Ray Manzarek of the Doors (1939-2013)

By Richard K. Barry

Ray Manzarek was the keyboardist for the The Doors. He was also a founding member of the group. He died earlier this afternoon after a long battle with bile duct cancer. He was 74 years old.

CBC News:

Manzarek founded The Doors after meeting then-poet Jim Morrison in California. The band went on to become one of the most successful rock 'n' roll acts to emerge from the 1960s and continues to resonate with fans decades after Morrison's death brought an effective end to the band.

The Doors were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Manzarek is among the most notable keyboard players in rock history. His lead-instrument work with the band at a time when the guitar often dominated added a distinct end-times flavor that matched Morrison's often out there imagery and persona.

The group is best known for hits like L.A.Woman, Break On Through to the Other Side, The End and Light My Fire — a song particularly coloured by his keyboard work — and came to symbolize the decadence of Los Angeles as the counterculture grew in the U.S.