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Ray Manzarek

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Ray Manzarek was an American keyboard player, singer and producer. He was born in 1939 in Chicago, to parents of Polish descent. He played piano in a jazz band at university and studied economics, and later film at UCLA in Los Angeles. There he got to know Jim Morrison. Shortly after their studies they bumped into each other by chance on Venice Beach. Morrison sang him a few songs, including Moonlight Drive, and Manzarek wanted to start a band straight away. At a lecture on transcendental meditation he found the guitarist Robby Krieger and the drummer John Densmore. That is how The Doors came into being in 1965.

Music and breakthrough

The band first played in clubs on the Sunset Strip, such as the Whisky a Go Go, and signed with Elektra Records. The Doors had no bass player. On stage Manzarek therefore played the bass lines with his left hand on a Fender Rhodes keyboard bass, while playing organ with his right. His best-known sound was that of the Vox Continental organ, which could be heard on much psychedelic rock of the time. His playing, with influences from jazz and classical music, gave the long, dreamy songs of The Doors their colour. He also sang the second voice behind Morrison.

Influence

After Morrison's death in 1971 Manzarek made two more albums with the band. Later he made solo records and a rock version of Carmina Burana, and he produced the first four albums of the punk band X. In 1993 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with The Doors. He died in 2013.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Riders on the Storm from 1971. Notice the soft, dripping sound of Manzarek's Rhodes piano and the sound of rain and thunder mixed in beneath it.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

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See also

Categories: Artists