Robby Krieger got his first guitar – a Gibson SG with P-90 pickups – for $180. And with that six-string he made musical history, using the instrument on The Doors’ 1967 debut titled, simply, The Doors.
Krieger, who turns 66 on Sunday, January 8, has used other Gibsons over the years, including various Les Pauls and members of the ES family, but the tone and playability of the SG has continued to pull him close like gravity.
Today the Gibson Custom Shop builds a Robby Krieger signature model SG that, in accordance with his musical evolution, sports a pair of humbuckers and a vibrato arm. The guitar is based primarily on his 1967 SG Standard.
Another important aspect of Krieger’s growth as a player was incorporating the use of a plectrum, which – thanks to his early hybrid of flamenco based playing and the influence of Wes Montgomery – he avoided during his days with The Doors. That finger style attack helped give him a distinctive tone and attack on the band’s classic albums.
For an earful of Krieger’s musical development during The Doors and beyond, check out these 10 tracks:
“Light My Fire,” The Doors (1967)
Influenced by the modal jazz free flights of players like John Coltrane and Elvin Jones, Krieger aimed to infuse elements of modal playing into his rock guitar on The Doors’ debut album, and the soaring, narrative-like solo in “Light My Fire” is a perfect example. “Jazz in the ’50s and early ’60s changed from bebop into the modal thing, and it was a little like rock and roll, because the fewer chord changes, the better,” Krieger says. “That’s a two-edged sword, but if you can play that way and make it work, it sounds great.”
“Riders on the Storm,” L.A. Woman (1971)
Using sliding chords, tremolo and unsparing reverb, Krieger took his guitar into the same sonic realm as Ray Manzarek’s organ. Together their weaving interplay created a textural masterpiece.
“Russian Caravan,” Singularity (2010)
This two-part tribute to Miles Davis from Krieger’s latest solo disc is a compelling condensation of his mastery. Inspired by Davis’ 1960 “Sketches of Spain,” the song opens with acoustic flamenco style playing, then shifts to full electric. It’s a liberating take on fusion that sounds amazingly fresh.
“The End,” The Doors (1967)
Krieger’s psychedelic guitar creates a sonic mantra that bolsters the intoxicating atmosphere of this 12-minute epic. Improvised, exploratory and full of creative grace, the tune captured the essence of The Doors’ axis of poetry and musical atmospherics, and established Krieger as one of the most unpredictable guitarists of the 1960s.
“Break on Through, The Doors (1967)
Here’s where Krieger’s flamenco-rock attack met blues for the first time on disc. For “Break on Through” he draws on no less a historic figure than early electric slide guitar king Elmore James for his brisk tone and a rumba feel. Although the song was The Doors’ first single, it never cracked the top 100. Nonetheless, today it’s an enduring classic thanks in no small part to Krieger’s riffs.
“End of the Night,” The Doors (1967)
This tune’s a great essay in Krieger’s use of open tunings. Here’s his take, from a 2010 Gibson.com interview on playing in his go-to open D, dropped D and open E and other non-standard tunings, like the open minor in “End of the Night”: “I didn’t really know how the blues guys played in open tunings. I just used them because it was easier to play slide in open tuning. You just lay the slide across the strings and hit a chord. But lately I’ve been playing slide in standard turning, which is neat, too. It’s a whole different approach. I use a metal slide today – stainless steel – but back in the day I used a glass slide.”
“Roadhouse Blues,” Morrison Hotel (1970)
This biker band standard is driven by Krieger’s grinding riff with support from Gibson Flying V legend Lonnie Mack filling in on bass. Rock lore has it that Mack may have played the song’s solo rather than Krieger, but the SG kingpin’s live performances prove he’s more than capable of supplying plenty of mojo in the song’s middle. In 1993, a memorable live performance of “Roadhouse Blues” at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony featured Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder on vocals and Krieger wailing away on a Gibson ES-345 to celebrate The Doors’ induction.
“Missionary Jam,” Cinematix (2000)
Ten minutes of pure abstract fusion blowing from Krieger’s solo catalog, this tune careens from blues to the back alley to outer space with the guitar legend displaying not only his fluid chops but his love affair with echo on delay – another holdover from his Doors days.
“Five to One,” Waiting For the Sun (1968)
Another stone blues exploration, Krieger’s grinding riff puts the hammer down, kicking the song along until its time for his epic five-note melody that relents to a spate of remarkable trademark rapid-fire string bending. Killer – and way underappreciated in The Doors’ catalog.
“Love Me Two Times,” Strange Days (1967)
This tune balances old-school country blues with lively ’60s psychedelia, with Krieger ramping up from his deft finger picking to a radical blast of sound at the climax. Both lazy and lunging, it seems deceptively simple, but the secret is in the feel – smooth, raw and in-the-pocket all at once.
