EP 53: Pamela Courson and Jim Morrison

This week we bring you the love story of Pamela Courson and Jim Morrison! While the stories of how they met may differ, one thing was clear from the very beginning – Jim and Pam were meant to be. Jim was only beginning to move into music then, his band The Doors working hard to build a career. Pamela was with him every step of the way not only supporting his dreams but becoming muse for both his lyrics and poetry. They became a famous duo among the Laurel Canyon crowd, living in “the house on Love Street”. While they were famous for being great lovers they were also famous for their constant fights and Jim’s out of control alcohol use. As Pamela once said, “There were a lot of people who pretended to be close to Jim, but I was the only one who had the nerve to stand up to him.” They may both have had a dark side, but their love for one another was pure. Pamela was one of the very few people Jim trusted to bare his true self to and they both knew no matter how many fights, or flings the pair may have had, they would always have each other.

As The Doors rose to great success so did Jim’s alcoholism, leading to tensions within the band as well as numerous arrests and court cases. By 1971, Jim & Pamela knew in order to regain control of their lives, they had to get away from the chaos surrounding them. They decided to move to Paris, even though they both didn’t speak a word of French. They had each other after all, and that’s all they needed. Within 4 months Pamela would awake to find Jim had passed away in the night. A piece of Pamela died that night as well, though she stuck around long enough to fight the legal battles to ensure Jim legacy and wishes not be forgotten. They would both be deceased by age 27, though their love story has filled our airwaves and libraries ever since. As Ray Manzarek said “Pamela and Jim are going to go down in the history books as great lovers and people are going to be writing plays about them. It’s Romeo & Juliet, it’s Heloise & Abelard, it’s Jim & Pam.”

There have been many books written about Jim which discuss Pamela, and there are many conflicting stories about their lives together. I had read many of these before but it wasn’t until reading Patricia Butler’s book Angels Dance & Angels Die that I felt Pamela got a fair representation. This book is the main base for this episode and an absolute must read! Please go check it out!

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