Music Monday: Ray Manzarek (1939 – 2013)

Originally, I had planned for this edition of Music Monday to be about the winners from this year’s Billboard Music Awards. I may have even found time to bust on Justin Bieber’s leather “horse manure bag” pants and matching top, as well as his plea to take him seriously since winning some not-really-life achievement award-type thing on the show.

Then, the Lizard King sent his crystal ship to pick up the king’s keyboardist.

Monday afternoon, Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek departed from this mortal coil at the age of 74 due to complications related to bile duct cancer. The Chicago-born musician is best known for his work as a member of The Doors, the band he co-founded with frontman Jim Morrison in 1965 after a chance reunion on Venice Beach forty days after the two graduated from UCLA. This edition of Music Monday looks back upon Manzarek’s work with The Doors and beyond. Make your way inside to pay your final respects.

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“Light My Fire” – The Doors, 1968: As The Doors did not have a bassist, Manzarek played the bass notes on a Fender Rhodes piano while utilizing a Vox Continental, followed by a Gibson Kalamazoo, combo organ for his signature sound. The filming of the performance above was directed by Manzarek, released under the title “Live at the Hollywood Bowl ’68″ last October.

“Caught in a Panic” – Nite City, 1977: Toward the end of the Seventies, Manzarek formed a new group with former Blondie bassist Nigel Harrison called Nite City, recording two albums — 1977′s self-titled debut and 1978′s “Golden Days Diamond Night” — before calling it a day while disco, punk/New Wave and rock duked it out on the mainstream charts.

“Johnny Hit and Run Pauline” – X, 1980: Aside from performing, Manzarek was also a producer for such bands as Echo and the Bunnymen and X. The musician was producer for the Los Angeles band’s first four albums, providing keyboards on the single version of “Riding with Mary” from the band’s major label debut, 1982′s “Under the Big Black Sun.” X themselves covered The Doors’ “Soul Kitchen” on their debut, “Los Angeles.”

“Hadley’s Cruise” – Ray Manzarek, 2006: Shortly after The Doors ground to a halt in 1973, Manzarek began a solo career, releasing two albums in ’74 and ’75, a full recording of Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana” in ’83, two albums with blues slide guitarist Roy Rogers near the end of the 2000s, and a soundtrack for his film of the same name in 2006. He also wrote two novels and a memoir, and reformed The Doors with guitarist Robby Krieger in 2002 under several names — all due to legal issues — before settling on Manzarek-Krieger.

“Breakin’ a Sweat” – Skrillex and The Doors, 2011: Manzarek, Krieger and drummer John Densmore recorded a new song as The Doors with DJ/producer Skrillex as part of a film entitled “Re:Generation,” bringing together five artists with five DJs to create a new piece for the documentary. The result above was included on Skrillex’s “Bangarang” EP in late 2011.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons/PolverediGela.

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