Musicians paid tribute today to founding member of The Doors, Ray Manzarek, who died aged 74.
He formed the band with singer Jim Morrison in 1965 while he was a film student after a chance meeting in Los Angeles.
His keyboard playing and Morrison’s vocals became defining aspects of the band’s sound, with hits including Riders on the Storm, Light My Fire and Break On Through (To The Other Side).
Billy Idol wrote on Twitter: “Sad to here about Ray Manzarek passing. I was lucky to get a chance to rock out with him & the other two Doors .. cheers mate say hi to Jim.” Former Libertines frontman Carl Barat added: “He wrote the soundtrack to so many epiphanies. RIP Brother Ray.” Manzarek died yesterday in a clinic in Germany where he had gone from his home in California to be treated for cancer. His wife Dorothy and two brothers were with him.
Morrison was found dead in his bath in Paris in 1971. Doors bandmate Robby Krieger said today of Manzarek: “He was the only one smart enough to know that Jim wasn’t just a jerk, like a lot of people thought.”
