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RIP Ray Manzarek (of the Doors)


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Ray Manzarek, keyboardist and founding member of The Doors, dies at 74 from cancer

By Associated Press, Updated: Monday, May 20, 6:22 PM

Ray Manzarek, a founding member of The Doors whose versatile and often haunting keyboards complimented

Jim Morrison’s gloomy baritone and helped set the mood for some of rock’s most enduring songs, has died. He was 74.

Manzarek died Monday in Rosenheim, Germany, surrounded by his family, said publicist Heidi Robinson-Fitzgerald.

Robinson-Fitzgerald said his manager, Tom Vitorino, confirmed Manzarek died after being stricken by bile duct cancer.

The Doors’ original lineup, which also included drummer John Densmore and guitarist Robbie Krieger, was only together

for a few years. But the band has retained a large and obsessive following decades after Morrison’s death, in 1971.

The Doors have sold more than 100 million records and songs such as “Light My Fire” and “Riders On the Storm” are

still “classic” rock standards. For Doors admirers, the band symbolized the darker side of the Los Angeles lifestyle,

what happened to the city after the sun went down and the Beach Boys fans headed home.

Next to Morrison, Manzarek was the most distinctive looking band member, his glasses and wavy blond hair making

him resemble a young English professor more than a rock star, a contrast to Morrison’s Dionysian glamour — his sensuous

mouth and long, dark hair. Musically, Manzarek’s spidery organ on “Light My Fire” is one of the most instantly recognizable

sounds in rock history.

But he seemed up to finding the right touch for a wide range of songs — the sleepy, lounge-style keyboards on “Riders On the Storm”;

the liquid strains for “The Crystal Ship”; the barrelhouse romps on “Roadhouse Blues.” The Doors always considered themselves “more”

than a rock band and Manzarek, Densmore and Krieger often managed a flowing rapport that blended rock, blues and jazz behind

Morrison’s self-consciously poetic lyrics.

Manzarek continued to remain active in music well after Morrison’s death and briefly tried to hold the band together by serving as vocalist.

He played in other bands over the years, produced other acts, became an author and worked on films.

Morrison and Manzarek met at UCLA film school and ran into each other a few months after graduation, Manzarek recounted in a 1967

interview with Billboard.

Morrison read him the lyrics for a song called “Moonlight Drive.”

“I’d never heard lyrics to a rock song like that before,” Manzarek said. “We talked a while before we decided to get a group together and

make a million dollars.”

Manzarek is survived by his wife, Dorothy, his son Pablo and two brothers, Rick and James. Funeral arrangements are pending.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

http://www.washingto...7a8a_story.html

I always loved the Doors... RIP Ray...

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfv9z23lu9E

Edited by Taun
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Oh. Didn't know. How sad.

Yeah, great memories of their songs.

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One of the greatest bands of any era. It will be a strange life for us when all of these musicians of real rock music are finally gone.

Edited by StarMountainKid
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R.I.P. He did certainly add that vintage 60's appeal. It seemed that the keyboards were more prominent than the guitar in a lot of Doors songs.

Also, he must have had a lot of patience to deal with Jim at times.

Edited by little_dreamer
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to bring Jim's poems to life in songs the man was a genius and will be greatly missed. and yes he must of had the patience of a saint to deal with the lizard king.

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