AP -- Ray Manzarek, the keyboardist and founding member of The Doors who had a dramatic impact on rock 'n' roll, 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.

Manzarek founded The Doors after meeting then-poet Jim Morrison in California. The band went on to become one of the most successful rock 'n' roll acts to emerge from the 1960s and continues to resonate with fans decades after Morrison's death in 1971.

Bing: More on Ray Manzarek

Manzarek continued to remain active in music. He briefly tried to hold the band together by serving as vocalist, but eventually the group fell apart. He played in other bands over the years, produced other acts, became an author and worked on films.

The Doors were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Manzarek is among the most notable keyboard players in rock history, playing it as a lead instrument at a time when the guitar often dominated. The sound added a distinct end-times flavor to Morrison's often out-there persona.

The group is best known for hits like "Break On Through to the Other Side," ''The End" and "Light My Fire" and came to symbolize the decadence of Los Angeles as the counterculture grew in the U.S.

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.

Outwardly, the two seemed very different. The strikingly tall, dark and handsome Morrison looked the part of rock star, while Manzarek, with glasses, retained a more professorial look.

But they were kindred spirits, as Manzarek discovered when 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."

The band would make far more than that. The Doors, which also included guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore, has sold more than 100 million albums. Their music has been featured prominently in movies and holds an oft-debated place in rock history.

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


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R.I.P. Ray your soaring instrumentals will live forever.

Sad news.

He was such a great performer with the The Doors, and a smart producer for other Los Angeles bands. Manzarek was an inspiration and the early producer for the band X.

Talented on the stage and behind it.

1967 performance of Moonlight Drive , The Doors


2010 performance of Nausea, with X


RIP Ray Manzarek...

Robby Krieger played Flamenco guitar technique he never used a pick. It pissed a lot of people off.

(05-20-2013, 10:10 PM)Maggot Wrote: Robby Krieger played Flamenco guitar technique he never used a pick. It pissed a lot of people off.

So many of the most creative and talented people piss a lot of other people off.

Thank God for them marching to the beat of their own drummers!

Robbie and Ray played the House of Blues in Anaheim back in 2010. Great stuff.

Here's When the Music's Over from that show.

That's a cool video. But the past is the past and no matter how hard we try it will always be just a memory.

Most memories are good, and trying hard is always good. For me.

But, all good things come to an end. I hear ya.

You know I just love that good ole rock-n-roll. That will never change.

I understand.

We don't have to live in the past to derive a lot of pleasure from it in the present. Pleasure doesn't have an expiration date.

I admire people who keep doing what they love til they don't love it anymore or they die, no matter what anyone else thinks.

Ray Manzarek did that, and Robbie Krieger is too. Really like them both.

Anyway, here's a recent one; love the Flamenco style guitar. To me, they still sound great.



Got a lot to do tonight. Gonna put the Doors on the table til the end of the night, end of the night...to the bright midnight.

A couple years ago I wound up with tickets to see the last incarnation of the Doors with Krieger and Manzarek. They were touring as a Doors act with the singer from Fuel, who did a serviceable job filling Morrison's microphone, but their respective talent was amazing. Both Ray and Robbie took turns jamming out in spots where the set list had room for it, and they were clearly enjoying themselves despite the somewhat small venue. It was the first concert my son ever saw and was a no-brainer decision to take him. Too bad about Ray...he seemed very healthy at the time and 74 ain't all that old any more...

HotD, I know you're in San Francisco, but when I hear L.A. Woman, I kind of imagine a younger you being the inspiration for those lyrics.

Don't know if it came out that way, but it's supposed to be a compliment!

Thanks for the compliment, MS.

L.A. Woman is a great song. The lyrics (and haunting composition) definitely captured the feel of the city at night, no matter what exactly Mr. Mojo Risin' was thinking when he wrote them.

Various interpretations of the song's meaning floating around out there by different people, some quite off the wall.

But then, you know what they say about people...


People are Strange, Ed Sullivan Show, 1967