“Raymond Daniel Manczarek. Born
2/12/39. Musician: organist.” These were Ray Manzarek’s answers to a film
crew’s questions “Name, Age, Occupation” on the Doors’ ’68 European tour. His
singer’s response couldn’t have been more different. Name: “Uh, Jim” Occupation:
“Umm..?”
The stoic, Apollonian, business-minded
father figure and the inspired, prodigal Dionysian child were like Yin/Yang;
that tension was the embryo of a band that would change the world and, for a
brief moment, be on top of it.
Someone born on today’s date is an
Aquarius. The water bearer. The visionary. But as the 3rd decanate*
of Aquarius he is ruled by Venus; therefore drawn to the finer things, the
luxury of L.A. “We’re gonna make a million dollars” Ray said to Jim when he
first heard Morrison sing some of his songs on Venice Beach in 1965. Maybe Jim
didn’t want to be a rock star; but Ray made it happen. No one did more to push
the myth, not only of the band but of Morrison as incarnation of Dionysus. From
the 80s till his death, not ten years ago, Ray promoted the image of the band
and their departed singer to new generations of youth, encouraging them to
venerate the cult of personality that Jim himself so despised and distrusted.
Thanks Ray; you kept the door open all these years.
A Polish kid from Chicago drawn to the
blues at a young age, the only white boy sneaking in to those sweaty clubs, but
also a classically-trained pianist influenced by his countryman Chopin, by
Bach, Kurt Veil and the suggestive expansiveness of cinema, Ray Manczarek was
truly a one-of-a-kind keyboardist. Funky yet avant-garde, no white rock band at
the time had anything like him; he is to a great extent what set the Doors
apart from the common two-guitar lineup of the day, not to mention his left
hand replaced the bass player most groups relied on to hold things down. “There
will never be another one like you”, Ray; without him one can’t imagine a group
like Santana, Deep Purple or Blue Öyster Cult, or a host of prog rock
bands—even the melodic death metal of Amorphis plainly owes a debt.
*A decanate is a
ten-degree division of the zodiacal circle. Therefore each sign has three
decanates which last approximately ten days each.
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