who would become the 60s rock group The Doors: vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore and guitarist Robby Krieger. 

Jim Morrison remains one of the most legendary and mysterious rock and roll stars of all time. He was a gifted lyricist whose poetic odes to rebellion, set to the music of The Doors, inspired a generation of disaffected youth who found in his words an eloquent articulation of their own hopes and frustrations. His tragic early death at the hands of drugs and depression likely deprived the world of much more in the way of beautiful music and poetry. Morrison's goal as a lyricist and singer was to open the minds of those who listened to his words, to encourage them to leave behind the familiar in search of the new. As Morrison put it, paraphrasing Aldous Huxley who was himself paraphrasing William Blake, "There are things known, and there are things unknown, and in between are The Doors."  (Jim Morrison Bio)

 

1967 The Doors were banned from The Ed Sullivan Show after Jim Morrison broke his agreement with the show’s producers. Morrison said before the performance that he wouldn’t sing the words, ‘Girl, we couldn’t get much higher,’ from 'Light My Fire' but did anyway. The Doors also performed their new single 'People Are Strange'.

 

Known for his drinking, drug use and outrageous stage behavior, in 1971, Morrison left the Doors to write poetry and moved to Paris, where he died of heart failure. The epitaph on Morrison's headstone bears the Greek inscription "ΚΑΤΑ ΤΟΝ ΔΑΙΜΟΝΑ ΕΑΥΤΟΥ", literally meaning "According to his own daimōn" and usually interpreted as "True to his own spirit". Morrison died at age 27, thus remaining "Forever 27", the same age as several other famous rock stars in the 27 Club. In 1974, Morrison's girlfriend Pamela Courson also died at the age of 27.
 

And the music goes on beating to the rhythm of the changing times...