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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZIRON BUTTERFLYRock band formed '66. Original lineup: Doug Ingle, keyboards (b 9 September 1946, Omaha NE); Ron Bushy, drums (b 23 December 1941, Wash. DC); bassist Jerry Penrod (b 25 September 1946, San Diego CA), vocalist Darryl DeLoach (b 12 September 1947, Santa Maria; d 3 October 2002, San Diego CA), guitarist Danny Weis (b 28 September 1948, Huntington Park CA). They were spotted playing in bars on the Sunset Strip and signed to Atlantic's Atco subsidiary; first LP Heavy '68 charted in Billboard, helped by band's touring with Doors etc. The last three named above left (Weis and Penrod later joined Rhinoceros), replaced by bassist Lee Dorman (b 15 September 1942, St Louis; d 21 December 2012, Laguna Niguel CA), Erik Keith Braunn (b 11 August 1950, Boston; d 25 July 2003, L.A.), guitar and vocals. Second LP In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida '69 with Ingle's 19-minute title track on the second side sold 3 million, stayed in the Billboard chart over two years; an edited version of the title made top 30 as a single. The heavy organ-based music with classical overtones was taken seriously at the time, a joke in retrospect. Follow-up Ball '69 was a no. 3 LP, but it was downhill from then on. Braunn was replaced '69 by Mike Pinera (b 29 September 1948; ex-Blues Image) and Larry Reinhardt (b 7 July 1948), both from Florida; he formed Flintwhistle with Penrod and DeLoach. They broke up after Live, Metamorphosis and compilation Evolution, all '70. Braunn and Bushy re-formed '75 with Howard Reitzes and Phil Kramer for Scorching Beauty and Sun And Steel, but their 15 minutes were over. Like Vanilla Fudge, Butterfly were heavy metal pioneers but foundered on overblown concepts compared to the sex appeal of Deep Purple or Led Zeppelin. |