Iron Butterfly is an American psychedelic rock band, well known for their 1968 hit “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida”. They are considered a very-early heavy metal band as a result of this song and others like it, as well as the title of their debut album, Heavy. Their heyday was the late 1960s, but the band has been reincarnated several times with various members. VH1 ranks them as number 19 on their list of top 100 “one-hit” wonders.
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(vocals, keyboards), Jack Pinney(drums), Greg Willis(bass) and Danny Weis(guitar). They were soon joined by singer/frontman Darryl DeLoach.
Jerry “The Bear” Penrod and Bruce Morris replaced Willis and Pinney after the band relocated to Los Angeles in 1966 and Ron Bushy then came aboard when Morris’ tenure proved to be a short one. 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 (aka Erik Braunn) and resumed touring.
