Finding Jim Morrison’s Blue Lady:
Much Like all the myths which surround the legend of Jim Morrison, the mystery surrounding the history and whereabouts of Jim’s 1967 Mustang Shelby GT 500 called the Blue Lady still remains unsolved. Shelby fans have long sought this car, with every few years reports surfacing of it being found, but the reports have never turned out to be true.
The “Blue Lady”
The Blue Lady as Jim Morrison named her, was a gift from Elektra President Jac Holtzman in 1967 after The Door’s self titled debut album was released and “Light My Fire” hit #1 on the music charts. Each band member was asked by Holtzman what they wanted as a “thank you” gift, with Robby Krieger and John Densmore requesting recording equipment and Ray Manzarek asking for a thoroughbred horse. Morrison thought the Shelby GT350 his hair stylist (Jay Sebring) had was the coolest car he had ever seen, and requested a GT500 specifically the way it was equipped.
The car itself was a 1967 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, Nightmist Blue in color, build #939. The interior was parchment interior rather than the typical black, which was usually ordered with the Nightmist Blue exterior. It was delivered late 1967, which means it had the rarer close set driving lights in the middle of the grill, which were changed to small rectangular lights shortly after to abide by federal regulations. The Shelby was not a “Super Snake”, so it did not have any stripes (which were still an option, but not ordered), and had the rarer optional 10 spoke wheels. The engine was a 428 Police Interceptor with dual quad Holley carbs, in team with a 4 speed manual transmission. It also lacked the bumper-to-bumper Le Mans stripe that most Shelbys had draped across the top. As an early production car, it also differed from the GT500 norm by having large, round, twin fog lights paired close together in the center of the grille. Later cars had smaller, rectangular lights towards the outer corners of the grille to comply with Federal vehicle regulations. Equipped as it was, Jim’s GT500 packed 335 horsepower at 5,400 rpm, and 420 lb-ft of torque at 3,200 rpm. This was good for a consistent 0-60 mph time of 6.5 seconds and a standing quarter mile of 15.0 seconds at 95 mph. Heady stuff for 1967.
Seeing Jim at gas stations pumping high-test into The Blue Lady was likely a fairly common sight around Los Angeles, as the car only averaged 10 mpg, and likely far less given his driving habits. A troubled artistic genius, Jim was known to be a hard drinker, and as we all know that does not mix well with cars. As such, The Blue Lady suffered many accidents during his ownership. In each case, Jim managed to plow down a part of the Los Angeles scenery and walk away unscathed, only to report the car stolen later and have it repaired. One such incident allegedly involved Jim running down some young trees right in front of a police station. In the Spring of 1969, Jim and his friends Babe Hill, Frank Lisciandro, and Paul Ferrara decamped to the desert near Palm Springs to shoot what was essentially an extended trailer for a feature film that Jim intended to direct and star in. The movie was to be called Highway, but was later changed to HWY: An American Pastoral.
Hwy: An American Pastoral In early 1969, Jim Morrison wrote a 10 page screenplay and had it directed by Paul Ferrara. Jim plays a hitchhiker who kills the driver of the Mustang, and takes the car for some “hard” rides. Excerpted from the documentary “When You’re Strange”, this short video has some of the car scenes from this movie which was never released.
According to the California DMV, “The Blue Lady” was last recorded with the state on April 30, 1969. Its ownership was listed as James Douglas Morrison, care of Johnson/Harband, the accounting firm that handled The Doors’ finances. Amateur Blue Lady sleuths who have contacted the firm, now known as Johnson/Harbrand/Foster/Davis, have been greeted with something less than enthusiasm when discussing the car on the record. But they have suggested that they get the feeling the firm is, in fact, holding back some pertinent information.
So What Happened to the Blue Lady?
Unfortunately the true story of what happened to the car was buried with Jim. There are many stories floating around Hollywood of what happened to the car, with the most popular being:
1) The most told story is that he wrapped it around a telephone pole on his way to Whiskey A Go-Go, a bar he frequented and where the Doors played many shows. Frustrated with the extensive damage, he walked the short distance left to Whiskey A Go-Go and got his drink on for the night. When he returned to the scene later that night (or morning), the car had been towed away and he never followed up on it.
2) Another popular story is that the car was towed from LA Airport, where he parked it for an extended time during tours. It was then sold at auction and lost. Some stories mention the car was resold many times in California, and after multiple accidents it was crushed in the early 1980’s.
3) Another story has him wrapping the car around a light pole near a police station much later than the Whiskey a Go-Go incident mentioned in #1 above. There has been no recorded documentation found to prove or disprove any of these stories. My personal belief is that the Whiskey A Go-Go accident likely happened much earlier, likely before the spring 1969 filming of the Hwy movie. I believe it is mentioned a lot only because it is a popular story, not the actual cause of losing the car. It’s very possible #3 happened with the accident, and the car was taken to the airport where it was eventually towed. We will likely never know, and multiple writers have asked The Door’s members, with no one having any information.
Perhaps one day it will surface in some garage, barn, or auction site. Perhaps maybe one day Jim will surface as well still driving it.
