RIP, Ray....

My cousin's wife just died from it. They had celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary Dec. 22, and she seemed to be in great health - always athletic and active. She became suddenly ill in January and was diagnosed with bile duct cancer. She underwent heroic surgery and seemed to be making a rapid recovery, then went downhill within days. Never recovered. We lost her in early March. Massive shock to the family, especially to her children and grandchildren, and her poor husband. They were so very close.

If his disease followed this course, there was little or no time to let the public know.

He was a fantastic musician, and a great guy.

Great music you and your band-mates played. Great in the 60's and still great today. Great music never loses its appeal.

Edit: This was meant as a single post and not a reply. My bad.

Farewell, Ray.

Sympathy to friends and family. Why this clinic? There has to be better treatment facilities.

I met someone years ago who was a relative of his, and was there the day they named the band. Interesting stories.

And the jukebox at the pizza place played Light My Fire, back in the 60's.

A very interesting keyboard player.

will last forever. It was quite a time, and were were lucky to have experienced the events of the day. RIP Ray.

Sitting in Row J, to Morrision's left. If you want a good laugh, rent the video. It's obvious that Ray was ripped to the tits.

I still have my ticket stubb, believe it or not. Maybe I held onto it, knowing how good the music and the times were then.

This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end

thanx for all the music Ray and for the beginning of "Riders on the Storm."

What a bummer. RIP.

Definitely my favorite song by the Doors!

Sad that we just lost him too.

and of course "LA Woman"... some of the best stuff ever written.

Turn out the lights.

RIP to a music legend.

Damn.

I saw them in concert 46 years ago today, May 20, 1967. It was at Birmingham High School in Van Nuys, CA, where I was a senior. Believe it or not, the headline group was Jefferson Airplane. As soon as The Doors finished their set, 1/3 of the stadium emptied out to follow The Doors to the Whiskey A Go Go, where The Doors were playing later that night.

Where did all the years go?

RIP Ray....

developing an even bigger appreciation for them lately. He came through Boston some months ago. i wish I had seen him.

manzarek filled two positions

I always thought it was cool that he did the bass lines on keys as well as main keyboards, made for a different sound.

RIP, good man.

There is nothing quite like his keyboard work in all of rock n' roll

I'll see you on the other side. Maybe we'll jam!

I'm too young to have seen the original line-up, but I saw the version with Manzarek and Krieger with Ian Astbury of The Cult handling vocals six times. Nobody plays quite the way he did.

but he really has died, just in a very poorly-timed fashion.

At this point, who knows? The intarwebz have made fact and fiction very closely-intertwined companions, haven't they?

Nice catch by Ptah:

interviews. One of the best bands ever.

Compelling, with a tinge of sinister.

Rest In Peace, Ray. The music lives on.

I love the fact that he plays on "Weird Al" Yankovic's "Craigslist", a style parody of the Doors.

I didn't realize he was in his '70s. 74 is relatively young these days too. RIP Ray.

I've been playing the organ and keyboard since I was 5, partially due to the Doors organ sound by Manzarek. He will be missed.

I loved their music instantly. I fell in love and married a keyboardist myself. Ray was an incredible musician. RIP, Ray. I need to listen to "When the Music's Over" in tribute.

?

sad to hear. not sure if i remember if he was sick but had no idea it was this serious.