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Iron Butterfly is a U.S. hard rock and psychedelic band, mostly known for their 1968 hit "In-A-
Gadda-Da-Vida". They are sometimes called "the first heavy metal band" due to this song and
others like it. Their heyday was the late 1960s, but the band has reincarnated several times with
various members.
The band was formed in 1966 in San Diego and released their debut album, Heavy, in 1968, after
signing a deal with ATCO, an Atlantic Records subsidiary. The original members were Doug Ingle,
Ron Bushy, Jerry "The Bear" Penrod, Darryl DeLoach and Danny Weis. All but Ingle and Bushy lef ...read more
Iron Butterfly is a U.S. hard rock and psychedelic band, mostly known for their 1968 hit "In-A-
Gadda-Da-Vida". They are sometimes called "the first heavy metal band" due to this song and
others like it. Their heyday was the late 1960s, but the band has reincarnated several times with
various members.
The band was formed in 1966 in San Diego and released their debut album, Heavy, in 1968, after
signing a deal with ATCO, an Atlantic Records subsidiary. The original members were Doug Ingle,
Ron Bushy, Jerry "The Bear" Penrod, Darryl DeLoach and Danny Weis. All but Ingle and Bushy left
the band after recording the first album in late 1967; the remaining musicians, faced with the
possibility of the record not being released, quickly found replacements in bassist Lee Dorman and
guitarist Erik Brann and resumed touring.
Weis and Penrod almost immediately went to form the supergroup "Rhinoceros".
The 17-minute "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", the title track of their second album, became a huge hit that
spent over a year in the Top Ten. (Doug Ingle is reported to have said the title was an alcohol-
slurred version of "In the Garden of Eden", although this is probably apocryphal; see the page on
that song for more.) The members when In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida was recorded were Doug Ingle
(keyboards and vocals), Lee Dorman (bass guitar), Ron Bushy (drums) and Erik Brann, also Braunn
(guitar). The next album, Ball, was less successful, and more lineup changes followed. The band
broke up in 1971. Dorman later joined the "supergroup" Captain Beyond.
The band was booked to play at Woodstock, but got stuck at an airport.
The band re-formed in 1975 with Ron Bushy and Eric Brann joined by bassist Philip Taylor Kramer
and Howard Reitzes. Kramer later made news with his 1995 disappearance and the discovery of his
bones in 1999 .
The famous line-up of In-A-Gadda-da-Vida got together for the Atlantic Recording Corporation's
40th aniversary concert and celebration, appearing on stage along with the surviving members of
Led Zeppelin, and with Aretha Franklin among many other acts of the company's roster in 1987.
On July 31, 2003 Erik Brann died of cardiac failure at the age of 52.
As of 2004, the group is once again re-formed, and is touring with early members Ron Bushy and
Lee Dorman.
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