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When you think of the Doors, 'guitar' isn't
the first thing that usually comes to mind (Jim Morrison's manic
persona and Ray Manzarek's swirling organ usually take precedent),
but guitarist Robbie Krieger proved to be an integral member of
the band — helping pen the majority of the group's songs.
Born on January 8, 1946 in Los Angeles, California, Krieger was
first taken by classical music, before discovering such early
rock & roll artists as Elvis Presley via the radio. When surfing
proved to be taking Krieger's mind off of studying during his
teenage years, his parents enrolled him in a private school. Each
night, students were forced to study in their rooms for a few
hours — instead, Krieger used this time to teach himself how to
play guitar.
First interested in flamenco guitar, Krieger's playing style soon
expanded into folk, jazz, and blues. But it was a Chuck Berry
concert that finally convinced Krieger to give rock music a go,
which resulted in the guitarist trading in his classical guitar
in for a Gibson SG, an instrument that he would eventually become
synonymous with. Studying physics and Indian music at UCLA, Krieger
played in bands with friends, and eventually bumped into a drummer
he'd met a few years before, John Densmore. The two began jamming
on blues together, while Krieger's interest in Indian music and
culture continued to flourish, as he began dabbling with sitars
(studying at the Kinnara School, which was founded by Ravi Shankar),
and attending meditation classes.
It was at one of these meditation classes that Krieger met keyboardist
Ray Manzarek. Manzarek eventually convinced Krieger to come down
and rehearse with a poet/singer he'd been working with, Jim Morrison.
Their first rehearsal supposedly resulted in the penning of "Moonlight
Drive," and after playing several gigs, Krieger convinced his
pal Densmore to join on as well, resulting in the birth of the
Doors. Quickly building a name for themselves in L.A. with their
unpredictable live shows, the Doors were signed to Elektra Records,
and issued their debut album, the Doors, in 1967.
The album would become one of rock's all-time classics, as it
spawned the monster hit "Light My Fire," a tune penned entirely
by Krieger. It appeared as though the group had a hard time following
up such a strong debut, as such subsequent studio releases — 1967's
Strange Days, 1968's Waiting for the Sun, and 1969's the Soft
Parade — all included several classic songs, but failed to match
the consistency of their debut. But by the dawn of the '70s, it
appeared as though the band had regained their focus, issuing
a pair of strong releases, 1970's Morrison Hotel and 1971's L.A.
Woman, before Morrison drank himself into the 'great saloon in
the sky.'
In the wake of Morrison's passing, the Doors attempted to continue
on, resulting in a pair of so-so albums, 1971's Other Voices and
1972's Full Circle, before packing it in. Krieger would go on
to sporadically issue solo albums (debuting in 1977 with Robbie
Krieger & Friends), in addition to playing live dates, and guesting
on albums by other artists (the Butts Band, Blue Öyster Cult,
etc.). In the early 21st century, Krieger and Manzarek resuscitated
the Doors (with the Cult's Ian Astbury taking Morrison's position,
and the Police's Stewart Copeland initially taking Densmore's
spot) for live shows and recordings.
This bio courtesy www.allmusic.com
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