Robby Krieger’s Book Opens New Doors On The Lizard King And His Legendary Band
- by Sal Cataldi
Robby Krieger was far more than a simple guitarist for The Doors. For all the acclaim laid upon Jim Morrison as rock’s poet laureate, it was Krieger who almost singlehandedly wrote the music and words for some of their biggest hits including “Love Me Two Times” and the career-launching “Light My Fire.”
A master of restraint in this playing, the reserved Krieger has likewise held his tongue for five decades on providing his take on his mythic band. Now this and much more is contained in a new book, one as sprawling and emotionally topsy turvy as their classic Oedipal-themed tune “The End”--Set the Night on Fire: Living, Dying and Playing Guitar with The Doors.
No band is as shrouded in murky mythology as The Doors. First off, is Jim Morrison really dead? Did he pass peacefully in a warm bath in his Paris apartment or was it an O.D. courtesy of a European Count/heroin dealer in a nightclub toilet? Did he really expose himself on that stage in Miami or double-cross Ed Sullivan when he sang the word “higher” during their appearance on America’s top TV show?
