Iron Butterfly’s Doug Ingle, Co-Writer Of “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida,” Dead At 78
Iron Butterfly’s Doug Ingle has passed away at 78. Ingle, who co-wrote their 17-minute single “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida,” was the last surviving member of the band’s classic late ’60s lineup.
Ingle was born in Omaha in 1945 but he grew up in San Diego. He co-founded Iron Butterfly in 1966, and he served as the organist, vocalist, and main songwriter for the original iteration of the band. Their debut album, Heavy, was released early on in 1968, but the band achieved notoriety with its follow-up, In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, which came out later on that year. The main focus was on its title track, which reached the top 30 due to its 3-minute edit but stuck around due to the excessive length of its album version.
Iron Butterfly broke up in 1971, though its name has continued on in various different forms. Ingle was involved in some of those, reuniting briefly over the next three decades before retiring from live performances in 1999.
His death was announced by his son in a social media post, as Variety reports. “It’s with a heavy heart & great sadness to announce the passing of my Father Doug Ingle,” Ingle’s song Doug Jr. wrote. “Dad passed away peacefully this evening in the presence of family.”