In A Gadda Da Vida - Iron Butterfly | College Students' FIRST TIME REACTION! 

FINALLY, AFTER LONG LAST, we are hitting this track, you’ve been waiting for it, we’ve been waiting for it, let’s dive in…! 🔥😈

What's impossible to convey is how heavy music like this was at the time - not just sonically, but culturally.

My generation may be called old but we had the absolute best music. Nothing since can compare.

My dad had this on vinyl and called me to the room to put on his headphones and listen. Was blown away, and this was in the 80s. Fast forward present day and I'm jamming it on my bluetooth headphones and my 7 yr old daughter comes into the room and wants to know what I'm listening to. I put the headphones on her head and a smile comes across her face. My dad's cup runneth over.

Probably the most famous drum solo in music history. Most boomers know that drum solo note for note.

Probably one of the first stoner songs in recorded history where you just sit staring into space with your bong, black lit posters, strobe light, incense burning and of course the lava lamp.

I’m 74 years old, guys.. watching and listening to you and the classic rock you review makes me feel like I’m back in the day, once again. Keep it up.

This was one of the songs that my dad liked, even though he hated most rock music, because he could understand the words. My mom would dance around the kitchen to it when I was blaring it from my room. I can see her now, waving the dishtowel around and getting down!!! RIP mom and dad, together In A Gadda Da Vida.

The drummer is so good. Not just because of the solo. The way he keeps the rhythm for the rest of the song is impeccable

Welcome to the club. The riff is now permanently etched into your brains. Resistance is futile.

In the Simpsons, Bart tricked the church congregation into playing this full song, and Homer commented to Marge “remember when we used to make out to this hymn?”

Now, to blow your minds; imagine this being performed by a High School marching band as a football game halftime show. We did that, back in the '70s.

In the late 70s early, early 80s, my family owned a lumber yard in the San Fernando Valley (LA, CA). A Makita tools salesperson came in and commented on the Grateful Dead shirt I had on. Come to find out it was Ron Bushy, drummer for the Iron Butterfly. Absolutely the nicest guy you'd ever want to meet. We were friendly acquaintances for several years. He shared tons of amazing stories, I was in awe of the guy that has to this day one of the most iconic drum solos in rock history. Very sad to see that he recently passed away. RIP Ron, thanks for the memories 💙

Funny story about this song.... I had a '67 Firebird with an 8 track cassette player when this album came out, and I had this tape along with others. Well, stealing these tape players was a thing back in the day, and mine was stolen along with all my tapes. I was pissed and called the cops. As they were itemizing what was stolen, writing it down in a notebook, I said one of the tapes was In A Gadda Da Vida, and the cop looked at me and said, " In a Goddamn what?" OK, it was funny at the time.

Classic! R.I.P. Ron Bushy, drummer for Iron Butterfly who recently passed away.🦋🦋🦋

I'm 70 and was 18 in 1969. That drum solo just came back to me after all those years!

Back in 1968 when this song was released, MILLIONS of us so called "Hippies" smoked bales of weed listening to this iconic masterpiece. It's truly a timeless track that will never be replicated.

"And now please rise for our opening hymn... uh, 'In the Garden of Eden'... by I. Ron Butterfly. " "Hey, Marge, remember when we used to make out to this hymn?" "Wait a minute...This sounds like rock and/or roll!" THE SIMPSONS, "Bart Sells His Soul"

‘68 and ‘69, every guy in every school everywhere was playing the drum solo on his desk, or any other surface. Every high school drummer everywhere was doing this. This song was universally recognized as an instant classic from the first time it played.

The original line up in '68 had the coolest end of show I've ever seen. They ended their set with "In a Gadda Da Vida" and walked off to an incredible ovation. After a few minutes of constant chanting from the crowd they came back for a couple more songs and then left again to another long ovation. When they came back the second time, I don't remember what song they went into, but it was loud and fast. As the song started to wrap up. the bass player set his bass down next to his amp causing heavy feedback and walked off stage leaving the guitar and organ players feverishly jamming with the drummer. Then the guitar player set his guitar against his amp and left. So now there is the organ player and drummer cranking along wildly while the feedback from the bass and guitar is so loud you can't hear yourself think. Then the organ player takes his mic stand and lays it across the keyboard so that every note is blasting. Now its just the hard working drummer and this pure rock noise coming at the audience. The drummer slows down the beat to a boom boom boom and walks off. However the kick drum keeps pounding out the slow boom boom boom as it was apparently being hit by a mechanical pedal. This totally musician free music? noise? continued for a minute or so as the crowd went nuts. Then finally a roadie came out and one by one turned off all the equipment and there was nothing left but silence except for the ringing in all our ears.

I was 16-17 when this came out, my friends always gathered at one of our friend's basement filled with black lites, posters, stereo, And strobe lights and incense. Very trippy music, Some pot, at that age not into psychedelics. We sure loved this, the Doors, Steppenwolf, Led Zeppelin, CCR, the Beatles, The Stones, musically so primetime

This really was a moment in history. This song stands alone in that moment which it created. It's iconic and untouchable in it's rare and unusual impact. My brother had his own room decorated a bit hippy style and he let me in once to see it in all it's glory with his lampshade covered in multi colored tissue paper and this song was playing somewhat softly on the record player in the closet, and it set the perfect psychedelic mood. I've never forgotten that time and how it felt. This song was so far out that some people just didn't know what to make of it. It was an instant classic. The stuff of legends. Released one year after The Doors-Light My Fire, it was like Morrison on a heavy acid trip.

This was the shit back in the day. You should have been there. First time listening on headphones though. Nice new experience. Haven’t smoked a fatty in 25 years. Felt like I just did.

I saw this song performed by them in the late sixties. When this album came out, all my musician friends went nuts. You have to remember hard rock was just beginning back then, and to hear this music was amazing to us. This was definitely a "tripping" song for most people. Psychedelic man...

I remember listening to this in the 70s on a turntable with a 100-watt Pioneer receiver, lounging on my avocado green beanbag chair, drinking Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill and smashed off my face on hash. Very, very good times.

When you're in the mood for more long songs, you gotta listen to the album version of Time Has Come Today, by The Chambers Brothers. Your soul will be psychadelicized.

The story is that the person who wrote this song was really trying to say “ In the garden of Eden” but was so effed up he couldn’t get the words out right. ❤️ you young gents!

Absolutely iconic and like nothing else. I graduated HS in 67. This is straight up , “Psychedelic Rock” .

Regarding 'your story about how the title came about: I was a neighbor of Jim Hilton in the mid-'90s in Van Nuys, CA--if you check the back of the album you'll see he's listed s the recording engineer--and I asked him about that story; He said it was absolutely true. The band had been drinking all day and when it came time to pitch the idea to the producers they were so loaded they kept slurring their words, and the original title, "In the Garden of Eden"turned into "Inna Gadda Da Vida". He said they were NOT drunk when they recorded the song--contrary to popular opinion--just when they pitched it. Hope this helps.

That is a true story. They were so drunk or high when they initially performed the song, whose title was originally "In the garden of Eden", it came out In a gadda da vida and they just decided to leave it that way

My dad (a potato farmer and amateur drummer) wore this song OUT on the LP. And he would drum that solo on me and my brothers heads and bellies (the belly bongo!). This song always reminds me of him.

Andy and Alex get back to doing what no one else is able to do; listen to truly classic, iconic rock music from the late 1960s and early 1970s with fresh ears, and convey to us their feeling of excitement. It's truly heartening to know that fifty years after these songs came out, two young guys are reacting to them exactly as we did, half-a-century ago, but with so much more musical intelligence. Thank you A&A!

I'm 64 years old and everybody loved this back then. Drop some acid at a party and play this song and everyone tripping out. One of my top songs of all time!!

In 1969, every eighth grader had to know how to drum that solo on their desk top. Different thicknesses of text books determined the drum tone. At 14, I wrote a self hypnosis script and read it into a reel to reel with this song to follow. It was over for me. Ozzy and Sabbath, Led Zep and Yes. Now you guys have to listen to Who Do You Love suite by QUICKSILVER MESSENGER SERVICE who did FRESH AIR. You will love it . Thanks Andy, I waited 4 years to see you do this one.

Check out "You Keep Me Hangin On" by Vanilla Fudge for a kind of similar, heavy psych rock tune that influenced Zeppelin and Deep Purple. Zeppelin opened for them in their early days and Deep Purple modeled their early sound after them.

I've heard ABOUT this song all my life, and I've heard people hum it so many times that I know the main riff...but this is the first time I've actually heard it!! It's amazing! from reading the comments, it was pretty groundbreaking in its day - cheers A&A!!

In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida was originally written to be a much shorter song, but with spaces for the different solos heard on the final recording. However, as the recording progressed, the solo sections became longer and longer until the song filled out its total running time. Guitarist Erik Brann (or Braun) was 17 at the time of the recording but plays like a much more experienced guitarist, his solo sections are a hallmark of the song. Ron Bushy's drum solo is iconic. So much so that many drummers who came up through the early 70s learned at least portions of it as their first taste of soloing. Lee Dorman's bass is the epitome of solid, driving bottom, even during his own solo section he's driving the song along, not letting it meander away. It's an amazing piece of sonic art that really has been maligned over the years, usually unfairly so. Doug Ingle played the organ and sang vocals on this and most other Iron Butterfly tunes.

This is the MOST EPIC album side (side 2) ever put on vinyl. It was revolutionary when it came out in '68. I was in junior high at the time and I can tell you that every guy I knew learned every "air" guitar/bass/drum/organ part by heart that summer. I would sit in my basement bedroom, turn on the black light, put on the headphones and just put the turntable on repeat. I have no idea how many hundreds of times I've listed to it but whenever it comes up, it never gets old for me. Glad you guys like it.

You want long songs? Thanksgiving is in a few months... time to listen to "Alice's Restaurant" by Arlo Guthrie. It's a Thanksgiving tradition.

That drum solo is the GOAT. I never get tired of hearing it. The whole track is great, but the drums . . .that blew my mind when this first came out, and I can still get lost in it.

So grateful that I grew up in the era when music like this came out! I was an impressionable 15-year-old! And music definitely was the pulse of the time! My brother was in a rock ‘n’ roll garage band at the time so I was surrounded by music.

The stuff Lead Singer/Keyboardist Doug Ingle is playing during his solo bits was some of the greatest trippy/stoney music ever for me. An outstanding 60's Acid Rock counter culture milestone.

Folks, this is the record that started it all: the drum solo during rock concerts. Yes, there had been "drum" songs before, like "Sing, Sing, Sing" or "Wipe Out." But soon after this song came out, every drummer and his brother started doing drum solos during their concerts. I remember this happening when I was in junior high school in late 1968/early 1969. Heck! Even a reluctant Ringo was "required" to do a drum solo on the ABBEY ROAD LP. The drum solo has been a staple of rock concerts ever since, all these 50-plus years later.

Another great long song is "Get Ready" by Rare Earth. Yes, there's a radio version that's only three minutes long....but the album version clocks in at 20, and you're never bored in that 20 minutes.

Really thrilled that you all reacted to this!! In 1969 we went to visit my godparents in Michigan and although their daughters were grown and out of the house, they still had their albums in the basement room. That's where I discovered Iron Butterfly and since my godmother knew I liked the album, she bought me a copy and sent it back to Texas. Needless to say I was thrilled!!! Doug Ingle, the vocalist and organist, was the son of a church organist. You can kinda hear the baroque progressions in his playing, especially after the drum solo. Erik Brann, the guitar player, was 17 when they recorded this. This was considered the first "heavy rock" album when it was released in 1967. A classic.

I was 10 when this came out and it was THE song that summer when the big kids were jamming. It forced me to become a drummer... It doesn’t hold up as well as later more sophisticated rock but, at the time, it was revolutionary.

Being a band geek in high school in the 70's , we marched to this killer drum cadance :)

Teenagers we were still blasting this in 1989, 20 years after it came out. Heavy, groovy, and righteous.

I remember when a disk jockey on some radio station said that the three most listened to songs that year were "White Christmas", "Happy Birthday", and "In A Gadda Da Vida". Welcome to ACID ROCK boys. Late 60's and early 70's...great music, great times to be alive. This song came out the year after I graduated H.S.

When my sister was little she called this "the song with the fighting elephants"

You have now entered, neck deep, into true “Classic” Rock!

True story: went to see Iron Butterfly at Filmore East when this was still on charts, but the opening group was “Jimmy Page of theYardbird’s new group”, Led Zeppelin, which played their first album, (4 weeks after studio), blew away audience, which then booed Iron Butterfly, yelling “bring back those Zeppelin guys.” Amazing moment when every 3 months “sound changed”.

I fell in love with this song a long time ago, when I first heard it at 16yrs old. I brought the album home, but was afraid to play it because of my parents. They were all about the 50's and hated 60's music. But as soon as my dad heard me playing this song, that was the last time I got to hear it. Because he was always listening to it. He stole it from me, so I had to get another one for myself. He absolutely fell in love with it, also. My dad passed just recently...hearing this brought back memories.

12:41 The organist plays a big chunk of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen and I have never heard anyone mention it! Many years ago, my local TV station used the part at 14:28 for the intro to their news broadcast. I always wondered how many people realized what it was! HaHaHa

As a kid I would go to yard sales with my grandmother. She bought this record for me, I took it home and listened to it in the dark. Felt like I was a 2nd grade hippie. Thanks for the memory guys!

This song definitely was a game changer. Legitimate drum solo pioneer. Absolute S Tier level impact on Rock N Roll and it's history. My guess is that every parent hearing their children listening daily to this song knew they'd lost them to the dark side. Those of us listening to it at the time knew just how important this song was in context. There was a single version released for AM radio that was like 2:53 long that cut out the entire song and was a joke to those of us that understood just what Iron Butterfly had done here. Guys, this is truly S Tier if anything is so rated.

This song was the first of its type. It was also considered by many to have spawned two different genre of rock music. Heavy Metal and Acid Rock.

We all love to joke but this is legitimately a tasty long jam. This is one of the only drum solos I actually enjoy listening to, there are tons are great guitar and organ sections, that incredible riff and lyric - a legitimate S-tier classic!

Truly ground breaking stuff. The first side long rock track to achieve legendary status. The first hard rock album to sell a million copies, and the guitarist was 17!!

This is easily one of those songs that I can just listen to over and over again. The dissonant distorted guitar, the contrapuntal keyboards, and I love that drum solo, perfect rhythm without being over the top. And I love how it starts and ends with the same keyboard line. Thanks for finally getting to this one. And it definitely does not feel like 17 minutes.

This was as cutting edge as it got when this song came out. At the time, this music was called underground rock ( later psychedelic rock.) Blew people away because this was an era when top 40 radio ruled and no song was more than 3 minutes. So a 20 minute song (and entire side of the album -- no tapes CDs or streaming back then) was entirely new. As was the entire approach to the song, the dischordent notes, the string stratching noise as opposed to notes. The very first long drum solo in rock. No one had ever heard anything like it. In its long from, this was mostly only heard on fledgling FM rock stations, of which were few and far between at the time. AM radio ruled in the late 60s. (A heavily cut 3 minute version eventually made to top 40) This was another song of the era, heavy drug influences. But a one hit wonder. This band did nothing else of merit. Still, it blazed a new trail that many others have followed.

Song was originally named "in the garden of eden." Furing rehearsal the singer was wasted and it came out "innagoddavida" they liked it and went with it.

1968. I was a sophomore in HS Spanish class. Mr. Cano(looked like James Bond) was about to teach Spanish lab. There was a portable record player. My friend walks in w an album and asks Mr. Cano if he could just play the first track before class begins. You guessed it. Priceless memory. That’s what school is really about.

Best description of this song I ever heard: an acid trip even without the acid. My favorite aspect of the instrumentation was the ability of the drummer to maintain control and direction of the solo. Too many drum solos wander out into the outer reaches and struggle to come home. Here, the drummer kept the song in view so that each step was logical to the ones before and after but were also coherent to the song as a whole. Then it all slid into place when the solo ended.

I got to see Iron Butterfly and Led Zeppelin back in 1970. This was an iconic stoner song. Yes to more Iron Butterfly.

Fun fact: the guitarist, Erik Brann, was only 17 when this album came out.

"A moment in history" Great comment, Alex. Perhaps it explains my surprising initial reaction when you guys first started playing the song, because I instantly began to tear up. Not the reaction I was expecting at all. But I guess it is because this song was so much a part of my youth, as I turned 13 at the end of 1968 when it was released. I must be getting old and sentimental.😂

One of the things not usually talked about with this song is the terrific stereo mixing of the song. Shout out to the engineer.

Still enjoy this song all these 50 + year's later since the first time i heard it.

I loved this song when it first came out and I love it to this day.

Never get tired of hearing this song!! Play it again!

Three most played songs in the history of the English language “Happy Birthday to you”, “Auld Lang Syne” and “Inna Gadda da Vida”. (Cheech and Chong)

Yes, finally. Welcome to the long psychedelic trippy song. Yes, I felt it was ground breaking. It was a huge hit. The shorter version was played on the radio. This was sooooo cool in the day.

This came along at exactly the right time. AM was on it's way out, FM was on its way in, and some of them played entire album sides, like this one, and CTA from Chicago. Only a few stations would play the long version (they made a short version), but by the time FM Stereo SimulCast came around, AM was as good as dead.

I recommend watching the (excellent) movie, “Manhunter” (the original version of “Red Dragon”) with William Peterson and you’ll forever link this song to this flick. Great reaction, boys…

‘Get Ready’ by Rare Earth came out about the same time. Took up one side of the album, long drum solo. Would be be a good comparison song to this one.

Listening to this makes me realize just how stoned we were back in the day to listen this sooooo many times. Carry On!!

VANILLA FUDGE "YOU KEEP ME HANGIN' ON"..ABSOLUTE CLASSIC..TRUTH!!

It WAS iconic! It's been decades since I've revisited this song, and I forgot about the most iconic drum solo ever! Thanks guys!

SAUCE! Required listening for any fan of classic rock. Once every 10 years is enough, though.

As a former DJ in the days of vinyl, allow me to say this song is a life-saver when you are suffering from, shall we say, digestive issues. Slap this on the turntable, grab your copy of Billboard, and retire to the reading room for a quarter of an hour.

I love how the drummer was like, you know what would go good right in the middle of this song?........Me! And he was right✌✌

This album set a new standard for sales. A record that sold one million copies was called a gold record. This album sold so many millions of copies that they created the Platinum category., so it was the first platinum record.

A great get high song back in the day! You can literally hear all of the colors of the instruments. The song just seemed to go on for hours. And that drum solo, one of the best ever. Not to mention the spectacular organ, bass and guitar. Holy hell. What a wonderful way to spend my lunch hour (and no I didn't get high boss 😂) Thanks guys!

When I was a DJ at an album-oriented rock station in the late 70's, this was one of the go-to songs for whenever I needed to take a potty break. The iconic drum solo that every drummer I knew learned definitely furthered a trend at the time for the drums to move up a bit in the recording mix and for every drummer to be showcased at some point in the live performance.

The amps on the cover are "Vox Super Beatles"! Ringo said he used this solo for his solo on "The End." When this song would come on the radio, you would call your friends to see if they were listnening. Strictly an FM song.

As a drummer this song was the first song in the day to give a drummer such a dominate solo in the song and at the time this was unbelievable and I do believe it was the longest solo by far given to a drummer on a record album, this is defiantly a time piece and as a drummer this song broke the mold and that is my humble opinion. Love you guys!

The long version was played on radio so DJs could take a crap

As a teenager, my sister and I would put this song on and get ready to go out. We had to be finished getting ready by the time the song was over.

One of the best songs ever. Glad you did the full song, also love how you guys just listen first and then talk. Great insight

I had this album in high school, my sister and I drove our parents crazy with this over and over as loud as possible.

Vintage "acid" or "psychedelic" rock. A year later than "Sunshine of Your Love." Superficially similar, but really a completely different song other than the vague similarity of riffs. "Sunshine" is basically a modified blues. "Vita" is much more deeply acid rock. When they said smoke 'em if you got 'em, they were not talking about Marlboros. And the audience is not limited to things you could light up.

YAY!! I think alot of us were waiting for you two to hit this classic track. It's the quintessential psychedelic era rock song. Far out, man.✌

This band was scheduled to play Woodstock. They got as far as Laguardia airport in NYC when they found out the New York Thruway was closed and there was no way they could make the show.

69 Subic Bay Yank other ranks club had local bands, rock, country, etc. in the club this afternoon and asked local band to play the song. They said no until we took up a collection and they said ok. They start the song and when they get to the five minute drum solo the rest of the group walk off and have a drink. The drummer gets to the point where the guitar has to restart and they ignored him. So he did it again. Fabulous memories.

Man alive! I was there for real back in the day! It’s tripping music for sure!🎼🎹☯️

Laughed when they were wondering when this came out - -when could it have been but the late 60s? It definitely has that sound and feel.

This may be the third time I’ve watched this reaction and I still love it every time! This thing this post you have could go on forever and ever and ever……and you are continuing history……. Thank You😀

Doug Ingle's vocal was the template for so many metal bands that came after.

This puts me back in my dorm room at college with blacklight turned on and room mates vibing out.