Robby Krieger

Biography

Robert Alan Krieger (born January 8, 1946) 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. In the 2023 edition of Rolling Stone's 250 greatest guitarists of all time, he was positioned at number 248.

Early life and education

Robby Krieger was born on January 8, 1946 in Los Angeles, California to a Jewish family. His father, Stuart "Stu" Krieger, was an engineer and a fan of classical music, while his mother, Marilyn Ann (née Shapiro), enjoyed "Frank Sinatra and stuff like that".
Krieger attended a Hebrew school with his twin brother Ronny. 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.
After graduating 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. Krieger's flamenco guitar playing can be heard in the song "Spanish Caravan".

The Doors

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. 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. Together with Densmore, he studied under Indian sitarist Ravi Shankar at the Kinnara School of Music in Los Angeles.
Krieger occasionally sang lead vocals with the Doors. He can be heard on the song "Runnin' Blue". He also sang on the last two Doors albums, recorded after Morrison's death, Other Voices and Full Circle.
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.

Later career

After the Doors disbanded in 1973, Krieger formed the Butts Band with Densmore. He recorded as a jazz-fusion guitarist, making a handful of albums in the 1970s and 1980s, including Versions×Versions1982 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracksA1Tattooed Love Boys3:55A2Her Majesty3:40A3East End, West End5:50A4The Crystal Ship3:23A5Street Fighting Man3:23B1Reach Out (I'll Be There)4:03B2Gavin Leggit3:24B3Underwater Fall4:10B4I'm Gonna Tell on You2:56B5Harlem Nocturne3:19 (1982), Robby Krieger (1985), and No Habla (1989). His first solo release was Robbie Krieger & Friends in 1977.
In 1982, Krieger appeared on four tracks of the album Panic Station by the Los Angeles group The Acid Casualties ("Shadow Street," "Solid Sound," "Armies of the Sun," and "She's a Lost Soul").
In 1991, Krieger formed a new band known as the Robby Krieger Band, which featured his son Waylon Krieger (guitar), Berry Oakley Jr. (bass, backing vocals), Dale Alexander (keyboards), and Ray Mehlbaum (drums). In 2000, Krieger released Cinematix, an entirely instrumental fusion album, with guest appearances from Billy Cobham and Edgar Winter.
Krieger and Manzarek reformed as the "Doors of the 21st Century" in 2002 with vocalist Ian Astbury of the Cult. (Astbury had also performed a solo cover of "Touch Me" and a cover of "Wild Child" with the Cult on the tribute album Stoned Immaculate: The Music of The Doors).
Krieger played guitar on a few tracks by Blue Öyster Cult. In June 2008, ZYX Studio released his concert with Eric Burdon, called Live at the Ventura Beach California. They also played "Back Door Man" and "Roadhouse Blues×Roadhouse Blues20 October 2023 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Roadhouse Blues4:08".
In May 2012, Krieger toured with the Roadhouse Rebels, a trio side-project consisting of founding members Particle's (and Rich Robinson's keyboardist) Steve Molitz (Hammond organ, keyboards) and Oingo Boingo/Mutaytor's John Avila (bass), only this time with two additional musicians, Rich Robinson (guitar/vocals) and his drummer Joe Magistro. The shows' setlists featured a range of material, including Doors standards, classic soul and rock 'n' roll covers from the '60s and '70s, and material from Robinson's new Through a Crooked Sun album. The group performed on May 25, 2012, in Los Angeles, on May 26, 2012, at the Bella Fiore Music Festival at Harmony Park Music Garden in Clarks Grove, Minnesota, and on May 27, 2012, at the Oriental Theater in Denver.
On October 31, 2013, Krieger played alongside Southern rock band Gov't Mule at the Beacon Theatre in New York City. In July 2017, Krieger tossed out the first pitch at a Dodgers game in Los Angeles.
On August 29, 2018, Krieger joined Alice in Chains onstage at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles to close out their sold-out concert with a performance of their hit song "Rooster". On August 14, 2020, Krieger released his solo album, The Ritual Begins At Sundown×The Ritual Begins at Sundown24 April 2020 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1What Was That?6:072Slide Home5:033The Drift5:354Chunga's Revenge5:565Hot Head6:086Yes, The River Knows3:207The Hitch4:218Dr Noir5:169Bianca's Dream4:2110Screen Junkie6:02. On September 10, 2020, Krieger was announced as a headliner featuring Maki Mae in the Asian Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.
In 2020, Krieger began uploading guitar tutorials for various Doors songs to the band's official YouTube channel.
On October 12, 2021, Krieger released a memoir Set the Night on Fire: Living, Dying, and Playing Guitar With the Doors, co-written with author and musician Jeff Penalty Alulis.

Personal life

Krieger is married to Lynn Krieger and has one child.

Guitars used

Krieger used a variety of electric guitar models during his time with the Doors, most notably the following ones:

1964 Gibson SG Special
1958 National 'Town & Country' (Model 1104)
1967 Gibson SG Special
1968 Gibson SG Standard
1954 Gibson Les Paul Custom ('Black Beauty')
Black Gibson SG Standard

with The Doors

The Doors (1967)
Strange Days (1967)
Waiting for the Sun (1968)
The Soft Parade (1969)
Morrison Hotel (1970)
L.A. Woman (1971); last album to feature singer Jim Morrison before his death
Other Voices (1971)
Full Circle (1972)
An American Prayer (1978)

with Red Shift

Red Shift (album) (1979)
Shifting On Strong (album) (1980)

Solo

Robbie Krieger & Friends (1977)
Versions (1982)
Robby Krieger (1985)
No Habla (1989)
Door Jams (1989)
Cinematix (2000)
Singularity (2010)
The Ritual Begins at Sundown (2020)
Robby Krieger & The Soul Savages (2024)

with poet Michael C. Ford

Look Each Other in the Ears. Hen House Studio Album includes the Doors—Robby Krieger, John Densmore, and Ray Manzarek. 2014

Guest appearances

"Puppet Strings" on Puppet Strings, by Fuel (2014)
"Five to One/Break On Through (To The Other Side) and "One/Jump into the Fire" on Hollywood Vampires by Hollywood Vampires (2015)
"ZUN – Burial Sunrise" (2016, Small Stone Records) Electric Sitar on 'Nothing Farther'
"Forest Full of Trees" and "Stagger Lee" on Rock 'N' Roll Animals (2016) and "Big Brown Dog" w/ Brant Bjork on Bunny Rumble (2018) by Bunny Racket
"All the Time in the World" on Alphabetland (2020) and "Strange Life" on Xtras (2021), Alphabetland outtakes), by X
"Black Mamba" on The Revenge of Alice Cooper by Alice Cooper (2025)

In fiction

For Director Oliver Stone's movie The Doors (1991), Krieger had a small cameo as a backstage patron at the London Fog, while his younger self was portrayed by Frank Whaley.