Set the Night on Fire

The legendary Doors guitarist and member of the Rolling Stone 100 greatest guitarists of all-time list, Robby Krieger, shares his explosive, behind-the-scenes stories of the band’s rise, Morrison’s fall, and his own evolution as a musician

As Robby Krieger pulled a drunk and naked Jim Morrison back in through the window of their room on the twelfth floor of the Henry Hudson Hotel he asked himself: why do I put up with this? It wasn’t the first time Morrison had willfully flung himself out of a building and it likely wouldn’t be the last. The Doors were on their way to rock n’ roll stardom, but any given night could be the night they scraped their gifted, erratic front man off the pavement.

At only twenty years old, Robby Krieger was the youngest member of The Doors by far. Though no stranger to partying and debauchery, having had a few run ins with the cops while growing up, the band’s level of sheer chaos stunned Krieger. Few other guitarists would have stuck around through the booze fueled antics, the drug induced tirades and the reckless stunts, but Krieger did. He became an unofficial guardian to the Lizard King, one of the greatest guitarists in rock history, and, miraculously, lived to tell the tale.

For the very first time The Doors’ infamously quiet member is ready to tell all. From Morrison’s plan to go mad from syphilis to the time he was beat up by a pack of Marines, Krieger has stories that will shock even the most devoted fan. But beyond rock folklore, SET THE NIGHT ON FIRE is the first real look into the evolution of Robby Krieger. How the son of a quintessentially square father became an acid tripping musician in Venice beach. How he pawned his acoustic guitar for a Gibson Melody Maker after seeing Chuck Berry play. How a kid who spent his afternoons listening to flamenco, folk, and jug band blues went on to write “Light My Fire” and “Love Me Two Times.” In SET THE NIGHT ON FIRE, Krieger finally tells his story. A story inherently tied to the fabled ascension of The Doors and one not to miss.