Fans push to preserve Jim Morrison’s New Mexico home
The childhood home of Jim Morrison, the late singer for The Doors, sits in Albuquerque, N.M., Tuesday, May 5, 2015. AP
ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico — Fans of Jim Morrison, the late singer for The Doors, are in a push to preserve his childhood home in New Mexico.
A group of fans want his northeast Albuquerque home designated a historical site and placed on a list of tourist attractions in the city, KOAT-TV reports (https://goo.gl/pzWW0t).
Historian and fan Anthony Gomez says because Morrison spent important years in New Mexico’s biggest city, his childhood home should be protected as a remembrance.
“Living in Albuquerque for a while, I think he should have a spot here,” Gomez said.
Thelma Lue, who owns the house, said fans of the rock legend sometimes stop by the house. “It doesn’t bother me,” she said. “They’ve all been very thoughtful and nice.”
The 1960s singer of hits such as “Light My Fire” and “Riders on the Storm” lived in Albuquerque from age 12 to 14 while his father, George S. Morrison, worked at Kirtland Air Force Base.
The elder Morrison commanded U.S. ships in the Gulf of Tonkin during the clash that helped escalate the Vietnam War.
The young Morrison attended Monroe and Wilson middle schools.
In this Oct. 30, 1970, file photo, singer Jim Morrison leaves a courtroom in Miami, Fla., in the custody of a police officer after he was sentenced to six months in jail and fined for $500 for using profanity in public and indecent exposure. A group of fans want his home to be a historical site and placed in a list of tourist attractions in the city of Albuquerque, N.M., KOAT-TV reports. AP
In the biography “No One Here Gets Out Alive,” Jim Morrison speaks of witnessing a car accident in the desert involving an American Indian family where some might have died. The accident, which likely happened in New Mexico, later influenced his songs, poetry and interviews.
Morrison’s family later moved to Alexandria, Virginia.
The Melbourne, Florida-born Morrison died in July 1971 at the age of 27 in a Paris bathtub.
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