Iron Butterfly

Iron Butterfly
Classic lineup of Iron Butterfly in 1969: from left to right Doug Ingle (organ, lead vocals), Ron Bushy (drums, percussion), Lee Dorman (bass, backing vocals), Erik Braunn (guitars, backing and occasional lead vocals)
Background information
Origin	San Diego, California, US
Genres	Psychedelic rock,acid rock,hard rock
Years active	1966–1971, 1974–1985, 1987–2012, 2015–present
Labels	Atco, MCA
Associated acts	Captain Beyond, Rhinoceros
Website	www.ironbutterfly.com
Members	Ron Bushy Eric Barnett Mike Green Dave Meros Phil Parlapiano Ray Weston
Past members	Members

Iron Butterfly is an American rock band 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. Formed in San Diego, California, among band members who used to be "arch enemies", their heyday was the late 1960s, but the band has been reincarnated with various members with varying levels of success, with no new recordings since 1975. The band's seminal 1968 album In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida is among the world's 40 best-selling albums, selling more than 30 million copies. Iron Butterfly is also notable for being the first group to receive an RIAA platinum award.

The band formed in 1966 in San Diego. The original members were Doug Ingle (vocals, organ), Jack Pinney (drums), Greg Willis (bass), and Danny Weis (guitar). They were soon joined by tambourine player and vocalist Darryl DeLoach. DeLoach's parents' garage on Luna Avenue served as the site for their almost nightly rehearsals.

Jerry Penrod and Bruce Morse replaced Willis and Pinney after the band relocated to Los Angeles in 1966 and Ron Bushy then came aboard when Morse left due to a critical family tragedy. In early 1968, the band's debut album Heavy was released after signing a deal with ATCO, an Atlantic Records subsidiary. All but Ingle and Bushy left the band after recording the 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 (also known as "Erik Braunn" and "Erik Braun") and resumed touring. They were represented by the William Morris Agency, which booked all their live concerts. DeLoach subsequently recorded with Two Guitars, Piano, Drum and Darryl, while Weis and Penrod went on to form the group Rhinoceros. In 1970, DeLoach formed Flintwhistle along with Erik Brann; the band performed live for about a year before breaking up.