Ray Manzarek RIP

The Doors' music stands the test of time. My grandsons listen to it without prompting from me. Rest in peace.

A great one, I did not realize that he was 74 y/o.
RIP.

Ray was a keyboard wizard. The Doors didn't have a bass player, so Manzarek played all the bass parts, as well as the melody, rhythm, etc.

Ray and Jim Morrison had a bond that allowed Ray to compose and play Morrison's poetry and emotional shadings in terms the rest of us could understand. Everyone has heard "Light my Fire", but "The End" is as haunting a lyric as has ever been written and sung - pure brilliance.

God bless them both - I'm certain they are in the Morrison Hotel sharing memories and spirits together again.

His four albums with X remain punk classics.

Growing up in So. Central L.A., The Doors were one of the very few non-soul/jazz bands that was considered cool. When I arrived to college, I had 7 albums and 4 of them were Doors. More than the vocals, I was drawn to their music by the keyboards. In classical Greece, the highest honor one could aim for was to be well remembered. Ray Manzarek certainly achieved that. Never heard or read a negative thing about the man as a person either.