Robbie Krieger: The musician The Doors called their “secret weapon”
There was no set plan for The Doors to become one of the biggest bands in the world. Containing one of the strangest lineups a rock and roll band has ever had, the main focus of their songs came from the allure it set up in the listener’s mind, with Jim Morrison spitting out his poetry to anyone within earshot. Although Morrison may have been responsible for turning the musicians’ songs into rock classics, keyboardist Ray Manzarak admitted that one of the band members was the engine behind the band.
Before they had played a note of music, both Manzarak and Morrison had met at college, both moving to work in the film department. Although neither of them had an innate desire to become a director, they knew they had an inkling of the dark side of life, which Morrison would go on to explore with his lyrics.
After performing the song ‘Moonlight Drive’ acappella for Manzarak while on the beach in Santa Monica, the keyboardist thought they should get a rock and roll band together, thinking they could take over the scene. Even though the first demo tape featured many Doors songs that would end up on their debut, like ‘End of the Night’, the first lineup would disintegrate, leading to the duo soldiering on with drummer John Densmore.
Needing a guitar player to fill out the sound, the band drafted Robbie Krieger, known for playing in some folk groups before joining the band. According to Krieger, the band clicked immediately, telling Classic Albums, “The first time we played together, we thought we were as good as The Stones. As good as anybody. At least we could see the potential there”.
Even though the band would put music to Morrison’s lyrics and melodies most of the time, Krieger would become the dark horse of the group. Besides adding his signature guitar parts, Krieger would be responsible for penning some of the band’s more notable hits, from the blues shuffle in ‘Love Me Two Times’ to the band’s signature song, ‘Light My Fire’.
While Krieger and Morrison would have their fair share of disagreements when putting together songs for their album The Soft Parade, they found common ground when returning to the blues on Morrison Hotel. By the time the band had settled back into the studio for their final album, LA Woman, Manzarak still marvelled at how much material Krieger had lined up.
Discussing the album sessions, Manzarak would consider Krieger’s contributions to be essential to the band’s sound, telling Mr Mojo Risin, “Inevitably, Robbie Krieger. [He was] The Doors’ secret weapon. He piped up and said, ‘Yeah, I got a song, it’s called ‘Love Her Madly’, which comes from Duke Ellington. Duke Ellington would say at the end of his shows, ‘We love you madly’. Robbie then flips that to be ‘Love Her Madly’”.
Outside of his songwriting contributions, Krieger was known for his unique approach to guitar playing, usually only playing with his fingers and creating demented sounds from his slide guitar. Even though anyone standing next to Jim Morrison would inevitably be competing for attention, Krieger left his mark on The Doors’ music by moulding himself as one of their cornerstone songwriters.
