In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, circa 1968

I used to play this LP allbum In-A- Gadda-Da-Vida by the Iron Butterfly ( no CDs yet at the time ) on our Hi Fi Mono , with the volume set almost to it's maximum. The sound was great. It was almost like a live band was playing in the living room. The Hi Fi Phono Amplifier( as my dad called it) was assembled by him and encased in a beautiful brown varnish cabinet box, also built by him. Today, we call it "Stereo Component" by notable brands such as Sony, Philips, Samsung and a host of other china sounding brands.And in contrast to the 70's Stereo and Quadrophonics , today's audio equipments are smaller and tinier.


But back to the Iron-Butterly's In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida. I used to love this piece. And still do. I listen to this in the privacy of my earphone at the office. When driving alone in my car, I listen to it while cruising or at traffic snail pace, whatever.But when in the company of others, I automatically switch to "Bossa Nova" mode. :)

Anyhow, for the benefit of those not yet born when this Album made it to the charts, here's a brief description of this song's genre: This is a psychedelic rock song made by the Iron Butterfly in 1968. This also falls under the Heavy Metal genre. The title of the song was supposedly In The Garden of Eden , but during the making, recording and rehearsal of the song, Ron Bushy, the drummer, reportedly asked singer Don Ingle ( who was said to be intoxicated or high at the time ) for the song's title. The drummer couldn't clearly distinguish Don Ingle's slurred reply, and wrote it down. Hence, the  In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida. The title struck and made it to the charts. Oh, by the way, the song lasts for the entire 17 minutes or more and occupies the entire length of the other side of the LP.


My original LP album of this classic heavy metal rock sadly, however, was lost when our family transferred from Zamboanga to Manila in the 70's.