Iron Butterfly

Iron Butterfly
Iron Butterfly
	Classic lineup of Iron Butterfly in 1969: from left to right Doug Ingle, Ron Bushy, Lee Dorman, Erik Brann
Background information
Origin	San Diego, California, U.S.
Genres	Acid rock; hard rock; psychedelic rock; progressive rock;
Years active	1966–1971; 1974–1985; 1987–2012; 2015–2021;
Labels	Atco; MCA; Purple Pyramid;
Past members	See "Personnel"
Website	ironbutterfly.com

Iron Butterfly was an American rock band formed in San Diego, California, in 1966. They are best known for the 1968 hit "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", providing a dramatic sound that led the way towards the development of hard rock and heavy metal music. Although their heyday was the late 1960s, the band has been reformed with various members with varying levels of success with no new recordings since 1975. Their second album, In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (1968), remains a best-seller, and Iron Butterfly was the first group to receive an in-house platinum album award from Atlantic Records.^[5]

According to music critic Manish Agarwal of Time Out, "Iron Butterfly blended hard rock with ordinate, acid-friendly textures."^[6] Mark Deming of AllMusic stated that they were one of the first musical groups to fuse the two styles in this way, and described their sound as a "blend of trippy musical exploration and open-ended jams with a hard, distorted attack".^[7]

^ ^a ^b ^c Iron Butterfly at AllMusic
^ A. Hamilton, Neil (1997). The ABC-Clio Companion to the 1960s Counterculture in America. ABC-CLIO. p. 3. ISBN 978-0874368581.
^ Talevski, Nick (2006). Rock Obituaries – Knocking On Heaven's Door. Omnibus Press. p. 127. ISBN 978-1846090912.
^ Riley, Glenn (August 2004). Progressive Rock Guitar: A Guitarist's Guide to the Styles and Techniques of Art Rock, Book and CD. Alfred Publishing Company, Incorporated. p. 5. ISBN 9780739035375. Progressive rock emerged in the late 1960s with acts such as King Crimson, Yes, Iron Butterfly and Jethro Tull
^ "Iron Butterfly – 3 Awards For "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" – An RIAA White Matte – An In-House Platinum Award (the first) – A 4× Platinum RIAA R Hologram". Honor Music Awards. May 15, 2014. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida was given the distinction of being the first album to be awarded platinum status.
^ Agarwal, Manish (2005). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Universe Publishing. p. 145.
^ "Iron Butterfly Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & M..." AllMusic. Retrieved March 26, 2025.

[AM-1] Iron Butterfly at AllMusic

[2] A. Hamilton, Neil (1997). The ABC-Clio Companion to the 1960s Counterculture in America. ABC-CLIO. p. 3. ISBN 978-0874368581.

[3] Talevski, Nick (2006). Rock Obituaries – Knocking On Heaven's Door. Omnibus Press. p. 127. ISBN 978-1846090912.

[4] Riley, Glenn (August 2004). Progressive Rock Guitar: A Guitarist's Guide to the Styles and Techniques of Art Rock, Book and CD. Alfred Publishing Company, Incorporated. p. 5. ISBN 9780739035375. Progressive rock emerged in the late 1960s with acts such as King Crimson, Yes, Iron Butterfly and Jethro Tull

[5] "Iron Butterfly – 3 Awards For "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" – An RIAA White Matte – An In-House Platinum Award (the first) – A 4× Platinum RIAA R Hologram". Honor Music Awards. May 15, 2014. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida was given the distinction of being the first album to be awarded platinum status.

[6] Agarwal, Manish (2005). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Universe Publishing. p. 145.

[7] "Iron Butterfly Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & M..." AllMusic. Retrieved March 26, 2025.

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