The band was formed in 1966 in San Diego, and they released their aforementioned debut album, 'Heavy', in 1968, after signing a deal with an Atlantic Records subsidiary called ATCO. The original members were Doug Ingle (vocals, keyboards), Jack Pinney (drums), Greg Willis (bass), and Danny Weis (guitar). They were soon joined by singer-songwriter frontman Darryl DeLoach.
Jerry "The Bear" Penrod and Bruce Morris replaced Willis and Pinney after the band relocated to Los Angeles, California 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.
Weis and Penrod almost immediately went on to form the group Rhinoceros. Iron Butterfly focused on putting their energies into their second album. The 17-minute "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", the title track of their second album, became a Top Thirty hit in the U.S. and also gained serious airplay internationally. Doug Ingle is reported to have said the title was an alcohol-slurred version of "In the Garden of Eden", although this is possibly apocryphal. The members when In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida was recorded were Doug Ingle (keyboards and vocals), Lee Dorman (bass guitar), Ron Bushy (drums) and 17-year-old Erik Brann, also Braunn (guitar). The song has been a radio staple for decades and also has prominently featured in several films.
The band had been booked to play at Woodstock, but got stuck at an airport. When their manager called the promoters of the concert, they explained the incredible situation they had been dealt and asked for patience. However, the manager demanded that the Butterfly be flown in by helicopter whereupon they would "immediately" take the stage. After their set they would be paid and flown back to the airport. The manager was told that this would be taken into consideration and he would be called back. In truth, his outrageous demands were never given a second thought. Dorman later expressed regret at this turn of events feeling the band's career may have gone further had they played the festival.
The next album, Ball, topped the charts but more lineup changes followed. In 1970 with Erik Braunn gone, Iron Butterfly released their fourth album, Metamorphosis with two new members, guitarist / vocalist / songwriter Mike Pinera (whose Blues Image had opened for the Butterfly's Vida tour and who later led Ramatam and played with Alice Cooper) and guitarist Larry "Rhino" Reinhardt. The album only managed to get into the top twenty. The band broke up after playing a final show on May 23, 1971. Dorman and Reinhardt later became members of the supergroup Captain Beyond.
The band re-formed in 1974 with Ron Bushy and Eric Braunn joined by bassist Philip Taylor Kramer and keyboardist Howard Reitzes. (Kramer later made news with his 1995 disappearance and the discovery of his bones and minivan at the bottom of Decker Canyon in 1999). The albums released during this lineup: Scorching Beauty in January 1975 with Reitzes and Sun and Steel in October 1975 with Bill DeMartines replacing Reitzes.
From 1977 on Dorman took over the IB moniker and has led several lineups since then(see below for a chronology of IB's lineups) with former members(including Bushy, Ingle, Braunn, etc., coming and going). Other than another brief break between late 1985 and early 1987, the group has continued to this day with Dorman & Bushy currently leading the charge.
The famous line-up of In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida got together for the Atlantic Recording Corporation's 40th anniversary concert and celebration, appearing on stage along with the surviving members of Led Zeppelin, and with Aretha Franklin among many other acts of the company's roster on May 14th, 1988. The reunited foursome also played a 30 city tour that same year.
On October 3, 2002, original guitarist/vocalist Darryl DeLoach died of liver cancer at the age of 56.
On July 25, 2003 Erik Brann died of cardiac failure at the age of 52. He was working on a new solo album at the time of his death. The album to date remains unreleased, although friends and family of Brann are working on seeing its release.
Iron Butterfly is now working on a new album.
Slower Than Guns
Iron Butterfly Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
As it starts to twist your lungs?
Slower than guns
Breathe deep
As you enter sleep
Fell secure it's all around you
As it circles round your town
Town coming down
Smokin' stacks on industry's backs
In this land of a cigarette pack
Feel secure there all around you
Miles and miles of gasoline fumes
In the air like transparent tombs
Feel secure there all around you
DDT making bugs relax
There in your food like poison tacks
How about that
Eat well there all within you
Town coming down
The lyrics of Iron Butterfly's song "Slower Than Guns" reveal the dangers and consequences of man-made pollution and industrialization, particularly on the environment and human health. The opening line, "Can you feel the manmade mist as it starts to twist your lungs?" suggests a sense of suffocation and the inability to breathe properly due to the harmful substances in the air. The phrase "slower than guns" emphasizes the insidious nature of pollution, which may not be as immediately deadly as a gunshot but still has a long-lasting and detrimental impact.
The second stanza speaks of entering sleep while breathing deeply, which could indicate a sense of resignation or apathy towards one's environment. The following lines describe the visual effects of pollution, referencing the "golden brown" hue of smog that surrounds the town. The image of "smokin' stacks on industry's backs" further highlights the human responsibility for environmental harm.
Line by Line Meaning
Can you feel the manmade mist
Do you perceive the artificial fog enveloping you
As it starts to twist your lungs?
Even though it's slowly polluting your breathing
Slower than guns
Unlike a firearm, its effects are not immediate or apparent
Breathe deep
Inhale more air
As you enter sleep
While you drift off to slumber
Fell secure it's all around you
Feel safe and sound in its presence
Can you see the golden brown
Do you notice the hazy orange and yellow
As it circles round your town
Encircling your city and plaguing it
Town coming down
The city is slowly deteriorating
Smokin' stacks on industry's backs
Tall chimneys are causing smog pollution for the manufacturing firms
In this land of a cigarette pack
A country whose air quality is just like being trapped inside a cigarette pack
Feel secure there all around you
Believe you are in safety within the atmosphere even when it's polluted
Miles and miles of gasoline fumes
A long distance of air that is contaminated by petrol smells
In the air like transparent tombs
A poisonous and deadly atmosphere like an invisible sepulcher
DDT making bugs relax
DDT, a pesticide, paralysing and killing insects
There in your food like poison tacks
Like deadly tacks inserted in your food, DDT is contaminating it
How about that
Doesn't that bother or surprise you?
Eat well there all within you
Consume healthy food since our body absorbs everything
Town coming down
The place getting polluted and dead slowly
Contributed by Adeline L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
theo9952
What a song ! What a voice ! Doug Ingle was the soul of the band. Without him there is no Iron Butterfly.
Ivan Foltyn
Sorry PINERA was SOUL of this Band
Daniel Walker
Iron Butterfly was and still is Awesome 💪✌️💖🇺🇸😎😷
Ron Bushy
I love this tune it applies today more than you can imagine 🦋⏳⏳
Children of the Moth Official
@Andres Guzman Ron passed away in August sadly :( Rest in Peace
Andres Guzman
I think nobody noticed that the great Ron Bushy was making posts on the comments. Hey bro, thanks for your great legacy to rock music. I wrote to Doug in Facebook and his son answer me, told me that you keep in touch with them... thats awesome. Just wanted to tell you that I am a huge fan of yours and that I love your music. Thanks Ron. Greetings from Costa Rica!
BloozeDaddy
A fine ballad by an underrated band. Iron Butterfly were too good a band to have only one hit single as this song proves.
Brian Holihan
Thank you Doug Ingle for giving us such beautiful music. I hope you have many happy years to come.
Daniel Walker
Iron Butterfly was and Shall always be considered an Awesome Band in my humble opinion 💪✌️💖🇺🇸😎😷
Manolis Skoulas
Also, this is a great ecological song that touches the pollution and environmental problems very early, in 1970. After this LP Doug Ingle quit everything and he moved to live on Rocky Mountains