Future Doors singer Jim Morrison was eight when his father, later to become a Navy Rear Admiral, moved their family to San Diego in 1952. At Longfellow Elementary School, he wrote his earliest known poetry, dated 5-21-54 and called the Pony Express:
The Pony Express carried the mail
Over hill, over dale
Over rough rugged trails...
At Longfellow, he scored an A in Home Economics. He graduated sixth grade from Longfellow on June 16, 1955. Around the same time, he was also a Cub Scout, badge number 17. Though he earned a merit badge for hiking, he later claimed he was kicked out of the Scouts for swearing at the Den Mother.
At age 11, Morrison lived at 2634 Arnott Street in Clairemont and attended Pioneer Congregational Church. Admiral Morrison was relocated by the Navy to Virginia in 1956.
In the early sixties, parents Steven and Clara moved back to San Diego, settling among the Navy families in Coronado. Jim attended college in Florida, but quit in 1963 and visited his parents in Coronado. There, they tried to convince him to enroll at SDSU, but Jim instead opted for UCLA.
Had he stayed in San Diego, it’s possible Jim Morrison could have ended up fronting Iron Butterfly or the Strawberry Alarm Clock.
Steven Morrison became a Rear Admiral in 1967, the same year the Doors released their debut album. The band played San Diego with Jim four times: 7-8-67 at Balboa Stadium, 11-4-67 and 6-29-68 at Golden Hall, and 8-22-70 at the Sports Arena.
Each time the Doors played San Diego, Jim refused to take the stage until assured his parents were NOT in the venue.
In 2011, his family and former bandmates called for official apologies from the state of Florida and the city of Miami, over Morrison’s 1969 arrest for lewd and lascivious behavior.