Jim Morrison is dead - Paul McCartney is alive.
Morrison moved to Paris in March 1971 with the intention of taking a break from performing and concentrating on his writing.
He died soon thereafter on 3 July 1971, in his bathtub at the age of 27; many fans and biographers have speculated that the cause of death was a drug overdose, but the official report listed "heart failure" although there was apparently no autopsy performed.
In his book Wonderland Avenue, former Doors associate Danny Sugerman recounts that he briefly met with Pamela Courson when she returned to America in the mid-1970s. According to his account, Courson told him that Morrison had indeed died of a heroin overdose, and that she had administered it to him, since Morrison was reputedly afraid of needles and would not inject himself. Courson herself died of an overdose not long after her meeting with Sugerman.
Morrison is buried in the famous Père Lachaise cemetery in eastern Paris. In the past, some of his fans were nuisances, leaving litter, graffiti, and cannabis behind to the point where the gravesite is surrounded by a fence. In 1993, his parents visited the site and made arrangements with a cleaning company to have the graffiti removed from the nearby tombstones. (WGS84: N48°51´33.8´´ E02°23´37.2´´)
Some conspiracy theorists contend that Morrison did not die in Paris. The fact that only two people saw his body has helped the rumor last over the past forty years. In fact, the doctor who signed the autopsy wasn't seen by anyone, and the only person to come forward and claim to have seen the body was Pam.
According to friends and bandmembers of Morrison's, he planned to fake his death and move to Africa to avoid unwanted publicity. He told them that after arriving in Africa he would write to them under pseudonym, as "Mr. Mojo Risin'" - according to Robbie Krieger and other Doors members, they have yet to receive any letters; but many fans still feel his death was a hoax.
On 20 October 2001 McCartney took a lead role in organising the Concert for New York City, a celebration of the resilience, and pride of New York and America in response to the September 11 terrorist attacks. The concert was held at Madison Square Garden and featured performances by The Who, the Backstreet Boys, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, David Bowie, Billy Joel, Destiny's Child, Eric Clapton, Adam Sandler, Bon Jovi, Elton John, James Taylor and many more. McCartney was the final performer and debuted his song "Freedom."
McCartney continues to release pop albums (Run Devil Run, Wingspan: Hits and History, Flaming Pie, Driving Rain, Chaos and Creation in the Backyard), as well as campaign for the groups Greenpeace and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, among others.
In June 2002 McCartney married Heather Mills, a former model and anti-landmines campaigner, in a highly elaborate ceremony at Castle Leslie in Glaslough, County Monaghan, Ireland. He has joined with her to campaign against landmines, and he has donated substantial sums to the cause. In early 2003, for example, he held a personal concert for the wife of banker Ralph Whitworth and donated one million dollars to Adopt-a-Landmine. Paul and Heather's first child, Beatrice Milly, was born on October 28, 2003.
McCartney performed during the pre-game ceremonies at the NFL's Super Bowl XXXVI on 3 February 2002 and was the halftime performer at Super Bowl XXXIX on 6 February 2005. Unlike in many previous years, he was the only performer in the entire halftime show. His set consisted of "Drive My Car", "Get Back", "Live and Let Die" and "Hey Jude." It featured an interesting stage design, fireworks, and fan-held placards.
McCartney performed at the main Live 8 concert on 2 July 2005, playing "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" with U2 to open the Hyde Park event (the song choice reflecting the 20 years after Live Aid), then returning almost ten hours later to close the show with "Get Back", "Drive My Car" (sharing the vocals with George Michael), "Helter Skelter", "The Long and Winding Road", and an ensemble rendition of the refrain from "Hey Jude".
McCartney's album Chaos and Creation in the Backyard was released in September 2005, coinciding with the start of another successful U.S. tour. Longtime Radiohead collaborator Nigel Godrich, suggested to McCartney by George Martin, produced the album, recorded in London and Los Angeles over the prior two years. McCartney was to use his concert backing band in the studio but later decided to play almost all the instruments himself, including drums, guitar, bass, keyboards, block flute, harmonium, and flugelhorn. The album included both up-tempo and introspective numbers, and included "Follow Me", which McCartney had debuted at the Glastonbury Festival in 2004. "Fine Line" was released as the first single on August 29, 2005, with "Jenny Wren" selected as the follow-up single. The album reached #10 and #6 at UK and US charts, respectively, and also achieved success in other countries' pop charts, such as France (#2) and Italy (#3). The album has been nominated for three Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year.
He released a children's book in October 2005. The book is called High in the Clouds: An Urban Furry Tail and tells the story of a frog and a squirrel who save the lives of other animals. McCartney teamed up with veteran children's book author Philip Ardagh and animator Geoff Dunbar. The picture book is to be released with a first print of 500,000 copies.
McCartney, currently 63, says he hopes to keep playing even after he is 64, a reference to the Beatles song, "When I'm Sixty-Four".
His voice remains fresh live and on record, compared with other, still-active artists from the 1960s. On Chaos and Creation in the Backyard we hear vocals similar to those found on The Beatles albums.
Also, did you know that.....On March 11, 1997, McCartney was knighted (Knight Bachelor) by Queen Elizabeth II...?