Robby Krieger, the legendary guitarist of The Doors, has written his memoir about the band’s meteoric career, his own darkest moments, and the most famous black eye in rock ‘n’ roll. Set the Night on Fire: Living, Dying and Playing Guitar With The Doors, written with author Jeff Alulis, arrives October 12, 2021, via Little, Brown and Company.
From the July 13 announcement: Few bands are as shrouded in the murky haze of rock mythology as The Doors, and parsing fact from fiction has been a virtually impossible task. But now, after fifty years, The Doors’ notoriously quiet guitarist is finally breaking his silence to set the record straight.
Through a series of vignettes, Krieger takes readers back to where it all happened: the pawn shop where he bought his first guitar; the jail cell he was tossed into after a teenage drug bust; his parents’ living room where his first songwriting sessions with Jim Morrison took place; the empty bars and backyard parties where The Doors played their first awkward gigs; the studios where their iconic songs were recorded; and the many concert venues that erupted into historic riots. Set the Night on Fire is packed with never-before-told stories from The Doors’ most vital years, and offers a fresh perspective on the most infamous moments of the band’s career.
Krieger also goes into heartbreaking detail about his life’s most difficult struggles, ranging from drug addiction to cancer, but he balances out the sorrow with humorous anecdotes about run-ins with unstable fans, famous musicians, and one really angry monk. The book is at once an insightful time capsule of the ‘60s counterculture, a moving reflection on what it means to find oneself as a musician, and a touching tale of a life lived non-traditionally. It’s not only a must-read for Doors fans, but an essential volume of American pop culture history.
Krieger turned 75 on January 8, 2021. While he has never published a book before, he has written or co-written many of the band’s classic rock favorites, including “Touch Me,” “Love Me Two Times,” “Love Her Madly,” and their #1 smash, “Light My Fire.” The book’s title comes from a lyric from that 1967 hit.
Related: Our look back at a perfect rock song from The Doors
The Doors have sold over a hundred million albums worldwide, inspired a major feature film, been awarded a Lifetime Achievement Grammy®, and been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Krieger was listed among the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time” by Rolling Stone. He is also an accomplished painter and the co-founder of the annual Medlock-Krieger Rock & Roll Golf Classic & All-Star Concert.
He’s joined on the book by Alulis, the co-author of the New York Times best-seller NOFX: The Hepatitis Bathtub and Other Stories. He holds an MFA from USC’s Graduate Screenwriting Program, he has directed several award-winning music-based documentaries, and he has toured as the vocalist for seminal punk bands Dead Kennedys and Reagan Youth.
1 Comment so far
Jump into a conversationI’m glad somebody associated with the Doors is writing a book. It’s been over 20 years since Ray’s book. Jim and Paul Rothchild are gone, and Bruce doesn’t seem to be in any hurry to write one. Can’t wait to read it!