Iron Butterfly

The Los Angeles music scene of the late sixties and seventies was characterized by the heavy sounds and sentiments that reflected the revolutionary attitudes of the generation. Bursting onto that scene was Iron Butterfly, whose sound not only epitomized the hard attitudes of the youth with its heavy drumming and bass lines, but also embraced more delicate aspirations through its intricate guitar and keyboard overlays. Iron Butterfly was signed to ATCO Records (division of Atlantic Records) and released their first album, aptly titled “Heavy”. While the band was on the road with the likes of: the Doors, Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead, Traffic, the Who, and Cream, their impressive debut stayed on Billboard’s album charts for a year.

They followed up with the monumental LP, “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida”, featuring the 17:05 minute sidelong track that shook the entire music industry with its phenomenal reception. “Vida” Out-Sold every record in the history of recorded music within the first year of its release, and therefore outgrew and outsold the standard of the music industry’s “Gold Album Award”.

For this achievement, Iron Butterfly was subsequently awarded the Industry’s Very First “Platinum Album”. “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” stayed on the charts for 140 weeks, with 81 weeks in the Top Ten. To date the album has sold in excess of 30+ million copies and remains an undisputed classic in the Archives Of Rock with DJ’s and audiophiles worldwide.

Within a year of releasing “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida”, Iron Butterfly had charted a third album, “Ball”, which surpassed “Vida” (still in Billboard’s Top 10) turning “Gold”, and climbed to Number One. “Ball” remained on the charts for 44 weeks, followed by two more album releases, “Live” and “Metamorphosis”, each charting respectably in the Top 20.