Robby Krieger Tells His Doors Story, March 7, 1986

Off The Record, Joe Smith Interviews Robby Krieger, March 7, 1986

Robert Alan Krieger (born January 8, 1946) is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter best known as the guitarist of the rock band the Doors; as such he has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 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". After the Doors disbanded, Krieger continued his performing and recording career with other musicians including former Doors bandmates John Densmore and Ray Manzarek. He was listed by Rolling Stone as one of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.

Krieger was born in Los Angeles, California to a Jewish family. His father, an engineer, was a fan of classical music, while his mother enjoyed "Frank Sinatra and stuff like that". Peter and the Wolf was the first record that captivated him. When he broke it, he started listening to other records. The radio introduced him to the likes of Fats Domino, Elvis Presley, and the Platters. At the age of 10, he tried the trumpet but found it was not for him. He began playing the blues on his parents' piano with much more success than the trumpet. At 13, he enjoyed playing a friend's guitar.

While Krieger was a boarding student at a private school called Menlo School in Menlo Park, 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. During a Christmas break, Krieger and two classmates took a vacation to Puerto Vallarta where he purchased a peg-tuned Ramírez guitar and took lessons for a few months. He bounced around genres, including flamenco, folk, blues, and jazz and played in a jug band—the Back Bay Chamber Pot Terriers—at Menlo.

After high school, Krieger attended the University of California, Santa Barbara. Krieger listed guitarists Wes Montgomery, Albert King, and Larry Carlton among the biggest influences on his style. Krieger's flamenco guitar playing can be found present in the song "Spanish Caravan".


Source; wikipedia

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