Robby Krieger
Robert Alan Krieger (born January 8, 1946)[1] 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 shortly after 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.[2][3] In the 2023 edition of Rolling Stones’s 250 Greatest guitarists of all time, he was repositioned at number 248.[4]
Robby Krieger
Robert Alan Krieger
January 8, 1946
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
- Musician
- songwriter
- Guitar
- vocals
1964–present
- Krieger & The Soul Savages
- Robby Krieger Band
- Rick & the Ravens
- The Doors
- Butts Band
- Red Shift
- Manzarek–Krieger
- Doors with poet Michael C. Ford
Early life and education[edit]
Robby Krieger was born on January 8, 1946, in Los Angeles, California to a Jewish family.[5][6] His father, Stuart “Stu” Krieger, was an engineer and was a fan of classical music, while his mother, Marilyn Ann (née Shapiro), enjoyed "Frank Sinatra and stuff like that".[7]
Krieger attended a Hebrew school with his twin brother Ronny.[8] While Krieger was a boarding student at a private school called Menlo School in Atherton, 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.[9]
After graduating from high school, Krieger attended the University of California, Santa Barbara. His musical development included listening to guitarists Wes Montgomery, Albert King, and Larry Carlton who influenced his style.[10] Krieger's flamenco guitar playing can be heard in the song "Spanish Caravan".[11]
The Doors[edit]
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.[12] 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.[13] Together with Densmore,[14] he studied under Indian sitarist Ravi Shankar at the Kinnara School of Music in Los Angeles.[15][16]
Krieger occasionally sang lead vocal with the Doors. He can be heard on the song "Runnin' Blue".[17] He also sang on the last two Doors albums, recorded after Morrison's death, Other Voices and Full Circle.[18]
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.[19]
Personal life[edit]
Krieger is married to Lynn Krieger and has one child: Waylon Krieger.[28][29][30]
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.[31]
Krieger used a variety of electric guitars models during his time with the Doors, most notably the following ones:[32]
