I’m not going to do a post on Ray Manzarek. I met him once. He was a good guy. I was part of a group of students that brought him and the poet Michael McClure to Washington State University for a standing room only performance. Ray was a perfect gentleman, a seasoned entertainer, and he was sharper than anybody I’ve ever met that truly LIVED the 1960s. He’s the guy that remembered almost everything.
I’m not the biggest Doors fan. I feel Jim Morrison was a waste of talent, and like Janis, his records would have been even better had he had the heart to put down the bottle. But Ray did something just as special as anything Jim ever did. He was among the first wave of musicians to bring Jazz to Rock. Whether you consider Ray a jazz musician, he still popularized his own brand of Jazz Rock before Miles jumped on the bandwagon. Ray told us that he envisioned The Doors as a Jazz Quartet playing Rock.
Some people say Jim Morrison was a genius. People only say that because he was lucky enough to be in a band with Ray Manzarek. They called Ray a name dropper, but I can appreciate a man that sticks by his friend; from the flowers of his friend’s grave to the soft dirt that covers his very own.
Here’s a concert I know Ray Manzarek would have enjoyed.
Sh*t. I just did a post on Ray Manzarek
– Davin Michael Stedman of Staxx Brothers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwp&NR=1&v=VUVuX3lLrdg
