10 Interesting Facts You Should Know About Robby Krieger

Robby Krieger is a legendary American guitarist, best known as a member of the great American classic rock, blues rock, psychedelic rock, and acid rock band The Doors. Initially a flamenco guitarist (which added tremendous emotional and technical value to the overall sound of the band throughout the passage of time), Robby Krieger turned towards the electric guitar as soon as he joined the Californian legendary rock band which was an important constituent part of the 1960s American counterculture, leaving an indelible mark on music history and influencing countless fans from many generations in the future to come. In this relatively brief informative article, I am showcasing 10 interesting facts you should know about this wonderful guitarist. Therefore, without further needless ado on my behalf, let’s get started!

1. Robby Krieger was a musical genius within the Doors, to such an extent that he actually co-wrote an important number of songs released by the band such as: Light My Fire, Love Me Two Times, Touch Me, and Love Her Madly (which was inspired by his personal life). Former legendary bandmate, the illustrious keyboardist Ray Manzarek, even went as far as to call Robby Krieger the secret weapon of the band in terms of creativity. And indeed, so he was.
2. Robby Krieger is featured in the 2023 edition of the 250 greatest guitarists of all time by Rolling Stone magazine, peaking at number of 248 (a way, way too underrated and undeserving position given his marvellous talent and technique if you’d ask me).
3. Robby Krieger stemmed from a family in which both classical music and Frank Sinatra were appreciated. His father was a fan of classical music while his mother liked Frank Sinatra.
4. He was taught to play on a flamenco guitar during the mid-1960s by American scholar and author Frank Chin.
5. He listened to Wes Montgomery, Albert King, and Larry Carlton, all of whom influenced his guitar playing style.
6. After the tragic and mysterious death of his bandmate, poet and singer Jim Morrison, in 1971 in Paris, France, Robby continued to play with the two other surviving Doors members, John Densmore (drums and percussion) and Ray Manzarek as the Doors up until 1973, releasing two moderately-successful studio albums throughout this period of time, more specifically Other Voices (1971) and Full Circle (1972), both which are truly worth listening to.
7. In addition to playing electric guitar on the last two studio albums by the Doors, Robby also performed on co-lead vocals alongside Ray Manzarek on some of the songs on these two records. Not only is he a very talented and technical guitarist but he has a beautiful voice as well.
8. He met his future bandmates from the Doors during a series of transcendental meditations of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in 1965 in Los Angeles, California. This is how the Doors got to know each other musically, although they initially bonded well intellectually in San Francisco.
9. Along with fellow bandmate John Densmore, Robby Krieger studied under the guidance of Ravi Shankar, renowned Indian sitarist, at the Kinnara School of Music in Los Angeles, California.
10. Robby Krieger can be heard singing on the Doors song Runnin’ Blue (a tribute to late soul singer Otis Redding) on the studio album The Soft Parade which was released in 1969.

Bonus facts:

• The legendary Doors guitarist has a son, Waylon Krieger, who is also a guitarist and with whom he played together in a band known as the Robby Krieger Band which he formed in 1991.
• Krieger means warrior or fighter in German.
• The iconic electric guitar model associated with Robby Krieger is the 1968 Gibson SG Standard. He perceived the musical instrument as sort of ‘devilish’ which fascinated him. Other renowned or legendary rock guitarists who played on Gibson SG electric guitars throughout the passage of time are Tony Iommi from Black Sabbath, Angus Young from AC/DC, Eric Clapton from Cream, Pete Townshend from The Who, or Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin (as a double-neck Gibson SG, that is to say one 12-string guitar and one 6-string guitar combined).

• In another top or list by Rolling Stone magazine, Robby Krieger was ranked 91st out of 100 best guitarists of all time (still an undeservingly low and very underrated position given his talent, technique, and tremendously important musical influence on many generations of fans throughout the passage of time).
• Robby Krieger is still musically active to this day which is quite commending!
• Robby Krieger did a cover of the well-known song Ghost Riders in the Sky (in collaboration with Phil Chen and Ed Roth) which you can listen embedded via YouTube below.

Thank you very much for your time, attention, and readership! It means a lot to me! All the best and rock on!

Documentation sources and external links:

• The Wikipedia page of the legendary guitarist on www.wikipedia.org (in English)
• The Wikipedia page of the legendary guitarist on www.wikipedia.org (in Romanian), an article within which I also considerably contributed throughout the passage of time
• The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time by Rolling Stone magazine (via Internet Archive)
• The 250 Greatest Guitarists of All Time by Rolling Stone magazine