Jim Morrison's Lewd Show, Plus More Outrageous Rock Moments

It was exactly 41 years ago tonight that a very inebriated Jim Morrison took the stage at Miami's Dinner Key Auditorium, mumbled his way through a couple songs by the Doors, and propositioned a frustrated audience of 13,000 with the infamous line, "Do you wanna see my cock?" What happened next is rock & roll history: Morrison, who boozed heavily prior to the incident at a pair of airports on his way to the show, allegedly flashed the audience for a fraction of a second — but it was a moment that continues to resonate four decades later.

The subsequent media outrage resulted in the Miami D.A. charging Morrison with a felony count of "lewd and lascivious" behavior, plus three misdemeanor counts including indecent exposure and being shit-faced onstage. It wasn't until a month later that Morrison finally surrendered to the charges. Over a year after the incident, Morrison was ultimately found guilty of two of the misdemeanors but escaped the felony charge, and was later sentenced to six months and 60 days of hard labor. After appealing the sentence, Morrison, on bail, went to Paris, where he passed away in July 1971, the charges against him never resolved. For more on the Lizard King's trial, which featured some in-depth testimony regarding Morrison's trousers, check out the Smoking Gun.

To pay tribute to one of the most outrageous onstage antics in rock, Rolling Stone looks back at some more infamous concert moments, from Ozzy's bat-biting to Jimi's legendary guitar-lighting ceremony. Also, be sure to check our gallery of great moments in the history of Crotch Rock.

Ozzy Osbourne decapitates a bat with his mouth.

L7 toss a tampon at Reading 1992

Jimi Hendrix lights his guitar on fire at Monterey Pop.

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

More Song Stories entries »

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