Remembering Doug Ingle of “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” Fame

While Iron Butterfly can be fairly categorized as a “one-hit wonder” band, in their case, what a wonder! How many psychedelic drugs were consumed while their monster hit played on a stereo? The song is a rock masterpiece even without any drugs.

Thank you Doug, for creating a song that can, with a few chords, take some of us oldsters back to our youth.

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Doug Ingle, the lead vocalist, organist and primary composer of the band Iron Butterfly, has died at the age of 78.

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Ingle co-founded Iron Butterfly in 1966, beginning in San Diego before moving to Los Angeles a year later. The psychedelic rock group released their debut album, Heavy, in January 1968. Six months later, they’d be rocketed to stardom on the back of their sophomore LP.

Released in June 1968, In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida became a multi-platinum triumph, spending 81 weeks in the U.S. Top 10. The album is best remembered for its title track, a sprawling explosion of psychedelic rock – written by Ingle – which originally lasted over 17 minutes in length. The radio version of the song, trimmed down to a tidy three minutes, became a Top 40 hit and remains one of the most influential tunes of its era. In the decades since its release, "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" has been covered by everyone from Slayer to The Simpsons.

Doug Ingle, Iron Butterfly’s Founding Singer, Dead at 78