Doug Lubahn and Riff Raff with "Treat Me Right," 1981

The six-album career of Doug Lubahn with the bands
Clear Light, Dreams, Pierce Arrow, and Riff Raff.

Fans of the Doors know Doug Lubahn as the Doors’ session bassist who turned down an offer to join the Doors as an official, full-time member.

He came into his gig with the Doors — appearing on the albums Strange Days (1967), Waiting for the Sun (1968), and The Soft Parade (1969) by way of his band Clear Light — which featured future film and television actor Cliff DeYoung as lead vocalist and drummer Dennis Taylor, later of Crosby, Stills & Nash — touring with the Doors, Jimi Hendrix, and Janis Joplin. Formed in 1966 and formerly known as Brain Train, they changed their name to Clear Light when Elektra Records released their lone album in 1967 — produced by Paul Rothchild who also produced the Doors.

Clear Light: Clockwise (from left): Doug Lubahn, Bob Seal, Dallas Taylor,
Michael Ney, Cliff De Young (back, with long hair and mustache)
and Robbie Robison (red plaid shirt). Photo: From the album.

Recording two albums for Columbia Records as the trendier jazz rock-collective, Dreams, from 1969 to 1970 (the eventual home to the jazz rock-inflected Journey), Doug Lubahn recorded two chart-ignored albums with drummer Bobby Chouinard as the Eagles-inspired country rockers Pierce Arrow. Dreams featured bassist Will Lee, known for his tenure with The World’s Most Dangerous Band during David Letterman’s time as the host of U.S NBC-TV’s Late Night talk program.

When Pat Benatar (there she is, again: see Billy Thermal and David Werner) scored a 1980 Billboard “Top 20” hit with a cover of Doug Lubahn’s “Treat Me Right,” it lead to the signing of his band, Riff Raff, formed in 1979, and issuing their own version of the song on their lone album, Vinyl Futures (1981). Riff Raff also featured ex-Cactus (they’ll pop up again in our discussion) guitarist Werner Fritzschings from Pierce Arrow, and Ned Liben from the the MTV-remembered Ēbn-Ōzn (“AEIOU Sometimes Y”).

Doug Lubahn and Bobby Chouinard recorded and toured the multi-platinum albums Emotions in Motion (1982) and Signs of Life (1984) as the rhythm section for a solo bound Billy Squire (formerly of A&M Records’ Piper). After his tenure with Billy Squire, Doug recorded and toured with “The Motor City Madman” Ted Nugent on Penetrator (1984).

In addition to Pat Benatar, another of Doug Lubahn’s songs, “Talk to Me,” appeared on Warrior (1984), the platinum-selling debut album by Scandal featuring Patty Smyth.