Organist and lead singer Doug Ingle, the last living member of Iron Butterfly’s classic lineup, passed away last week. Though Iron Butterfly was born in San Diego, in a familiar tale, the band moved to Los Angeles to pursue a real career. It was there, in the garage of the Laurel Canyon home Ingle and drummer Ron Bushy shared, that the psychedelic tour de force “In-A-Gadda-De-Vida,” was penned.
There are few songs that captured the zeitgeist of the burnt psychedelia of the late 1960s more than Iron Butterfly’s sprawling acid rock extraordinaire “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.” The 17-minute dirge managed to be both messy and hypnotic, and presaged the direction many hard rock bands would take in future years.
The story goes that Bushy returned home to find Ingle blitzed on a gallon of wine and playing a song. When asked what it was called, Ingle’s drunken slurring was incomprehensible. So, instead of “In the Garden of Eden,” as Ingle intended to title the song, Bushy wrote down what he was able to make out: “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.”
Iron Butterfly, “Unconscious Power”: Though “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” pretty much steals the spotlight, Iron Butterfly had a bunch of excellent tracks. There’s the lighthearted, lovestruck hippiedom of “Flowers and Beads,” the windblown rock and roll of “Easy Rider,” and the organ-heavy meditative meanderings of “Possession.”
“Unconscious Power,” is another standout that doesn’t get the recognition it deserves. The track is an explosion of rollicking garage rock and proggy solos. A snaking bassline and crunchy guitar stabs complement Ingle’s deep, booming voice. It’s not easy to make subtle complexity sound this effortless.
Like what you hear? Check out this full Iron Butterfly concert, recorded during the band’s heyday in 1971.
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