'Jim Morrison's Main Squeeze!' Pam a considered reflection . . . . . . .

 PAMELA COURSON

Pam and Jim pictured in November 1969 by Raeanne Rubenstein at Pam’s boutique Themis. 

(detail of above)

Pam was of great interest to me and is largely considered his 'wife' or significant other, she had a dare devil aspect to her personality that appealed to Jim but their relationship was nothing if not volatile. Jim was ever the mean and somewhat testing practical joker and once when Pam came home to their apartment heard noises from their room which sounded like Jim was not alone and after knocking to be let in, Jim shouted he couldn't as he was busy and increasingly loud sex noises came from within. Pamela's fury increasing she eventually persuaded Jim to let her in to find there was nobody there with him at all! Jim found this kind of prank hysterically funny.  

She was certainly responsible for taking him to Paris for a break where he died in 1971. Allegedly Jim is said to have snorted some of Pam's stash of heroin believing it to be coke! Coke goes well with alcohol Jim's main drug of choice and can wake or enliven you from a stupor if you have over indulged, heroin the almost exact opposite and shuts the body down often making it difficult to breathe and death is frighteningly common amongst those who have mixed heroin and alcohol. Jim was notorious and notably anti-heroin and didn't seem to be particularly approving of Pam's use though stopping short at attempting to forbid it, she does seem to have taken it surreptitiously and without his knowledge. If he came across any China White he may well have assumed it to be cocaine and snorted it which would have had disastrous effects. 

Pamela committed suicide it is believed as she died three years exactly to the day after Jim's death 25th April, 1974 of a heroin overdose. 

The webpage Little Queenies focuses on partners' girlfriends, wives and partners [not to mention groupies!] had a lovely statement in response to a reader who asked about Pam that inspired me to post it here:

"According to her friends, Pam was very clever, she had a great sense of humour and she was very fashion conscious so she often travelled to Europe to get the last trends for her boutique Themis.

Pam was also passionated of cars, she owned a couple or three of them and loved driving very fast, she also babysat Slash as she was friends with his mum Ola Hudson who at the same time was David Bowie’s fashion designer.

Pamela Courson loved poetry and she was the subject & inspiration to Jim’s poems and he wrote his books for her. When all the trials about the Miami incident fell over Jim, it was Pam’s idea to fly to Paris to give him some fresh air and a new start as a poet. She didn’t broke up The Doors and she didn’t tell Jim to run away from them, she just thought it was wise to break with all this Miami incident trials and make a fresh start. Living anonymously in Paris, Jim reconnected with his family and Pam and Jim were thinking in having children for the first time in their lives.

It’s difficult to tell more things about Pam as there’s just one book written about her “Angels Dance and Angels Die” and some articles where she’s just mentioned. We know lots of people dislike her for Jim’s ending, but we are sure it wasn’t Pam’s fault, it was just an accident.

We love Pam because she is a Californian girl, red-haired hippie type, she was very creative and she looks always happy in the pics, so she really seems an easy-going person and also very friendly. She loved animals as well and she took care of Sage after Jim’s passing, and what’s more important, Jim loved her dearly because although they split up several times, they always ended up together and with Pam Jim could be Jim and she had the nerve to stand next to him when the things went bad. Although maybe she doesn’t seem it, she was really strong."

L.G. 

I wholeheartedly agree with this statement and folk under estimate Pam without any due reflection or knowledge let alone research.

 THE DOORS L.A. WOMAN
50th ANNIVERSARY DELUXE EDITION

3-CD/1-LP Set Expands The Doors’ Sixth Studio Album
With More Than Two Hours Of Unreleased Session Outtakes;

Includes the Fabled, Original Demo Of “Riders On The Storm,”
Recently Discovered On An Unmarked Reel In The Doors’ Vault

Producer Paul Rothchild Famously Referred To The “Riders” Demo As “Cocktail Music” Before Departing The Project

Available For Pre-Order Now

Be warned of course for like the lyrics book (which seemingly contains nothing new but collects it all in one place!) it isn't cheap  Three CD separately nearly £30 here in the UK, the 3 CD and vinyl version the USA is listed at $79.98 which isn't even mentioned on Amazon here . . . . . . hey ho if you bought the 40th Anniversary Edition (ahem) imagine the pure joy!)