The Doors Ray Manzarek & Robbie Kreiger Visit Jim Morrison's Grave Site

On the 40th anniversary of the passing of Jim Morrison a large crowd came out to Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris, France. Among those coming out to pay their respects to Jim were his former band mates & friends; keyboardist Ray Manzarek & guitarist Robbie Kreiger. The two Doors visited the grave site on Sunday morning & were scheduled to play a show in Paris that night.

Doors Drummer John Densmore said he celebrates Jim's birthday & wasn't even aware of the date of the 40th anniversary. "If Jim shows up I'll be there" he said.

In 1981 on the tenth anniversary of Jim's death the surviving Doors visited the grave site as well. That night hundreds of fans also gathered to pay tribute & from that point on the poularaity of the location grew.


The original name plaque was stolen as was anything vandals could get their hands on. In 1985 the National Guard had to be called out to stop a riot on site. The following year, police mistakenly beat a more low keyed crowd causing another near riot. In 1991 violent fans attempted to burn the gates down after they were thrown out of the cememtery.

For years grafitti covered the surrounding area with Doors lyrics & messages for Jim. Fans would climbed the walls at night, to party & sing Doors songs. A bust was placed at the head of the grave in 1990 but through the years it deterioted & was destroyed.  In the 1990's Jim's parents visited the loction & paid for a new headstone to be placed. A new plague with the inscription ΚΑΤΑ ΤΟΝ ΔΑΙΜΟΝΑ ΕΑΥΤΟΥ- meaning true to his own spirit was erected. Today the site seems to be more secured & controlled.

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