RIP Ray Manzarek, 1939-2013

I’ve said several times that Jim Morrison was my least favorite member of The Doors. Once I graduated from middle school, I realized that Morrison’s poetry was somewhat ridiculous, although as a frontman he remained one of the best ever. As an adult, I remained a loyal Doors fan due primarily to the musicianship of Robby Krieger, John Densmore and especially Ray Manzarek. It is that unique sound that endures and that separates them from any other 60’s-era group.

Manzarek was really the key, especially on those early albums. They did not use a bass player at all early on, so Manzarek performed double duty playing both the intricate keyboard parts and using bass pedals and his left hand for the bottom. And these bass lines weren't just root notes, they were groovy lines unto themselves. Yet this was just half of what he was doing at any one time. The carnival-like intro to “Light My Fire” may be the most identifiable keyboard part in all of rock. Manzarek could play in a variety of styles, within a few bars of a song he could be baroque and then get bluesy.


ABOVE: The Doors playing "Light My Fire" in Europe in 1968. Ignore Jim Morrison's antics and listen to the interplay between Manzarek, Krieger and Densmore. That is where the real magic of the Doors lies.

The Doors were formed in a chance meeting between Manzarek and Morrison on an L.A. beach. After Morrison’s death, The Doors carried on for a couple of records with Manzarek taking on the vocal duties as well. He then continued to play in other bands, produced some bands (most notably X)…but he primarily made a career out of carrying The Doors torch. He was always showing up in documentaries about either the band or the era and producing compilations. In essence, he was the greatest postmortem publicist Jim Morrison could have ever hoped for. Manzarek was justly proud of what The Doors were able to do in a short period of time as a recording band with Jim Morrison (five years). He was a true believer in the 60’s ethos, and a true believer in The Doors. He was also one of the finest rock musicians to walk the planet.

RIP Ray Manzarek.