Ray Manzarek

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Ray Manzarek
Ray Manzarek
Ray Manzarek
Background information
Birth name Raymond Daniel Manczarek
Born February 12, 1939 (Age 69)
Origin Flag of the United States Chicago, Illinois, USA
Genre(s) Blues-rock, Blues, Psychedelic rock, Rock
Occupation(s) Musician
Keyboardist
Filmmaker
Years active 1965 – present
Label(s) Elektra
Associated acts The Doors
Riders on the Storm
Website TheDoors.com
The Official Site of Ray Manzarek

Raymond Daniel Manzarek, Jr. or Manczarek (b. February 12, 1939, Illinois) is an American musician, singer, producer, movie director, writer, co-founder, and keyboardist of The Doors from 1965 to 1973, and the Doors of the 21st century (renamed Riders on the Storm) since 2001.

Contents

[edit] Early life and career

Ray Manzarek is of Polish descent, born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, as were his parents. Growing up, he took private piano lessons from Bruno Michelotti and others. He went to Everett Elementary School on S. Bell St. and attended St. Rita High School in Chicago. He majored in economics at DePaul University. [1]

In 1962-65, he studied in the Department of Cinematography at UCLA, where he met another film student named Jim Morrison. Forty days after finishing film school, thinking they had gone their separate ways, they met by chance. Morrison said he had written some songs, and Manzarek expressed an interest in hearing them, whereupon Morrison sang a rough version of "Moonlight Drive."

In January 1966, The Doors became the house band at a club on the Sunset Strip called The London Fog. According to Manzarek, "Nobody ever came in the place...an occasional sailor or two on leave, a few drunks. All in all it was a very depressing experience, but it gave us time to really get the music together." The same day The Doors were fired from The London Fog, they were hired to be the house band of the Whisky a Go Go. Their first performance at the Whisky was with the group Them[2].

The Doors' first recording contract was with Columbia Records. After a few months of inactivity, they learned they were on Columbia's drop list. At that point they asked to be released from their contract. After a few months of live gigs, Jac Holzman "rediscovered" the Doors and signed them to Elektra Records.

Manzarek's playing with The Doors made him one of the most influential rock keyboardists ever, raising the level of virtuosity a keyboardist is expected to have. The Doors lacked a bassist, so Manzarek usually played the bass parts on a Fender Rhodes piano Bass. His signature sound is that of the Vox Continental organ, an instrument used by many other psychedelic rock bands of the era. He later used a Gibson G-101 Kalamazoo (which looks like a Farfisa) because the Italian Continental keys "sticked" and remained "down" without pushing it.

Manzarek occasionally sang for The Doors, with a voice more bluesy than rock, including the live recordings of "Close To You," "Who Do You Love," and "Tightrope Ride." He also sang on the last two Doors albums, recorded after Morrison's death, Other Voices and Full Circle.

On August 4th, 2007, Manzarek hosted a program on BBC Radio 2 about the 40th anniversary of the recording of "Light My Fire" and the group's musical and "spiritual" influences.

[edit] Later career and influence

Manzarek has been in several groups since the Doors, including, Nite City [3] and recorded a rock adaptation of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana with Philip Glass, produced Echo and the Bunnymen and Los Angeles band X, played with Iggy Pop and backed San Francisco poet Michael McClure's poetry readings. Ray also worked extensively with "Hearts of Fire" screenwriter and former SCR front man Scott Richardson[1] on a series of spoken word and blues recordings entitled "Tornado Souvenirs".

His memoir, Light My Fire: My Life with The Doors, was published in 1998. The Poet in Exile (2001) is a novel exploring the urban legend that Jim Morrison may have faked his death. Manzarek's second novel, Snake Moon, released in April 2006, is a Civil War ghost story.

After living many years in Beverly Hills, Manzarek resides in Napa County, California in a house he remodeled extensively.

[edit] Trivia

 Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.
  • Ray wore (and still wears) glasses that are typical of the 1960s.
  • The first Doors album included a cover of "Alabama Song," from a 1930s German opera called The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahoganny by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill. This cover resulted from Manzarek's playing a record of that opera, sung by Lotte Lenya, to Jim Morrison, and suggesting that The Doors do a rock version of the song.
  • The solos in "Light My Fire" are based on John Coltrane's "My Favorite Things". Other examples: a Thelonious Monk line from "Straight, No Chaser" appears in "We Could Be So Good Together", the opening organ passage of "When The Music's Over" is inspired by Herbie Hancock's "Watermelon Man", and finally the organ solo in "Take It As It Comes" is inspired by Bach. During a May 2006 public performance, Manzarek named Erik Satie as an influence.
  • He is known for playing the keyboard while shaking his head and not looking at the keys.
  • In a televised interview, Manzarek advised listeners to "open the doors of consciousness... but stay away from white powder!"

[edit] References

  1. ^ Manzarek, Ray. Light My Fire. New York: Berkley Boulevard Books, 1998 (ISBN: 04125170454)
  2. ^ Goldstein, Patrick. "Nite City: The Dark Side of L.A." Creem Magaine (September 1977) (http://www.creemmagazine.com/_site/BeatGoesOn/NiteCity/DarkSideOfLA001.html) accessed: May 15, 2008
  3. ^ Goldstein, Patrick. "Nite City: The Dark Side of L.A." Creem Magaine (September 1977) (http://www.creemmagazine.com/_site/BeatGoesOn/NiteCity/DarkSideOfLA001.html) accessed: May 15, 2008

[edit] Books

[edit] External links

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