Douglas Lloyd Ingle (September 9, 1945 – May 24, 2024) was an American musician, best known DOUG INGLE
as the founder, organist, primary composer and lead vocalist for the band Iron Butterfly. He wrote the band's hit song, "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", first released in 1968, and was the last surviving member of that 1967–1969 lineup.
Ingle founded Iron Butterfly in San Diego in 1966, remaining with the group when they relocated to
Los Angeles later that year, and became part of the group's classic lineup, featuring Ingle, drummer Ron Bushy, guitarist Erik Brann and bassist Lee Dorman. His work is featured on the Iron Butterfly albums Heavy (1968), In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (1968), Ball (1969) and Metamorphosis (1970). He also authored the band's biggest hit, also called "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida". Though it was not recorded until their second album, it was written during Iron Butterfly's early days.
The heavy, psychedelic acid rock of Iron Butterfly may seem dated to some today, but the group was
one of the first hard rock bands to receive extensive radio airplay, and their best-known song, the 17-minute epic "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida," established that more extended compositions were viable entries in the radio marketplace, paving the way for progressive AOR.
With its endless, droning minor-key riff and mumbled vocals, "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" is arguably the most notorious song of the acid rock era. According to legend, the group was so stoned when they
recorded the track that they could neither pronounce the title "In the Garden of Eden" or end the track, so it rambles on for a full 17 minutes, which to some listeners sounds like eternity. But that's the essence of its appeal -- it's the epitome of heavy psychedelic excess, encapsulating the most indulgent tendencies of the era.
Iron Butterfly never matched the warped excesses of "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida," either on their debut
album of the same name or the rest of their catalog, yet they occasionally made some enjoyable fuzz guitar-driven psychedelia that works as a period piece. The five tracks that share space with their magnum opus on In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida qualify as good artifacts, and the entire record still stands as the group's definitive album, especially since this is the only place the full-length title track is available.
Iron Butterfly – In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida
Label: Rhino Records – R2 72196
Series: Atlantic & ATCO Remasters Series
Format: CD, Album, Club Edition, Deluxe Edition, Reissue, Remastered 1995
Country: US
Released: 1968
Genre: Rock
Style: Psychedelic Rock, Classic Rock
TRAXS
01. Most Anything You Want 3:44
02. Flowers And Beads 3:09
03. My Mirage 4:55
04. Termination 2:53
05. Are You Happy 4:29
06. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida 17:05
07. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (Live Version) 18:51
08. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (Single Version) 2:53
LINE - UP
Bass – Lee Dorman
Drums – Ron Bushy
Guitar – Erik Brann
Vocals, Organ, Keyboards – Doug Ingle
NOTES
Original release date of 1968.
Recorded at Gold Star Studios, Hollywood, California & Ultra-Sonic Studios, Hempstead, L.I.