Ray Manzarek RIP


A sad day indeed.
fjn04
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.
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.
Sad to read. A great addition to the sound of the rock era of the Doors. As a local DJ mentioned when he made the announcement "Keith Richards outlasted yet another"
Very sad to hear of Ray's passing! His intro to "Light My Fire" is one of the most memorable beginnings of any recording.

Back when "Light My Fire" was getting heavy AM airplay, I fondly recall cruzing in my buddy's '57 Chevy with the 3 or 4 of us providing a background chorus to "Light My Fire". But as adolescent boys are prone to do, we sexualized and made light (no pun intended) of the "Light My Fire" lyrics by singing them as: come on baby "bite my wire". Yeah, in hindsight it was dumb and immature, but it defines the kind of liberating fun and camaraderie that we were experiencing in that old Chevy. Thanks for the memories Ray!

BTW, the 2012 Release of "The Doors: Live at the Bowl'68" on Blu-ray is sonically and visually outstanding, especially when one considers the video recording capabilities of the day! I asked for and received a copy of this DVD for Christmas and have played it several times. Everyone who has has seen it has loved it! My son bought a copy and his friend did also. It's highly recommended!!