Doug Ingle, Iron Butterfly Founding Member and Singer, Dies at 78

Mitchell Peters
·2 min read
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Doug Ingle, the original singer and organist of psychedelic rock band Iron Butterfly, has died. He was 78.

The musician’s son Doug Ingle Jr. shared the news of his father’s passing through social media on Saturday (May 25).

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“It’s with a heavy heart & great sadness to announce the passing of my Father Doug Ingle. Dad passed away peacefully this evening in the presence of family,” Ingle Jr. wrote on Facebook. “Thank You Dad for being a father, teacher and friend. Cherished loving memories I will carry the rest of my days moving forward in this journey of life.”

A cause of death was not provided.

Ingle, writer of Iron Butterfly’s signature song “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida,” was the last surviving member of the group’s classic lineup, which was formed in San Diego in 1966. Drummer Ron Bushy died in 2021 at age 79, bassist Lee Dornan passed in 2012 at age 70, and guitarist Erik Brann died in 2003 at age 52.

Following numerous lineup changes early on, Ingle and Bushy was part of the five-piece Iron Butterfly that released the act’s 1968 debut album, Heavy. Soon after, the band’s other three members departed and were replaced by Brann and Dornan, who were part of the lineup that released the 17-minute version of “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.”

A shortened version of “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” peaked at No. 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1968, one of four Iron Butterfly titles to impact the chart. Its parent album hit No. 4 on the Billboard 200 albums chart (and remained on the chart for 140 weeks, a long run at the time for a rock album), while 1969’s Ball went to No. 3.

Ingle remained with Iron Butterfly through the release of its 1970 album, Metamorphosis, and left when the band broke up a year later.

Ingle did not take part in an Iron Butterfly reunion organized by Bushy and Brann in the mid-1970s, but he did perform with various versions of the group over the decades before retiring from performing in 1999.

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