Robbie Krieger

Robert Alan Krieger (born January 8, 1946) is an American guitarist and founding member of the rock band the Doors. Krieger wrote or co-wrote many of the Doors' songs, including the hits "Light My Fire", "Love Me Two Times", " Touch Me", and "Love Her Madly". When the Doors disbanded following the death of lead singer Jim Morrison, Krieger continued to perform and record with other musicians including former Doors bandmates John Densmore and Ray Manzarek. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Doors and is listed by ''Rolling Stone'' as one of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.

Early life and education

Krieger was born in Los Angeles, California to a Jewish family. His father, an engineer, was a fan of classical music, while his mother enjoyed "Frank Sinatra and stuff like that". ''Peter and the Wolf'' was the first record that captivated him. When he broke it, he started listening to other records. The radio introduced him to the likes of Fats Domino, Elvis Presley, and the Platters. At the age of 10, he tried the trumpet but found it was not for him. He began playing the blues on his parents' piano with much more success than the trumpet. At 17, he enjoyed playing a friend's guitar.

Krieger attended a Hebrew school with his twin brother Ronny. While Krieger was a boarding student at a private school called Menlo School in Menlo Park, California, there was study time at night that allowed him to teach himself to play the guitar. He began by first de-tuning a ukulele to the bottom four strings of a guitar and mimicking a record he had. Later, in the mid-1960s, scholar Frank Chin taught Krieger how to play the flamenco guitar. During a Christmas break, Krieger and two classmates took a vacation to Puerto Vallarta where he purchased a peg-tuned Ramírez guitar and took lessons for a few months. He played many genres, including flamenco, folk, blues, and jazz and played in a jug band—the Back Bay Chamber Pot Terriers—at Menlo.

After high school, Krieger attended the University of California, Santa Barbara. Krieger listed guitarists Wes Montgomery, Albert King, and Larry Carlton among the biggest influences on his style. Krieger's flamenco guitar playing can be heard in the song " Spanish Caravan".

The Doors

Krieger became a member of the Doors in 1965, joining keyboard player Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore and vocalist Jim Morrison, after Manzarek's brothers left the group. At an early Doors rehearsal Morrison heard Krieger playing bottleneck guitar and initially wanted the technique featured on every song on the first album. Krieger's fingerstyle approach to the electric guitar, broad musical tastes, and songwriting helped establish the Doors as a successful rock band in the 1960s. Together with Densmore, he studied under Indian sitarist Ravi Shankar at the Kinnara School of Music in Los Angeles.

Krieger occasionally sang lead vocal with the Doors. He can be heard on the song "Runnin' Blue". He also sang on the last two Doors albums, recorded after Morrison's death, '' Other Voices'' and '' Full Circle''.

After Morrison's death in 1971, Krieger, Manzarek and Densmore carried on as a trio. They released two more albums as the Doors before disbanding in 1973, though they did reconvene a few years later to create music for poetry that Morrison had recorded shortly before his death, released as the 1978 album '' An American Prayer''.

Later career

After the Doors disbanded in 1973, Krieger formed the Butts Band with Densmore. He enjoyed some success as a jazz-fusion guitarist, recording a handful of albums in the 1970s and 1980s, including '' Versions'' (1982), ''Robby Krieger'' (1985), and ''No Habla'' (1989). For his first solo release in 1977, '' Robbie Krieger & Friends'', Krieger worked with rock artist Jim Evans to create a painting that became the album package.

In 1982, Krieger appeared on four tracks of the album ''Panic Station'' by the Los Angeles group The Acid Casualties ("Shadow Street," "Solid Sound," "Armies of the Sun," and "She's a Lost Soul").

In the early 90s, Krieger formed a trio called the 'Robby Krieger Organization' featuring Skip Van Winkle (electric organ, organ pedal bass) and Dale Alexander (drums, backing vocals). In 1991, Krieger formed a new band simply known as the ''Robby Krieger Band,'' which featured his son Waylon Krieger (guitar), Berry Oakley Jr. (bass, backing vocals), Dale Alexander (keyboards), and Ray Mehlbaum (drums). The band performed shows in North America and Europe between 1991 and 1998. In 2000, Krieger released '' Cinematix'', an entirely instrumental fusion album, with guest appearances from Billy Cobham and Edgar Winter.

Krieger and Manzarek reformed as the "Doors of the 21st Century" in 2002 with vocalist Ian Astbury of the Cult. (Astbury had also performed a solo cover of " Touch Me" and a cover of " Wild Child" with the Cult on the tribute album '' Stoned Immaculate: The Music of The Doors''). Following a dispute with Densmore over the Doors name, the band then became known as "Riders on the Storm", "Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger of the Doors", and finally, " Manzarek–Krieger". For a brief period, the reformed band also included Police drummer Stewart Copeland.

Krieger played guitar on a few tracks by Blue Öyster Cult and has worked on a number of tribute projects organized by Billy Sherwood. Krieger has made some guest appearances with the band Particle and appears on the album ''Transformations Live''. In June 2008, ZYX Studio released his concert with Eric Burdon, called '' Live at the Ventura Beach California''. They also played "Back Door Man" and "Roadhouse Blues".

In April 2009, Krieger and Ray Manzarek appeared as special guests for Daryl Hall's monthly concert webcast ''Live From Daryl's House''. They performed several Doors tunes ( "People Are Strange", "The Crystal Ship", "Roadhouse Blues" and "Break On Through"), with Hall providing lead vocals. Krieger has participated in the "Experience Hendrix" series of concerts, joining a number of high-profile guitar players paying tribute to the musicianship and songwriting of Jimi Hendrix.

In May 2012, Robby Krieger toured with the Roadhouse Rebels, a trio side-project consisting of founding members Particle's (and Rich Robinson's keyboardist) Steve Molitz (hammond organ, keyboards) and Oingo Boingo/Mutaytor's John Avila (bass), only this time with two additional musicians, the Black Crowes's Rich Robinson (guitar/vocals) and Rich Robinson's drummer Joe Magistro. The shows' setlists featured a range of material, including Doors standards, classic soul and rock 'n' roll covers from the '60s and '70s, and material from Robinson's new Through a Crooked Sun album. The group performed on May 25, 2012, in Los Angeles, on May 26, 2012, at the Bella Fiore Music Festival at Harmony Park Music Garden in Clarks Grove, Minnesota, and on May 27, 2012, at the Oriental Theater in Denver.

Krieger is featured on the Fuel album '' Puppet Strings''. On December 31, 2013, Krieger played alongside Southern rock band Gov't Mule at the Beacon Theatre (New York City). In July 2017, Krieger tossed out the first pitch at a Dodgers game in Los Angeles.

On August 29, 2018, Krieger joined Alice in Chains onstage at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles to close out their sold-out concert with a performance of their hit song "Rooster". On August 14, 2020, Krieger released his solo album, ''The Ritual Begins At Sundown.'' On September 10, 2020, Krieger was announced as a headliner featuring Maki Mae in the Asian Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, Krieger began uploading guitar tutorials for various Doors songs to the band's official YouTube channel.

On October 12, 2021, Krieger released a memoir ''Set the Night on Fire: Living, Dying, and Playing Guitar With the Doors,'' cowritten with author and musician Jeff Penalty Alulis.

Personal life

Krieger is married to Lynn Krieger and has one child: Waylon Krieger.

In 2022, Krieger's custom-built home in Bel-Air, California was put up for sale by its current owner for $13.9 million. The property features 1.4 acres of land, a pool, spa and 6,600 square feet of living space. At one time it had been owned by Limp Bizkit singer Fred Durst.

Guitars used

Robby used a variety of electric guitars models during his time with the Doors, most notably the following ones:
* 1964 Gibson SG Special
* 1958 National 'Town & Country' (Model 1104)
* 1967 Gibson SG Special
* 1968 Gibson SG Standard
* 1954 Gibson Les Paul Custom ('Black Beauty')
* Black Gibson SG Standard

Discography

with The Doors

* ''The Doors'' (1967)
* '' Strange Days'' (1967)
* ''Waiting for the Sun'' (1968)
* ''The Soft Parade'' (1969)
* ''Morrison Hotel'' (1970)
* ''L.A. Woman'' (1971); last album to feature singer Jim Morrison before his death
* '' Other Voices'' (1971)
* '' Full Circle'' (1972)
* '' An American Prayer'' (1978)

with Butts Band

* ''Butts Band'' (1974)
* ''Hear and Now'' (1975)

with Red Shift

*''Red Shift (album)'' (1979)
*''Shifting On Strong (album)'' (1980)

Solo

*'' Robbie Krieger & Friends'' (1977)
*'' Versions'' (1982)
*''Robby Krieger'' (1985)
*''No Habla'' (1989)
*'' Door Jams'' (1989)
*'' Cinematix'' (2000)
*'' Singularity'' (2010)
*''The Ritual Begins At Sundown'' (2020)

with poet Michael C. Ford

* ''Look Each Other in the Ears''. Hen House Studio Album includes the Doors—Robby Krieger, John Densmore, and Ray Manzarek. 2014

Guest appearances

* "Puppet Strings" on '' Puppet Strings'', by Fuel (2014)
* "ZUN �
Burial Sunrise
(2016, Small Stone Records) Electric Sitar on 'Nothing Farther'
* "Forest Full of Trees" and "Stagger Lee" on ''Rock 'N' Roll Animals'' (2016) and "Big Brown Dog" w/ Brant Bjork on ''Bunny Rumble'' (2018) by Bunny Racket
* "All the Time in the World" on '' Alphabetland'' (2020) and "Strange Life" on ''Xtras'' (2021), ''Alphabetland'' outtakes), by X

In Fiction

* For Director Oliver Stone's movie ''The Doors'' (1991), Kreiger had a small Cameo as a backstage patron at the London Fog, while his younger self was portrayed by Frank Whaley, who also worked with Stone on ''Born on the Fourth of July'' (1989), ''JFK'' (1991) and ''World Trade Center'' (2006).

References

External links

*
*

The Doors official website
*

NAMM Oral History Interview with Robby Krieger
January 25, 2014

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krieger, Robby
1946 births
Living people
Lead guitarists
American expatriates in the United Kingdom
American rock guitarists
American male guitarists
The Doors members
Songwriters from California
University of California, Santa Barbara alumni
University High School (Los Angeles) alumni
Pupils of Ravi Shankar
Jewish American musicians
Jewish rock musicians
Guitarists from Los Angeles
20th-century American guitarists