LBReport.com

Sic Transit

Ray Manzarek -- Keyboardist for The Doors -- Passes At 74



(May 20, 2013) -- LBREPORT.com is saddened to report the passing of Ray Manzarek, keyboardist (and co-founder) of The Doors, whose riffs on Light My Fire remain L.A. musical landmarks.

Ray Manzarek, keyboardist and founding member of The Doors, passed away today at 12:31PM PT at the RoMed Clinic in Rosenheim, Germany after a lengthy battle with bile duct cancer. He was 74. At the time of his passing, he was surrounded by his wife Dorothy Manzarek, and his brothers Rick and James Manczarek.

Manzarek is best known for his work with The Doors who formed in 1965 when Manzarek had a chance encounter on Venice Beach with poet Jim Morrison. The Doors went on to become one of the most controversial rock acts of the 1960s, selling more than 100-million albums worldwide, and receiving 19 Gold, 14 Platinum and five multi-Platinum albums in the U.S. alone. "L.A.Woman," "Break On Through to the Other Side," "The End," "Hello, I Love You," and "Light My Fire" were just some of the band's iconic and ground-breaking songs.

After Morrison's death in 1971, Manzarek went on to become a best-selling author, and a Grammy-nominated recording artist in his own right. In 2002, he revitalized his touring career with Doors' guitarist and long-time collaborator, Robby Krieger.

"I was deeply saddened to hear about the passing of my friend and bandmate Ray Manzarek today," said Krieger. "I'm just glad to have been able to have played Doors songs with him for the last decade. Ray was a huge part of my life and I will always miss him."

Manzarek is survived by his wife Dorothy, brothers Rick and James Manczarek, son Pablo Manzarek, Pablo's wife Sharmin and their three children Noah, Apollo and Camille. Funeral arrangements are pending. The family asks that their privacy be respected at this difficult time. In lieu of flowers, please make a memoriam donation in Ray Manzarek's name at www.standup2cancer.org.

The Doors was the house band at the Whiskey A Go Go on L.A.'s Sunset Strip but played many other local venues, including CSULB and the Long Beach Arena at various times. Break on Through was the group's first "hit" in late 1966-early 1967 although every track on the album is memorable ("20th Century Fox" and "Soul Kitchen" among them).

A Long Beach FM outlet back in the day (KNAC, 105.5) played "beautiful music" much of the time but circa fall 1969 shifted at 9 p.m. to what it called "Underground," several hours of album oriented rock hosted by Gary ("The Wagman") Wagner (then calling himself Gary Martin). This was years before KNAC adopted a 24 hour headbanger heavy metal format. Today, 105.5 FM is all Spanish but in fall 1969, at 9 p.m., Mantovani would fade out and "Underground" would open with the appropriate anthem for the hours of rock to follow: Light My Fire.

With keyboards by Mr. Manzarek, one more time, below:


Follow LBReport.com w/

Twitter

RSS

Facebook

Return To Front Page

Contact us: mail@LBReport.com






Ad above provided in the public interest by:














Carter Wood Floors
Hardwood Floor Specialists
Call (562) 422-2800 or (714) 836-7050





blog comments powered by Disqus

Return To Front Page

Contact us: mail@LBReport.com


Copyright © 2013 LBReport.com, LLC. All rights reserved. Terms of Use/Legal policy, click here. Privacy Policy, click here