Bman's Blues Report

RAY MANZAREK DIES AT AGE 74 photo: Bob Hakins Ray Manzarek, keyboardist and founding member of the one of the most popular American rock groups of all time, The Doors, passed away today at the age of 74.   He was at a clinic in Rosenheim, Germany undergoing alternative medical treatments for cancer. Manzarek formed The Doors in 1965 after a chance encounter on Venice Beach with poet Jim Morrison. The band went on to become one of the most successful rock 'n' roll acts to emerge from the 1960's, selling more than 100 million albums worldwide, and receiving nineteen Gold, fourteen Platinum and five multi-Platinum albums in the U.S. alone.   In 1993, The Doors were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It is Manzarek's keyboard work that serves as the iconic opening to one of the group's biggest hits, "Light My Fire."   And his keyboard-as-lead-instrument stylings were prominent on their other ground-breaking hits su...

Blues Aficionado Allen "Blues Ace" Anthony was on the scene for the festival as usual and brought us some great photos as well as short commentary. The picture of Motor City Josh is of him (left) and his brother bringing the house down at the end of their set. What a pleasant surprise that band was! I had no idea how good that guy was. Mac Arnold made his guitar out of a gas can. While it’s more of a guitar than many of Super Chikan’s glorified Diddley Bows, it also sounds it’s best when played with a slide rather than any primitive attempts at fretting notes or chords. (More to come on Mac Arnold). He spent a lot of time in the LA music scene for much of his career and has semi-retired back to South Carolina where he bases his band, Plateful of Blues. Another interesting thing about him is that he grew up with James Brown and played in high school bands with “The Godfather of Soul.” John Mayall played a nice set. Did 3 songs off the Bluesbreakers “Beano” albums. Par...