Video: 'Riders On The Storm - The Doors Live In New Orleans 1970'

(Saturday, December 12, 1970, following the 8:00 p.m. CST scheduled start time for opening act Kansas) — Jim Morrison, facing a losing battle with alcoholism, gave his final live performance with The Doors tonight at a rock and roll venue in New Orleans, Louisiana, known at the time as “a Warehouse.”

While his band mates began to play “Light My Fire,” the troubled vocalist reportedly clung onto the microphone for support, even resting on the drum riser during solos only to miss his last verse. Finally when drummer John Densmore nudged Morrison to get up, Morrison walked over to the mic only to smash it to smithereens, threw the remaining parts onto the floor and awkwardly walked off stage.

Video: 'The Doors- The Warehouse 'Finally- act one;'

Keyboard player Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and Densmore met after the show and agreed that there was no point in continuing to perform live if the results were this abysmal. Instead, they agreed to continue on as a recording entity and finish the L.A. Woman studio album.

Morrison, facing a six-month prison sentence for indecent exposure and open profanity for his performance in Miami the previous year, accepted the band’s terms.

Note: During the L.A. Woman sessions, at some point in December 1970, The Doors were filmed performing “Crawling King Snake” for ABC Australia’s GTK (Getting To Know). While the exact air date is unknown, it is believed to the last moving images taken of Morrison performing with The Doors.

Video: 'Jim Morrison's Last Ever Performance (Australian TV 1971)'

When the band finished recording L.A. Woman, Morrison took off for Paris while the group mixed it. The album was a hit when it was released in April 1971.

Unfortunately, the band was never able to regroup as a foursome as Morrison was found dead in a bathtub in Paris on July 3, 1971.