Founding Member of The Doors, Saint Rita Grad Ray Manzarek Has Died

Ray Manzarek grew up on the South Side taking piano lessons and was a graduate of Saint Rita High School, he went on to help form the legendary rock group the Doors. 

Manzarek died on May 20 at the age of 74 after battling bile duct cancer, according to the New York Times. 

As a member of a band whose sound would help define the late 1960s, Manzarek may be best known for his soaring organ riffs that became an indelible aspect of the band's sound.

It was a sound influenced by his classical training, according to the Times.

"The quasi-Baroque introduction Mr. Manzarek brought to the Doors’ 1967 single “Light My Fire“  . . . helped make it a million-seller. Along with classical music, Mr. Manzarek also drew on jazz, R&B, cabaret and ragtime. His main instrument was the Vox Continental electric organ, which he claimed to have chosen, Mr. Vitorino said, because it was “easy to carry.” 

After Saint Rita, he went on to graduate from DePaul University and attended film school at the University of California, Los Angeles. 

In a video interview recorded with L Studio in 2009 he talked about the power of making music. 

"You don't make music for immortality, you make music for the moment," Manzarek said. "For capturing the sheer joy of being alive on planet Earth."

He is survived by a wife, son and three grandchildren. 

Reaf the full obituary: Ray Manzarek, 74, Keyboardist and a Founder of the Doors, Is Dead

Watch the attached YouTube video to hear Manzarek recount his passion for music.