Monday 27 May 2024

DJ's Give Thanks To In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida

Radio Presenters of stations which still play music will be smoking more and giving their bladders a rest tonight because on the death of the Iron BUtterfly lead vocalist, Doug Ingle, they will legitimately be able to play the rock classic In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida today.
Usually, the 17 minute hit from 1968 is played when the presenter needs a smoke or a toilet break during their stint but originally they would have had time to pop home and feed the cat because it was cut down from an initial 35 minutes.
A great story is that the song was meant to be called 'In The Garden Of Eden' but when asked the title, Ingle was so drunk that what he slurred was written down as 'In A Gadda Da Vida' and once he sobered up he just went 'Oh Well' and just went with it.   
Taking up the entire B side of the album of the same name, it spent 81 weeks in the top 10 in the US and sold over 400,000 copies and despite being around 14 minutes too long and featuring a 13 minute instrumental break with a 2 minute drum solo in the middle, it's not a bad song with a decent organ led hook even if it is very much a 60's prog-rock type song which i imagine many a spliff was smoked to by people in very wide bottomed jeans and psychedelic shirts back in the day.
Radio presenters everywhere will be lingering just that bit longer in the toilet and rising their second cigarette today in appreciation of Doug Ingle and Iron Butterfly.