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Biography
Ray Manzarek (born Raymond Daniel Manczarek, Jr. on February 12, 1939 in Chicago, Illinois, United States; died May 20, 2013, in Rosenheim, Germany) was an American musician, singer, producer, film director, and author, best known as a founding member and keyboardist of The Doors from 1965 to 1973. He was a co-founding member of Nite City from 1977 to 1978, and of Manzarek-Krieger from 2001 to his death.
From 1962 to 1965, Manzarek studied in the Department of Cinematography at UCLA, where he met film student Jim Morrison. He met drummer John Densmore and guitarist Robby Krieger at a Transcendental Meditation lecture. In January 1966, The Doors became the house band at The London Fog on the Sunset Strip in LA. Manzarek occasionally sang for The Doors, including the live recordings of "Close To You" and on the B-side of "Love Her Madly," "You Need Meat (Don't Go No Further)." He also sang on the last two Doors albums, recorded after Morrison's death, Other Voices and Full Circle. Additionally, he provided one of several guitar parts on the song "Been Down So Long."
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