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(CNN) — The Doors’ founding keyboardist, Ray Manzarek, died in Germany Monday after a long fight with cancer, his publicist said in a statement. He was 74.

The artist had been diagnosed with bile duct cancer.

The Doors formed in 1965 after Manzarek happened to meet Jim Morrison on California’s Venice Beach. The legendary rock group went on to sell 100 million albums worldwide, establishing five multiplatinum discs in the U.S.

Morrison died in 1971, but Manzarek carried on The Doors’ legacy, continuing to work as a musician and an author.

"I was deeply saddened to hear about the passing of my friend and bandmate Ray Manzarek today," said Doors guitarist Robby Krieger. "I’m just glad to have been able to have played Doors songs with him for the last decade. Ray was a huge part of my life and I will always miss him."

The band famously defied Ed Sullivan’s request that they not sing the lyric "higher" when they performed "Light My Fire" on his show in 1969. A show producer approached them in the dressing room shortly before they were to perform, Manzarek recalled in an interview with CNN in 2002.

Manzarek remembers the band publicly agreeing like choirboys.

" ‘Yes, sir,’ we told him," he recalls. "’Whatever you say, sir. We’ll change.’ (The producer) looked at Jim and said, ‘You’re the poet. Think of something else — ‘wire,’ ‘flyer.’ "

Then the Doors went out and did the song exactly as they always did. Sullivan was so furious he didn’t even shake their hands.

Manzarek went on to produce the Los Angeles punk band X. Bassist John Doe said the band learned a lot from him.

"To have someone like Ray — like rock ‘n’ roll royalty — embrace what we do, it was great for our confidence," Doe told CNN in a 2004 interview. "In the studio, he knew what to try to do. He went for performance. He was smart enough to realize that the band had the arrangements all worked out."

Manzarek is survived by his brothers Rick and James, his wife Dorothy, his son Pablo, and three grandchildren. Instead of flowers, the family’s asked that a donation be made in Manzarek’s name atwww.standup2cancer.org.

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Alan O’Day, the singer-songwriter best known for the No. 1 hit "Undercover Angel," died on Friday, May 17, after a battle with cancer, his label announced. He was 72.

"Alan was a generous man who gave his heart and soul to the music industry," a statement from 1st Phase Records read, noting that he had continued to write and perform "until his last days." When he passed, at his home in Westwood, Calif., he was surrounded by family and friends.

O’Day first gained fame as a songwriter in the early 1970s, penning hits including Cher‘s "Train of Thought," the Righteous Brothers’ "Rock and Roll Heaven," and Helen Reddy‘s "Angel Baby." He also co-wrote dozens of tunes for the Muppet Babies cartoons. In 1977, he rose to the top of the charts with his own single, "Undercover Angel."

Grammy-winning songwriter Diane Warren mourned O’Day’s loss on Twitter, using his own lyrics to give voice to her grief. "If there’s a Rock n Roll Heaven, well U know they got one hell of a band," she wrote. "The band just got better, my friend. RIP."

O’Day is survived by his wife, Yuka.

Read more: http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/alan-oday-dead-undercover-angel-singer-dies-at-72-2013195#ixzz2TqajEJnw

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Bill Bruford, drummer with Yes, is born. (1948)

Bob Dylan and Joan Baez team up with Pete Seeger at the first Monterey Folk Festival. (1963)

"Don’t Look Back," D.A. Pennebaker’s film documentary on Bob Dylan’s 1965 British tour, debuts at the Presidio Theater in San Francisco. Dylan will later denounce the movie and file a court injunction to bar it being shown. (1967)

The Chicago Transit Authority release their self-titled debut double album. The band was later sued by the real Chicago Transit Authority and had to shorten their name to Chicago. (1969)

The New Musical Express announces for the the first time ever, album production and sales outdid production and sales of singles in Great Britain, in 1968. (1969)

Associated Television fails in its bid to take over Beatles music company Northern Songs’ offer for all shares expiring with only 47-percent of stock committed. (1969)

Yes receive gold records for both "Yessongs" their triple-record live set and "The Yes Album." (1973)

Elton John was awarded a platinum record for his album Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy. It was the first album to sell one million copies on its first day of release. (1975)

Just two weeks before the start of the Rolling Stones’ long Tour of the Americas ’75, Mick Jagger puts his right hand through a window at Gorman’s restaurant in Montauk, on Long Island. It takes 20 stitches to make it like new. No real damage is done and the tour goes on as scheduled. (1975)

Lou Reed starts a week long series of shows at the Bottom Line club in New York City. He uses portions of the recordings for his upcoming live album, "Take No Prisoners." (1978)

Thank God It’s Friday, a movie celebration of disco which is Casablanca Records chief Neil Bogart’s response to Saturday Night Fever, premieres in Los Angeles. It stars Donna Summer as a singer looking for her big break in a "typical" Hollywood disco on a "typical" Friday night. Summer’s song "The Last Dance" is introduced and it goes on to top the pop charts and wins the 1978 Academy Award for Best Song. The film meantime, is a flop. (1978)

Kiss drummer Peter Criss, the one who wore the catlike makeup, leaves the group for a solo career. (1980)

Joe Walsh releases "All Night Long" from the "Urban Cowboy" movie soundtrack. The film starred John Travolta. (1980)

A fire destroys Tom Petty’s Los Angeles home and causes $800,000 worth of damage. It was later discovered to be the work of an arsonist. (1987)

At the Cannes Film Festival, Who lead singer Roger Daltrey said he wanted to become a doctor of Chinese medicine. He said he never felt that singing and acting were proper careers and that he wanted to study herbal medicine and acupuncture. (1989)

Lawrence Welk dies of complications from pneumonia. He was 89 years old. (1992)

Genesis has to end a show after two songs during a stop in Tampa, Florida for their "We Can’t Dance" tour after Phil Collins comes down with a sore throat. Police arrest several concert-goers who got upset when the show stopped. (1992)

Producer Bruce Fairbairn, who had worked with Aerosmith, Van Halen, AC/DC and more, died in his Vancouver home at age 49 of unknown causes. (1999)

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One week after resigning from WINS, Alan Freed signs with WABC, New York where he’ll work in both radio and television. Earler today, Freed was arraigned on charges of inciting the May 3 attack on a policeman. (1958)

Billboard reports Berry Gordy Jr, a songwriter and publisher in Detroit, is working on his own record label after succesfully producing a bunch of hit records. (1960)

The Rolling Stones appear with Chuck Berry on the television show "Hollywood A-GO-GO." The Stones, trying to drive off in a Limo after the show, are attacked by a mob of fans. (1965)

The Beach Boys appear on the "The Ed Sullivan Show" performing their latest hit, "Help Me Rhonda." (1965)

The Beach Boys masterpiece album "Pet Sounds" is released. (1966)

John Lennon, declared "an inadmissable immigrant to the U.S.," seeks a visa to visit America. Ten days before, Lennon’s "standing visa" was revoked by the U.S. Embassy in London because of his drug conviction last November. (1969)

Jefferson Airplane bass player Jack Cassady is arrested for possession of marijuana at the Royal Orleans Hotel in New Orleans and gets a 2 1/2 year suspended sentence. (1969)

The Who’s Pete Townshend spends an evening in a New York City jail after being charged with assault. Plainclothes policeman Daniel Mulhearn ran onstage at the Fillmore East to grab the microphone and alert the crowd that a grocery store next to the theater was on fire. Townshend thought the officer was a member of the audience and kicked Mulhearn off the stage. The audience didn’t belive the story and doesn’t leave the Fillmore until Townshend is finally dragged off the stage. (1969)

Jefferson Airplane singer Marty Balin is busted for marijuana possession and for contributing to the deliquency of minors in Bloomington, Minnesota. Balin is surprised in his hotel room by police at 5:30am. Authorities were tipped by neighbors who complained about party noise at the hotel. They found Balin and friends with several girls from 12-to-17 years old. He is sentenced to one year’s hard labor and a $100 fine. He appeals and ends up paying only the fine. (1970)

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Singer/songwriter and producer Brian Eno is born. (1948)

Mercury Records signs the Del-Vikings, whose "Come and Go With Me," was a hit for the small independent label. (1957)

The winners of the fifth annual Grammy Awards are announced. Record of the Year is Tony Bennett’s "I Left My Heart in San Francisco." Peter, Paul and Mary’s "If I Had a Hammer" wins both Best Performance by a Vocal Group and Best Folk Recording. (1963)

The Byrds enter the Hot 100 for the first time with an electric version of Bob Dylan’s "Mr. Tambourine Man." It will peak at Number One after 13 weeks on the charts. The song’s success prompts Dylan to go electric as well. (1965)

Paul McCartney meets future wife, Linda Eastman, at the Bag O’ Nails club in London. McCartney was there to see Georgie Fame perform. (1967)

Pink Floyd play at the Crystal Palace Bowl in London. Performing in front of a large lake, a number of fish are killed by the loud music. (1970)

Two John Lennon and Yoko Ono films are screened at the Cannes Film Festival. The first is "Apotheosis," an 18-minute camera shot of a snowy countryside. Ono’s "Fly" is a graphic exploration of a nude women’s body by a fly. (1971)

The Rolling Stones’ 1972 U.S. tour encounters its first problem three weeks before it starts. A computer designed to handle ticket distribution of the San Francisco show over loads. It leaves thousands of fans waiting. Because of the foul-up it took twelve minutes to process each order. (1972)

Bill Wyman, the quiet Rolling Stone, releases his first solo album, "Monkey Grip." It’s the first solo LP by a member of the group. (1974)

Frank Zappa and his wife announce the birth of their third child, a boy named Ahmet Rodan. He is named after the Japanese movie monster who lived mostly on a diet of 707 jets. (1974)

Just before the beginning of the "Born in the U.S.A." world tour, guitarist Nils Lofgren joins Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band. Lofgren replaced "Miami" Steve Van Zandt. (1984)

Stone Temple Pilots lead singer Scott Weiland is arrested after trying to buy drugs in a motel parking lot in Pasadena. (1995)

Bob Dylan and violinist Isacc Stern each receive about $110,000 in Sweden as part of the Polar Music Prize for their contribution to music. (2000)

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