Ray Manzarek: 1939-2013

I admit it. I was a huge fan of the Doors as a squeaky-voiced teen. A lot of it had to do with listening to an old LP of LA Woman my Dad owned. I still think it's probably one of their best albums and my personal favorite. It was bluesier than any of their previous albums and less of the Lizard King-eque dark psychedelic sound of any of their previous albums.

And I have to admit. It WASN'T Jim Morrison I was a fan of. It was their keyboardist Ray Manzarek I was a fan of.

Some of it might had to do with the fact he wore glasses like me. I even tried to grow my hair like his my Freshman and Sophmore years of  High School. I probably have the pictures somewhere. However, I also really liked the way he played keyboards. His style and sound added a unique element that made them stand out from other bands. Some of it had to do with the fact that they did not have a bass player in those early albums. Manzarek would play the bass parts on a Fender Rhodes Piano along with the Vox Continental Combo Organ which gave the band their signature sound. He would later switch to a Gibson G 101 Kalamazoo Combo Organ because the keys on the Vox Continental would frequently break.

Manzarek along with his fellow band-mates unfortunately got overshadowed by the larger than life on stage antics of their lead singer. And even got unfairly labelled as either Morrison's back up band or Morrison's hired hand. But honestly and to give credit where credit is due, I don't think Jim Morrison would be nearly as successful without THAT particular arrangement of musicians.

Especially Ray Manzarek's keyboard and piano playing.

He was very understated in his stage presence. Most of the time his head would be down swaying back and forth as though he was in some trance. Caught up in the groove he was creating. Leaving the theatrics to his lead singer while he and his band-mates would create the instrumental punctuation to the lyrics Jim Morrison would be signing.

I don't think Ray Manzarek ever got the praise he deserved or even the success that some musicians had as a solo artists. I think that was a shame considering how talented he was. But I can think of so many artists like that. People like Leon Russell, Mick Ronson, Harry Nilsson and even Frank Zappa. They created such great music yet they never really got the praise they deserved.

And I think Ray Manzarek is in that group. Who knows why. But it didn't stop him from continuing to create music after the Doors and continuing to tour. Both with former band-mates and on his own projects. He even recorded a rock version of Carmina Burana. Which I confess I have not heard. But being a fan of Carl Orff's original, I would love to hear it.

But I can say I was a fan of Ray Manzarek. And I was very sorry to hear about his death recently. It came as a surprise to me because I had not realized he was so sick. But it's understandable his family would not say much about it because of the need for privacy.

Here's to you Ray!! And thank you for shaping my early teen years!!