"In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" is a song recorded by Iron Butterfly and written by bandmember Doug Ingle, released on their 1968 album In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida. At slightly over 17 minutes, it occupies the entire second side of the In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida album. The lyrics are simple, and heard only at the beginning and the end. The track was recorded at Ultrasonic Studios in Hempstead, Long Island, New York. "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" was Iron Butterfly's only song to reach the Top 40, reaching number 30. In 2009, it was named the 24th-greatest hard rock song of all time by VH1. It is also often regarded as an influence on heavy metal music and one of the firsts of the genre.
Background
Though it was not recorded until their second album, "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" was written during Iron Butterfly's early days. According to drummer Ron Bushy, organist-vocalist Doug Ingle wrote the song one evening while drinking an entire gallon of Red Mountain wine. When the inebriated Ingle then played the song for Bushy, who wrote down the lyrics for him, he was slurring his words so badly that what was supposed to be "in the Garden of Eden" was interpreted by Bushy as "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida". Even though nearly all of Iron Butterfly's songs were quite structured, the idea of turning the minute-and-a-half-long ballad into an extended jam emerged very early; Jeff Beck claims that when he saw Iron Butterfly perform at the Galaxy Club in April 1967, half a year before the band recorded their first album, their entire second set consisted of a 35-minute-long version of "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida".
Track listing
Other versions
covered the song in 1973. The composer and percussionist David Van Tieghem released a version and two remixes in 1986. :de:16 BIT|16 BIT recorded in 1987 a single " Gadda-Da-Vida", also included in album Inaxycvgtgb. New Jersey psychedelic band 6 Feet Under recorded a version in the late 1960s. 1987 Slayer recorded a cover version that appears on the Less Than Zero soundtrack.
In popular culture
In 1990, the song was featured in The Wonder Years Season 3 Episode 17, "Night Out".
Portions of the song are featured in a 1995 episode of The Simpsons, "Bart Sells His Soul", in which Bart Simpson tricks Reverend Lovejoy's church into singing the song as an opening hymn by handing out sheet music titled "In the Garden of Eden" by "I. Ron Butterfly". Lovejoy describes the hymn as "sound like rock and/or roll".
The song was also included in the movie "Manhunter" starring William Peterson.
