Rock Musician. A keyboardist, he was a founding member of seminal 1960s rock band "The Doors." From 1962 to 1965, he studied at the Department of Cinematography at UCLA, where he met film student Jim Morrison. Later on, they met by chance on Venice Beach, California where Morrison said he had written some songs and sang one of them for Manzarek, who liked the song and co-founded the Doors with Morrison at that moment. Guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore joined the band shortly afterwards. In early 1966, The Doors were hired to be the house band of the Whiskey a Go-Go club on Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California. After a few months of live shows, Elektra Records head Jac Holzman discovered and signed them. They went on to record the albums 'The Doors' and 'Strange Days' in 1967, followed by 'Waiting For the Sun' (1968), 'The Soft Parade' (1969), 'Morrison Hotel' (1970) and 'L.A. Woman' (1971). Following Morrison's death in July of 1971, Ray Manzarek embarked on a solo career recording 'The Golden Scarab' (1973), 'The Whole Thing Started With Rock & Roll Now It's Out of Control' (1974) and 'Carmina Burana (1983) and went on to produce and back such musical artists such as "X" and "Echo and the Bunnymen." Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993 as a member of The Doors, he revived the Doors in a fashion in the 2000s, playing a number of shows with Doors bandmate, guitarist Robby Krieger.
Rock Musician. A keyboardist, he was a founding member of seminal 1960s rock band "The Doors." From 1962 to 1965, he studied at the Department of Cinematography at UCLA, where he met film student Jim Morrison. Later on, they met by chance on Venice Beach, California where Morrison said he had written some songs and sang one of them for Manzarek, who liked the song and co-founded the Doors with Morrison at that moment. Guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore joined the band shortly afterwards. In early 1966, The Doors were hired to be the house band of the Whiskey a Go-Go club on Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California. After a few months of live shows, Elektra Records head Jac Holzman discovered and signed them. They went on to record the albums 'The Doors' and 'Strange Days' in 1967, followed by 'Waiting For the Sun' (1968), 'The Soft Parade' (1969), 'Morrison Hotel' (1970) and 'L.A. Woman' (1971). Following Morrison's death in July of 1971, Ray Manzarek embarked on a solo career recording 'The Golden Scarab' (1973), 'The Whole Thing Started With Rock & Roll Now It's Out of Control' (1974) and 'Carmina Burana (1983) and went on to produce and back such musical artists such as "X" and "Echo and the Bunnymen." Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993 as a member of The Doors, he revived the Doors in a fashion in the 2000s, playing a number of shows with Doors bandmate, guitarist Robby Krieger.
Bio by: Louis du Mort
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