Iron Butterfly
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Iron Butterfly | |
|---|---|
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| Origin | San Diego, California |
| Country | United States |
| Years active | 1965 - 1971, 1974 - 1976, 1978, 1988 - 1993, 1998 - Present |
| Genres | Psychedelic rock Hard rock Heavy metal |
| Labels | ATCO |
| Members | Ron Bushy Lee Dorman Charie Marinkovich Martin Gerschwitz |
| Past members | Doug Ingle Erik Brann Jerry Penrod Darryl DeLoach Danny Weis Philip Taylor Kramer Howard Reitzes Bill DeMartinez Mike Pinera Larry "Rhino" Reinhardt Larry Rust |
| Website(s) | www.ironbutterfly.com |
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 been reincarnated several times with various members.
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[edit] History
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. In 1970 with Erik Brann gone, Iron Butterfly released their fourth album, Metamorphosis with two new members, Mike Pinera (later of the Blues Image and Ramatam) and Larry "Rhino" Reinhardt on guitars. The album only managed to get into the top twenty. The band broke up in 1971. Dorman and Reinhardt 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 1974 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 and minivan at the bottom of Decker Canyon in 1999). The albums released during this lineup: Scorching Beauty in 1975 with Reitzes and Sun and Steel early 1976 with DeMartines.
A very brief semi-reunion in 1978, enlisting Jimi Henderson on vocals and former Van der Graaf Generator / Koobas / Juicy Lucy bassist Keith Ian Ellis, imploded during a tour of Germany, when Ellis was found dead in a motel room.
The famous line-up of In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida got together for the Atlantic Recording Corporation's 40th anniversary 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. He had released a new CD album just a few weeks before.
As of 2004, the group is once again re-formed, and is touring with early members Ron Bushy and Lee Dorman. Iron Butterfly is now working on a new album that should be released in mid-late 2006 or early 2007.
[edit] Trivia
- Led Zeppelin opened for Iron Butterfly. A year to the day later Iron Butterfly opened for Led Zeppelin. The ironic twist continued with the band Yes, with whom drummer Ron Bushy is pals.
- When Iron Butterfly reformed in 1968 after a brief split, musicians rumored to have been interested in joining as lead guitarist include Neil Young, Jeff Beck, and Michael Monarch. Doug Ingle and Ron Bushy eventually decided upon Erik Brann.
[edit] References in other media
Iron Butterfly's signature song "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" has been featured and referenced in other media on a number of occasions:
- "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" was featured in the Simpsons episode "Bart Sells His Soul," where Bart switched hymns in the church. It was renamed "In the Garden of Eden" by "I. Ron Butterfly" to fool Reverend Lovejoy.
- The song features extensively in the climax of the movie Manhunter.
- "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" was played extensively during the opening scenes in "The Tribe" (episode 16, first season) of the TV series Criminal Minds.
- "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" was featured in the Seinfeld episode "The Slicer. Elaine is playing it loudly to mask the sound of the neighbor's starving cat when her power goes out.
- "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" was included in American comedian Wayne Federman's electric ukulele rock medley, beginning in 1986. A version was shown on Comedy Central.
- In the TV series Roseanne, Roseanne makes a reference to an Iron Butterfly concert. In another episode, John Goodman sings "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" during a power outage.
- "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" is played at the end of a Halloween episode of the TV series Home Improvement.
- In a Christmas episode of Wings, Lowell is playing the drums (off-camera) in the hangar. Faye calls Lowell into the terminal and asks him what he was playing. Lowell replies, "That was the drum solo to 'In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.'"
- The guitar riff is played by Ray Romano's cousin with his accordion in an episode of Everybody Loves Raymond.
- In the movie Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare, "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" plays during a dream sequence involving the stoner character Spencer.
- In the first few minutes of the Supernatural episode "Skin," the song is played, which is not an uncommon thing for the show to do as older rock has become a trademark of theirs.
- "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" was sampled twice by the rapper Nas; On "Thief's Theme" and "Hip Hop Is Dead."
- In an episode of Hardcastle & McCormick, the song was used by McCormick to drown out the jazz being played by Hardcastle and his buddies.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- Heavy (1968)
- In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (1968)
- Ball (1969)
- Live (1969)
- Metamorphosis (1970)
- Evolution: The Best of Iron Butterfly (1971)
- Star Collection (1973)
- Scorching Beauty (1975)
- Sun and Steel (1976)
- Rare Flight (1988)
- Light & Heavy: The Best of Iron Butterfly (1993)
- In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida Deluxe Edition (1995)
- TBA (~2007)
[edit] Singles
Here is a full listing of 45's released by the band in the USA and Overseas.
- Unconscious Power/Possession
- RADIO EP: Iron Butterfly Theme, Possession/Get Out Of My Life Woman, Unconscious Power
- In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (2:52 edit)/Iron Butterfly Theme (3:25 Edit)
- EP: In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida & Flowers & Beads/My Mirage
- Soul Experience/In The Crowds
- In The Time Of Our Lives/It Must Be Love (Some have the full 4:47 album version of the A-Side, others the 3:15 edit)
- Easy Rider/Soldier In Our Town
- New Day/Soldier In Our Town (European Release)
- Silly Sally/Stone Believer
- Silly Sally/Talkbox Solo from Butterfly Bleu (B-Side is the talkbox section from the song) (European Release)
- Shady Lady/Best Years Of Our Lives (European Release)
- Pearly Gates/Searchin' Circles (Both songs heavily edited)
- Beyond The Milky Way/Get It Out
- I'm Right I'm Wrong (3:50 Edit)/Free (Promo copies exist only)
- In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (2:52 Edit)/Soul Experience (Atlantic Oldies re-release)
- Thai EP: In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (The song plays from the beginning and fades just before the drum solo)/Get Ready (Rare Earth)
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