Ray Manzarek: Raymond Daniel Manzarek Jr. (Born Manczarek
Ray Manzarek: Raymond Daniel Manzarek Jr. (Born Manczarek
Ray Manzarek: Raymond Daniel Manzarek Jr. (Born Manczarek
Contents
Biography
Early life
The Doors
Later career and influence
Manzarek in 1971
Personal life, death, and legacy
Born Raymond Daniel Manczarek Jr.
Discography February 12, 1939
Filmography Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Books Died May 20, 2013 (aged 74)
In popular culture Rosenheim, Germany
In the fall of 1961, Manzarek briefly enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law.
Unable to acclimatize to the curriculum, he transferred to the Department of Motion Pictures, Television
and Radio as a graduate student before dropping out altogether after breaking up with a girlfriend.[11]
Although he attempted to enlist in the Army Signal Corps as a camera operator, he was instead assigned to
the highly selective Army Security Agency as a prospective intelligence analyst.[12]
The Doors
Following his return to the U.S., he re-enrolled in UCLA's graduate film program in 1962, where he
received a Master of Fine Arts degree in cinematography in 1965.[13][14] During this period, he met future
wife Dorothy Fujikawa and undergraduate film student Jim Morrison. At the time, Manzarek was in a band
called Rick & the Ravens with his brothers Rick and Jim.[15] Forty days after finishing film school,
thinking they had gone their separate ways, Manzarek and Morrison met by chance on Venice Beach in
California. Morrison said he had written some songs, and Manzarek expressed an interest in hearing them,
whereupon Morrison sang rough versions of "Moonlight Drive", "My Eyes Have Seen You" and
"Summer's Almost Gone".[16] During this time, Manzarek also met teenage guitarist Robby Krieger and
drummer John Densmore at a Transcendental Meditation lecture and recruited them for the incipient band.
Densmore said, "There wouldn't be any Doors without Maharishi."[17]
In January 1966, the Doors became the house band at the London Fog on
the Sunset Strip.[18] 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".[18] When the Doors were fired from the London Fog,
they were hired to be the house band at the Whisky a Go Go.[18] The
Doors' first recording contract was with Columbia Records. After a few
From left to right, Densmore, months of inactivity, they learned they were on Columbia's drop
Krieger, Manzarek and list.[19][20] At that point, they asked to be released from their contract.
Morrison in a publicity photo Following a few months of live gigs, Jac Holzman "rediscovered" the
from 1966 Doors and signed them to Elektra Records.[21]
During the Morrison era, Manzarek was the group's regular backing vocalist.[25] He occasionally sang
lead, as exemplified by covers of Muddy Waters's "Close to You" (released on 1970's Absolutely Live)[26]
and "You Need Meat (Don't Go No Further)" (recorded during the L.A. Woman sessions and initially
released as the B-side of "Love Her Madly").[27] He went on to share lead vocals with Krieger on the
albums (Other Voices and Full Circle) released after Morrison's death.[28]
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. In 2000, a collaboration poetry album
entitled Freshly Dug was released with British singer, poet, actor and pioneer punk rocker Darryl Read.
Read had previously worked with Manzarek on the Beat Existentialist album in 1994, and their last poetical
and musical collaboration was in 2007 with the album Bleeding Paradise.[34] Also in 2000, he co-wrote
and directed the film Love Her Madly, which was credited to a story idea by Jim Morrison.[34] The film
was shown at the closing night of the 2004 Santa Cruz Film Festival,[35] but otherwise received limited
distribution and critical review.
In 2006, he collaborated with composer and trumpeter Bal. The album that
resulted, Atonal Head, is an exploration in the realm of electronica. The
two musicians integrated jazz, rock, ethnic and classical music into their
computer-based creations. On August 4, 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.[36]
Manzarek married fellow UCLA alumna Dorothy Aiko Fujikawa in Los Angeles on December 21, 1967,
with Jim Morrison and his longtime companion, Pamela Courson, as witnesses. Manzarek and Fujikawa
remained married until his death. They had a son, Pablo born on August 28, 1973, and three
grandchildren.[31] In the early 1970s, the Manzareks divided their time between an apartment in West
Hollywood, California, and a small penthouse on New York City's Upper West Side.[42] They
subsequently resided in Beverly Hills, California (including ten years in a house on Rodeo Drive) for
several decades.[42] For the last decade of his life, Manzarek and his wife lived in a refurbished farmhouse
near Vichy Springs, California in the Napa Valley.[43]
In March 2013, Manzarek was diagnosed with a rare cancer called cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer)
and traveled to Germany for special treatment. During that time he reconciled with Densmore, and he
spoke to Krieger before his death.[44] He also performed a private concert for his doctors and nurses.
Manzarek was "feeling better" until things took a turn for the worse, according to his manager. On May 20,
2013, Manzarek died at a hospital in Rosenheim, Germany, at the age of 74.[45][46] He was surrounded by
his wife and brothers.[46] Krieger said upon hearing the news of his death, "I was deeply saddened to hear
about the passing of my friend and bandmate Ray Manzarek today. I'm just glad to have been able to have
played Doors songs with him for the last decade. Ray was a huge part of my life and I will always miss
him."[46] Densmore said, "There was no keyboard player on the planet more appropriate to support Jim
Morrison's words. Ray, I felt totally in sync with you musically. It was like we were of one mind, holding
down the foundation for Robby and Jim to float on top of. I will miss my musical brother."[47]
Greg Harris, president and CEO of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, said in reaction to Manzarek's death
that "The world of rock 'n' roll lost one of its greats with the passing of Ray Manzarek."[31] Harris also said
that "he was instrumental in shaping one of the most influential, controversial and revolutionary groups of
the '60s. Such memorable tracks as 'Light My Fire', 'People Are Strange' and 'Hello, I Love You' – to name
but a few – owe much to Manzarek's innovative playing."[3]
On February 12, 2016, at the Fonda Theatre in Hollywood, Densmore and Krieger reunited for the first
time in 15 years to perform in tribute to Manzarek and benefit Stand Up to Cancer.[48] That day would
have been Manzarek's 77th birthday. The night featured Exene Cervenka and John Doe of the band X,
Rami Jaffee of the Foo Fighters, Stone Temple Pilots' Robert DeLeo, Jane's Addiction's Stephen Perkins,
Emily Armstrong of Dead Sara and Andrew Watt, among others.[49]
In April 2018, the film Break On Thru: A Celebration of Ray Manzarek and the Doors premiered at the
2018 Asbury Park Music & Film Festival. The film highlights the 2016 concert in honor of what would
have been Manzarek's 79th birthday, and new footage and interviews. The film won the APMFF Best Film
Feature Award at the festival.[50]
Discography
Details are taken from AllMusic.[34]
The Doors
Solo
Nite City
With X
Spoken word
The Doors: Myth And Reality, The Spoken Word History (1996)
"Craigslist" (2009)
Look Each Other in The Ears. Hen House Studio Album includes The Doors : Ray
Manzarek, Robby Krieger, and John Densmore. 2014
Filmography
Love Her Madly (2000). Director and co-writer.
Induction (1965). Actor (Ray), director, and writer.
The Wino and the Blind Man (1964). Actor (blind man).
Evergreen (1965). Writer and Director.
Deal of the Century (1983). Actor (Charlie Simbo).
The Poet in Exile (in production).
Books
Light My Fire: My Life with the Doors (1999) ISBN 0-425-17045-4
The Poet in Exile (2001) Thunder's Mouth Press, 2002 paperback: ISBN 1-56025-447-5
Snake Moon (2006) ISBN 1-59780-041-4
In popular culture
For director Oliver Stone's film The Doors (1991), Manzarek was portrayed by Kyle
MacLachlan.[51]
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Bibliography
Gaar, Gillian G. (2015). The Doors: The Illustrated History. Minneapolis, Minnesota:
Voyageur Press. ISBN 978-0-7603-4690-7.
Gerstenmeyer, Heinz (2001). The Doors – Sounds for Your Soul – Die Musik Der Doors (in
German). ISBN 978-3-8311-2057-4.
Fong-Torres, Ben (2006). The Doors. Hyperion Books. ISBN 978-1-4013-0303-7.
Manzarek, Ray (1999). Light My Fire: My Life with the Doors. New York City: Berkley
Boulevard Books. ISBN 0-425-17045-4.
Shepherd, John (2003). Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World: VolumeII:
Performance and Production, Volume 11. Continuum. ISBN 978-0-8264-6322-7.
Weidman, Rich (2011). The Doors FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Kings of Acid
Rock. Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-1617131103.
External links
Ray Manzarek official website (http://www.raymanzarek.com/)
Ray Manzarek (https://www.discogs.com/artist/242088) discography at Discogs
The Doors official website (http://www.thedoors.com/)
Ray Manzarek (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0544456/) at IMDb
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