What is Robby Krieger’s Net Worth?
Robby Krieger is an American guitarist and songwriter who has a net worth of $15 million. Robby Krieger is a founding member of the rock band the Doors. He wrote or cowrote many of the band’s biggest hit songs, including “Light My Fire,” “Touch Me,” and “Love Her Madly.” After the Doors disbanded following the passing of lead singer Jim Morrison, Krieger continued to perform and record with his bandmates John Densmore and Ray Manzarek, and later as a solo artist.
Early Life and Education
Robby Krieger was born on January 8, 1946 in Los Angeles, California into a Jewish family. He has a twin brother named Ronny. As a youth, Krieger went to Hebrew school and attended the private college preparatory school Menlo School in Atherton, California. During designated study times at night, he taught himself how to play the guitar. Later, he was taught the flamenco guitar by scholar Frank Chin. For his higher education, Krieger went to the University of California, Santa Barbara. After joining the Doors, he studied under Indian sitarist Ravi Shankar at the Kinnara School of Music in Los Angeles.
The Doors
In the mid-1960s, Krieger joined drummer John Densmore in the band the Psychedelic Rangers. Shortly after that, he started playing with keyboardist Ray Manzarek, Manzarek’s two brothers, and vocalist Jim Morrison in the band Rick & the Ravens. In 1965, Rick & the Ravens was renamed the Doors, with the lineup consisting of Krieger, Densmore, Manzarek, and Morrison. The next year, the Doors became the house band at the London Fog nightclub on Los Angeles’s Sunset Strip; they later became the house band at the Whisky a Go Go. Krieger helped the band become successful thanks to his innovative fingerstyle approach to the electric guitar and his wide-ranging musical influences.
After signing with Elektra Records, the Doors released their self-titled debut album in 1967. It was a smash hit, peaking at number two on the Billboard 200 and launching the band’s breakout single, “Light My Fire.” Later in 1967, the Doors released the album “Strange Days,” another hit that peaked at number three on the Billboard 200. An even greater success was 1968’s “Waiting for the Sun,” which became the Doors’ first and only number-one album on the charts. It spawned another hit single, “Hello, I Love You.” The band’s fourth album, “The Soft Parade,” came out in 1969. That was followed in the early 1970s by “Morrison Hotel” and “L.A. Woman,” the latter of which was the last Doors album recorded before Morrison passed away in 1971. The band then carried on as a trio, releasing the albums “Other Voices” and “Full Circle.” After disbanding in 1973, the Doors reunited in 1978 and released their final studio album, “An American Prayer.”
Butts Band
Following the disbanding of the Doors in 1973, Krieger and bandmate John Densmore formed Butts Band. Signed to Blue Thumb Records, the group released two studio albums with two different lineups: a self-titled debut in 1973 and “Hear and Now” in 1975. Neither album sold well, and Butts Band disbanded in 1975.
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Solo Career
After Butts Band disbanded in 1975, Krieger embarked on a solo career. His first solo album was “Robbie Krieger & Friends,” which was released in 1977; he also designed the cover art for the album, showing him standing with his guitar in a desert. Krieger’s next album was “Versions,” released in 1982; it featured appearances from his former Doors bandmates Densmore and Manzarek. His self-titled third solo album, an entirely instrumental album, came out in 1985. Four years later, Krieger released “No Habla” and the compilation album “Door Jams.” He didn’t release another solo album until 2000, with the instrumental fusion album “Cinematix.” A decade later, Krieger released “Singularity,” which went on to earn a Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Instrumental Album. After another decade, he released “The Ritual Begins at Sundown.”
Other Projects
In 1991, Krieger formed the Robby Krieger Band, featuring his son Waylon on guitar, Berry Oakley Jr. on bass, Dale Alexander on keyboards, and Ray Mehlbaum on drums.
Concert Collaborations
In 2008, Krieger played with Animals singer Eric Burdon in a concert at Ventura Beach in California. The concert was released on DVD by ZYX Records. In 2012, he toured with the Roadhouse Rebels, and in 2013 played with the Southern rock jam band Gov’t Mule in New York City. Later, in 2018, Krieger joined Alice in Chains at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles to close out the band’s concert.
Personal Life
With his wife Lynn, Krieger has a son named Waylon. They previously lived in a custom-built, hexagonal home in Bel Air featuring 6,600 square feet of living space on a 1.4-acre property. They lived there through the early 1970s. In the 1990s, Fred Durst owned the home. In 2018 a different owner sold it for $9.6 million. Here’s a video tour of Robby Krieger’s former Bel-Air mansion:
In 2021, Krieger released his memoir “Set the Night on Fire: Living, Dying, and Playing Guitar with the Doors.” It was co-authored by writer, documentary filmmaker, and former Dead Kennedys singer Jeff Penalty.
