Rick And The Ravens
Encyclopedia
Rick & the Ravens founded in 1961, was the band Ray Manzarek
was in before he joined The Doors
. The band recorded three singles on Aura Records before splitting up and reforming as The Doors in early October 1965.
In 1962 Ray Manczarek, having moved to Los Angeles
from Chicago
, joined on vocals and occasional piano. At the time the Manczareks wrote their name Manczarek, with the letter "c
", as did Ray. He changed the spelling upon joining The Doors.
Because of his voice, with a timbre
closer to the traditional blues
delivery than rock and roll
, Manzarek was also known as "Screamin' Ray Daniels" (Manzarek's middle name is Daniel), "Screamin' Ray", "the Bearded Blues Shouter", or simply "the Screamer".
, California
, called the Turkey Joint West, a British pub operated by the Santa Monica Soccer and Social Club, since 1974 known as Ye Olde King's Head. Their setlist consisted of their own originals, padded with standards such as "I'm Your Doctor, I Know What You Need
," "Louie, Louie," Smokey Robinson
's "Money" and Willie Dixon
's "Hoochie Coochie Man
."
In an interview conducted by Rainer Moddemann, Manzarek stated the first song Jim Morrison
performed with Rick & the Ravens was Richard Berry
's "Louie Louie." Morrison was not officially part of the band at that time; Manzarek simply invited his former college colleague on stage, much to everyone's surprise. Morrison was reportedly not prepared for this—his first public performance—and sang himself hoarse. Morrison and Manzarek had met previously and found each other sharing a lot of musical and artistic interests. Later Manzarek asked Morrison to join the band; Morrison accepted.
", "My Eyes Have Seen You", "Hello, I Love You
", "Go Insane" (the early title of "A Little Game" from the "Celebration of the Lizard
" suite, known simply as "Insane" on the acetate
), "End of the Night", and "Summer's Almost Gone
". The recording session was a relatively quick affair, only lasting three hours in total. Singer Morrison was reportedly delighted to hear his voice on a record for the first time. The demo was released in its entirety on The Doors' box set
in 1997. The tracks on the box set were mastered from what was originally Rick Manzarek's acetate
– now in the possession of Ray Manzarek—which was one of only five made.
In other words, the songs were cut before both of Ray's brothers left the band and Robby Krieger
joined from the Psychedelic Rangers in October 1965. Psychedelic Rangers drummer John Densmore
had joined Rick & the Ravens earlier the same year, in August. Krieger never played in Rick & the Ravens, though. At Morrison's suggestion the band changed its name to The Doors a month after they had recorded the demo, shortly prior to Krieger joining the line-up. The Doors was thus initially a quintet
, but when Manzarek decided to handle the bass duties with the newly introduced Fender Rhodes PianoBass
, Pat Sullivan was dropped from the line-up in December 1965, ultimately ending up with the "classic" quartet
.
Please note the singles were meant as promotional material only. They were never in wide circulation, nor were they even meant to be published outside the promotional circuits. On the "Soul Train / Geraldine" single, the artist is labeled "Ray Daniels feat. Rick & the Ravens", with "Ray Daniels" double billed. The last singles were initially meant as vehicles to promote Ray Manczarek (billed as "Ray Daniels") as lead artist, with the Ravens merely a backing band. Promotional material presented the artist as "Rick & the Ravens featuring the Voice of Ray Daniels". These plans were discarded when Morrison joined the line-up.
s, erroneously labelling the tracks as songs by the Doors. Although quite common, the song pair "Circle Twist" and "Blow Top" are not songs by Rick & the Ravens, but are simply, and perhaps deliberate, mislabels.
Ray Manzarek
Raymond Daniel Manzarek, Jr., better known as Ray Manzarek , is an American musician, singer, producer, film director, writer, co-founder and keyboardist of The Doors from 1965 to 1973, Nite City from 1977–1978 and Manzarek-Krieger since 2001.Manzarek is listed #4 on Digital Dreamdoor's "100...
was in before he joined The Doors
The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...
. The band recorded three singles on Aura Records before splitting up and reforming as The Doors in early October 1965.
Line-ups
The band initially consisted of Rick Manczarek on guitar, Jim Manczarek on organ and harmonica, Patrick Stonier on saxophone, Roland Biscaluz on bass and Vince Thomas on drums. The drummer and bass player were initially not permanent members, but asked to join whenever a gig was upcoming. The moniker "Rick" in the band name was Ray Manczarek's brother Rick Manczarek.In 1962 Ray Manczarek, having moved to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
from Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, joined on vocals and occasional piano. At the time the Manczareks wrote their name Manczarek, with the letter "c
C
Ĉ or ĉ is a consonant in Esperanto orthography, representing the sound .Esperanto orthography uses a diacritic for all four of its postalveolar consonants, as do the Latin-based Slavic alphabets...
", as did Ray. He changed the spelling upon joining The Doors.
Because of his voice, with a timbre
Timbre
In music, timbre is the quality of a musical note or sound or tone that distinguishes different types of sound production, such as voices and musical instruments, such as string instruments, wind instruments, and percussion instruments. The physical characteristics of sound that determine the...
closer to the traditional blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
delivery than rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
, Manzarek was also known as "Screamin' Ray Daniels" (Manzarek's middle name is Daniel), "Screamin' Ray", "the Bearded Blues Shouter", or simply "the Screamer".
Performances
The band used to perform on weekends for college crowds, mostly from UCLA Film School, at a bar on 2nd Street and Santa Monica Blvd. in Santa MonicaSanta Mônica
Santa Mônica is a town and municipality in the state of Paraná in the Southern Region of Brazil.-References:...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, called the Turkey Joint West, a British pub operated by the Santa Monica Soccer and Social Club, since 1974 known as Ye Olde King's Head. Their setlist consisted of their own originals, padded with standards such as "I'm Your Doctor, I Know What You Need
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...
," "Louie, Louie," Smokey Robinson
Smokey Robinson
William "Smokey" Robinson, Jr. is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. Robinson is one of the primary figures associated with Motown, second only to the company's founder, Berry Gordy...
's "Money" and Willie Dixon
Willie Dixon
William James "Willie" Dixon was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. A Grammy Award winner who was proficient on both the Upright bass and the guitar, as well as his own singing voice, Dixon is arguably best known as one of the most prolific songwriters...
's "Hoochie Coochie Man
Hoochie Coochie Man
"Hoochie Coochie Man" is a blues standard written by Willie Dixon and first performed by Muddy Waters in 1954 . The song was a major hit upon its release, reaching #8 on Billboard magazine's Black Singles chart...
."
In an interview conducted by Rainer Moddemann, Manzarek stated the first song Jim Morrison
Jim Morrison
James Douglas "Jim" Morrison was an American musician, singer, and poet, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band The Doors...
performed with Rick & the Ravens was Richard Berry
Richard Berry
Richard Berry was an African American singer, songwriter and musician, who performed with many Los Angeles doo-wop and close harmony groups in the 1950s, including The Flairs and The Robins....
's "Louie Louie." Morrison was not officially part of the band at that time; Manzarek simply invited his former college colleague on stage, much to everyone's surprise. Morrison was reportedly not prepared for this—his first public performance—and sang himself hoarse. Morrison and Manzarek had met previously and found each other sharing a lot of musical and artistic interests. Later Manzarek asked Morrison to join the band; Morrison accepted.
The 1965 World Pacific Demo
On September 2, 1965 the band entered World Pacific Studios and recorded six songs that would eventually become Doors songs; "Moonlight DriveMoonlight Drive
"Moonlight Drive" was one of the seminal tracks on The Doors' second album, Strange Days. Although it was only a B-side , it is a favorite in The Doors canon...
", "My Eyes Have Seen You", "Hello, I Love You
Hello, I Love You
"Hello, I Love You" is a song by The Doors from their 1968 album Waiting for the Sun. It was released as a single that same year, reaching number one in the United States and selling over a million copies in the U.S. alone. In Canada, it hit number one as well...
", "Go Insane" (the early title of "A Little Game" from the "Celebration of the Lizard
Celebration of the Lizard
"Celebration of the Lizard" is an epic performance piece written by Jim Morrison, frontman of The Doors. Composed as a series of poems, they include musical sections, spoken verse, and passages of allegorical storytelling.-Poems:*Lions in the Street...
" suite, known simply as "Insane" on the acetate
Acetate disc
An acetate disc, also known as a test acetate, dubplate , lacquer , transcription disc or instantaneous disc...
), "End of the Night", and "Summer's Almost Gone
Summer's Almost Gone
"Summer's Almost Gone" is the fourth track on Waiting for the Sun, the third album by American rock band The Doors. The song was covered by pianist George Winston on his album Night Divides the Day - The Music of the Doors....
". The recording session was a relatively quick affair, only lasting three hours in total. Singer Morrison was reportedly delighted to hear his voice on a record for the first time. The demo was released in its entirety on The Doors' box set
The Doors: Box Set
This is the first box set by the band The Doors released on October 28, 1997. The set includes previously rare and unreleased demo recordings.-Track listing:All songs written by Jim Morrison, Robby Krieger, Ray Manzarek, and John Densmore, except where noted....
in 1997. The tracks on the box set were mastered from what was originally Rick Manzarek's acetate
Acetate disc
An acetate disc, also known as a test acetate, dubplate , lacquer , transcription disc or instantaneous disc...
– now in the possession of Ray Manzarek—which was one of only five made.
Transformation to The Doors
The band that recorded the demo was not the Doors, however, but Rick & the Ravens. The 1965 demo features Jim Morrison on vocals, Ray Manzarek on piano and background vocals, John Densmore on drums, Rick Manzarek on guitar, Jim Manzarek on harmonica and Patricia "Pat" Hansen (née Sullivan) from Patty and the Esquires—the band she had with Chuck Hansen, whom she later married -- on bass guitar. After the demo was recorded, the band tried to pass it around. Both Jim and Rick Manzarek were disappointed in the response to the demo—additionally both of the Manzareks, along Sullivan, were not impressed by the new Morrison songs -- and subsequently the Manzarek brothers, sans Ray, quit the band, stating they felt the band was "going nowhere fast".In other words, the songs were cut before both of Ray's brothers left the band and Robby Krieger
Robby Krieger
Robert Alan "Robby" Krieger is an American rock guitarist and songwriter. He was the guitarist in The Doors, and wrote some of the band's best known songs, including "Light My Fire," "Love Me Two Times," "Touch Me," and "Love Her Madly."...
joined from the Psychedelic Rangers in October 1965. Psychedelic Rangers drummer John Densmore
John Densmore
John Paul Densmore is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the drummer of the rock group The Doors.-Early life and The Doors:Born in Los Angeles, Densmore attended Santa Monica City College and Cal...
had joined Rick & the Ravens earlier the same year, in August. Krieger never played in Rick & the Ravens, though. At Morrison's suggestion the band changed its name to The Doors a month after they had recorded the demo, shortly prior to Krieger joining the line-up. The Doors was thus initially a quintet
Quintet
A quintet is a group containing five members.It is commonly associated with musical groups, such as a string quintet, or a group of five singers, but can be applied to any situation where five similar or related objects are considered a single unit....
, but when Manzarek decided to handle the bass duties with the newly introduced Fender Rhodes PianoBass
Rhodes piano
The Rhodes piano is an electro-mechanical piano, invented by Harold Rhodes during the fifties and later manufactured in a number of models, first in collaboration with Fender and after 1965 by CBS....
, Pat Sullivan was dropped from the line-up in December 1965, ultimately ending up with the "classic" quartet
Quartet
In music, a quartet is a method of instrumentation , used to perform a musical composition, and consisting of four parts.-Western art music:...
.
2011 Reformation
In 2011 Rick Manzarek gathered a new band for Rick & the Ravens, playing guitar with Rob Stanfield singing and playing rhythm guitar, Steve Cress on lead guitar, Pete Tebow on bass, Paul Estrip on drums, and Scott Ferris playing harmonica. With a sound ranging from traditional blues to garage rock, they started recording a new demo in October of 2011.Discography
| Release year | Name | Publisher | Release Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | Soul Train / Geraldine | Aura Records | Aura Records 4511 |
| 1965 | Henrietta / Just For You | Aura Records | Aura Records 4506 |
| 1965 | Big Bucket "T" / Rampage | Posae Records | Posae Records 101 |
Please note the singles were meant as promotional material only. They were never in wide circulation, nor were they even meant to be published outside the promotional circuits. On the "Soul Train / Geraldine" single, the artist is labeled "Ray Daniels feat. Rick & the Ravens", with "Ray Daniels" double billed. The last singles were initially meant as vehicles to promote Ray Manczarek (billed as "Ray Daniels") as lead artist, with the Ravens merely a backing band. Promotional material presented the artist as "Rick & the Ravens featuring the Voice of Ray Daniels". These plans were discarded when Morrison joined the line-up.
Mislabels
All of these promo tracks have later ended up on various Doors bootlegBootleg recording
A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
s, erroneously labelling the tracks as songs by the Doors. Although quite common, the song pair "Circle Twist" and "Blow Top" are not songs by Rick & the Ravens, but are simply, and perhaps deliberate, mislabels.