I've always thought the Doors would not have been anywhere near as famous as they are without the keyboard playing of Ray Manzarek - to me, he was responsible for the unique sound of The Doors. http://news.yahoo.com/keyboardist-ray-manzarek-doors-dies-age-74-214656257.html LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Ray Manzarek, a founding member and keyboardist of 1960s rock group The Doors, died on Monday at age 74, the group's manager Tom Vitorino said. Manzarek died in Rosenheim, Germany, following a battle with bile duct cancer, the band said in a statement. Singer Jim Morrison and Manzarek formed The Doors in 1965 after a chance meeting at Los Angeles' Venice Beach, and Manzarek's keyboard work would go on to be a touchstone of hits like "Break On Through to the Other Side" and "Light My Fire." "I was deeply saddened to hear about the passing of my friend and bandmate Ray Manzarek today," The Doors guitarist Robby Krieger said in a statement. "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, who was born in Chicago in 1939, is survived by his wife, Dorothy, two brothers, a son, daughter-in-law and three grandchildren. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/dsi1pJbF11s?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
I hope somehow he is reunited with Jim now. Ray was a great musician and an inspiration. His organ work that helped define the band's sound will live on having sealed its place in rock and roll history from that period. What an accomplishment! See you on the other side, Ray.
I've been a big fan of The Doors since the mid-seventies. Great band, wish I could have seen them back in the day, but I'm not quite that old.
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Saw him with the 21st Century Doors with Ian from the Cult on vocals in 2003 at the VWT. It was a good show until Peace Frog at the end where there was full frontal nudity on stage by 4 lovely ladies. The show ended up being excellent! :grin:
Wow. How depressing. I'm so glad that I saw Ray and the guys at the Coliseum in Houston back in the day. They were great! Didn't hurt that the Moving Sidewalks opened for them with a hot set. I've always thought that the Doors stepped up their game a bit in response. Damn, what a blow to lose Manzarek. It reminds me of the passage of time, and I don't need more reminders. All I have to do is look in a mirror.
