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  • Marianne Faithfull Claims Drug-Dealing Ex-Boyfriend ‘Killed’ Jim Morrison

    British singer Marianne Faithfull claims her drug-dealing ex-boyfriend “killed” Jim Morrison after accidentally supplying him with heroin that was too strong.

    Faithfull, the former girlfriend of Mick Jagger, told music magazine MOJO she is now the only person alive “connected” to Morrison’s death, claiming she was in Paris with her drug-dealing boyfriend the summer The Doors frontman died.

    Faithfull, who co-wrote the Rolling Stones song Sister Morphine told the magazine the late drug dealer, Jean de Breiteuil, was to blame for Morrison’s untimely death on July 3, 1971, at the age of 27.

    Faithfull, who also struggled with drug issues, said she traveled to Paris in the summer of 1971 with de Breiteuil.

    Upon their arrival in Paris, Faithfull claims de Breiteuil told her he was paying a visit to Morrison’s apartment. Having a bad feeling about the visit, Faithfull said she chose to stay in her own hotel room taking downers rather than accompany de Breiteuil to the apartment.

    “I could intuitively feel trouble,” she recalls. “I thought, I’ll take a few Tuinal and I won’t be there. And he went to see Jim Morrison and killed him. I mean I’m sure it was an accident. Poor bastard. The smack was too strong? Yeah. And he died. And I didn’t know anything about this. Anyway, everybody connected to the death of this poor guy is dead now. Except me.”

    Although no autopsy was ever performed, Morrison is believed to have died from a heroin overdose.

    Official reports said he had a heart attack in the bath. The coroner did not suspect foul play so did not order an autopsy.

    The mystery surrounding Morrison’s death lingers amid conflicting tales of the singer’s last days and a slew of conspiracy theories.

    Morrison’s girlfriend at the time, Pamela Courson, said he woke coughing in the night before heading into the bathroom to soak in the tub. Another friend claimed he died in the bathroom of a nightclub after an overdose and his body was moved to his apartment in a cover-up.

    De Breiteuil also died of an overdose in 1971, not long after Morrison’s death.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Ray Manzarek Dies: Doors Founder Was 74

    Ray Manzarek Dies: Doors Founder Was 74

    Ray Manzarek, one of the founders of the hugely popular ’60s and ’70s rock group The Doors, has died after a long battle with cancer. He was 74 years old.

    Manzarek was one of the group’s principle writers, penning hits like “L.A. Woman”, “Light My Fire”, and “Hello, I Love You”. He also played keyboards in the band and made history after a chance encounter on Venice Beach with Jim Morrison in 1965.

    “We were aware of Muddy Waters,” Manzarek said of the group. “We were aware of Howlin’ Wolf and John Coltrane and Miles Davis. Plus, Jan and Dean and The Beach Boys and the surf sound. Robby Krieger brings in some flamingo guitar. I bring a little bit of classical music along with the blues and jazz, and certainly John Densmore was heavy into jazz. And Jim brings in beatnik poetry and French symbolist poetry, and that’s the blend of The Doors as the sun is setting into the Pacific Ocean at the end, the terminus of Western civilization. That’s the end of it. Western civilization ends here in California at Venice Beach, so we stood there inventing a new world on psychedelics.”

    From there, The Doors became an international sensation and as controversial as any rock group would ever be, with Morrison getting arrested for his various stage antics and keeping the rest of the group on their toes with his rampant drug use. Manzarek would go on to become a Grammy winner and a best-selling author, and revitalized his music career with a tour in 2002.

    “I was deeply saddened to hear about the passing of my friend and bandmate Ray Manzarek today,” said bandmate Robby Krieger. “I’m just glad to have been able to have played Doors songs with him for the last decade. Ray was a huge part of my life and I will always miss him.”