In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida

This article is about the song. For the album, see In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (album); for the video, see In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (video)

"In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida"
Single by Iron Butterfly
from the album In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida
Released	June 14, 1968 (album) July 21, 1968 (single)
Recorded	May 27, 1968 at Ultrasonic Studios in Hempstead, Long Island, New York
Genre	Acid rock, psychedelic rock, heavy metal
Length	17:05 (album version) 2:52 (single edit) 19:00 (live version)
Label	Atco Records
Writer(s)	Doug Ingle
Producer	Jim Hilton
In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida track listing "Most Anything You Want" "Flowers and Beads" "My Mirage" "Termination" "Are You Happy?" "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" Audio sample file info · help

"In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" is a song by Iron Butterfly, released on their 1968 album In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.

At a little over seventeen minutes, it occupies the entire second side of the In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida album. The lyrics are simple, and heard only at the beginning and the end. The track was recorded on May 27, 1968, at Ultrasonic Studios in Hempstead, Long Island, New York.

The recording that is heard on the album was meant to be a soundcheck for engineer Don Casale while the band waited for the arrival of producer Jim Hilton. However, Casale had rolled a recording tape, and when the rehearsal was completed it was agreed that the performance was of sufficient quality that another take was not needed. Hilton later remixed the recording at Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles. The single reached number thirty on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

In later years, band members claimed that the track was produced by Long Island producer George "Shadow" Morton, who earlier had supervised the recordings of the band Vanilla Fudge. Morton subsequently stated in several interviews that he had agreed to do so at the behest of Atlantic Records chief Ahmet Ertegun, but he also allowed that he was drinking heavily at the time and that his actual oversight of the recording was minimal.^{[citation needed]} Neither Casale nor Morton receives credit on the album, while Hilton was credited as both its sound engineer and producer.

Overview

The song is considered significant in rock history because, together with music by Blue Cheer, Jimi Hendrix and Steppenwolf, it marks the time period when psychedelic music began to form heavy metal.^{[citation needed]} In 2009, it was named the 24th greatest hard rock song of all time by VH1.

A commonly related story says that the song's title was originally "In the Garden of Eden" but at one point in the course of rehearsing and recording, singer Doug Ingle became intoxicated and slurred the words, creating the mondegreen that stuck as the title. However, the liner notes on 'the best of' CD compilation state that drummer Ron Bushy was listening to the track through headphones, and could not clearly distinguish what Doug Ingle answered when Ron asked him for the title of the song (which was originally "In-the-Garden-of-Eden"). An alternate explanation, as given in the liner notes of the 1995 re-release of the In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida album, is that Ingle was drunk or high, or both, when he first told Bushy the title, and Bushy wrote it down. Bushy then showed Ingle what he had written, and the slurred title stuck.

Musical composition

The first six minutes of the song is dominated by a memorable, "endless, droning minor-key riff", a guitar and bass ostinato. It is used as the basis for extended organ and guitar solos, then silenced to make way for a drum solo, one of the first on a rock record and one of the most famous, because of its surreal tribal sound. Bushy removed the bottom heads from his tom-toms to give them less of a resonant tone, and during the recording process, the drum tracks were subjected to a process known as flanging, producing a slow, swirling sound. The solo is followed by an ethereal polyphonic organ solo (which resembles variations on "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen") to the accompaniment of drums (beginning around 9:20 into the piece). There are then interludes in cut time and a reprise of the original theme and vocals.

Edited Versions

"In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" was released on a 45 in the US and other territories. The 17 minute original version was edited down to 2:53 minutes. This version contains the intro, two complete verses, the repeat of the main theme very near the end, a short break and the closing segment. There is nothing at all left of any of the solos.

In the Netherlands (and perhaps other territories too) a different, longer 4:14 minute edit was released first on a 45 with catalogue number 2019 021 and later on an EP with catalogue number 2091 213. This edit features only one verse, a large portion of the drum solo, the final verse and the closing segment.

Live version

A live version reaching over 19 minutes long was released as part of their 1969 live album. This version lengthens the drums solo by roughly four minutes and the organ solo by about one minute. It also omits the bass and drum solo jam (heard from 13:04–15:19 on the studio recording).

When Doug Ingle wrote the song, he had not intended for it to run 17 minutes long. However, Ingle said that he "knew there would be slots for solos". During live renditions, Erik Brann's (guitar) and Ron Bushy's (drum) solos varied from performance to performance, while Ingle's organ solo remained the same.

In popular culture

The song is featured prominently in the climax of the film Manhunter. It is featured at the beginning of The Simpsons episode, Bart Sells His Soul under the guise of a church hymn distributed by Bart, with the title "In the Garden of Eden" (referencing the popular story about the mondegreen) by "I. Ron Butterfly", and sung by the unwitting parishioners. The song was also heard briefly in the film Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare. The song was played on bagpipes during a funeral in the series finale of Rescue Me. The song was featured prominently in the beginning of "The Tribe," episode #16 of season #1 of the TV series Criminal Minds. The song is also featured in an episode of Supernatural in the opening scene of "Skin", episode 6 of season 1. It can also be heard during a road trip sequence in Resident Evil Extinction.

In the show Beavis and Butt-head, the title of the song is referred to on the television. (season 4, episode 32)

The Nas song Thief's Theme featured an interpolation of the famous riff from "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" performed by Incredible Bongo Band. Nas would again use the same sample on the 2006 single Hip Hop is Dead.

Boney M. version

"Children of Paradise" / "Gadda-Da-Vida"
Single by Boney M.
Released	September 1980
Format	7″ single, 12″ single
Recorded	1980
Genre	Pop, disco
Label	Hansa Records (FRG)
Producer	Frank Farian
Boney M. singles chronology
"I See a Boat on the River / My Friend Jack" (1980) "Children of Paradise" / "Gadda-Da-Vida" (1980) "Felicidad (Margherita)" (1980)

"Children of Paradise" / "Gadda-Da-Vida" is a 1980 single by German band Boney M. Intended to be the first single off the group's fifth album Boonoonoonoos (scheduled for a November 1980 release), the single was ultimately never included because the album release was delayed for one year. "Children of Paradise" peaked at #11 in the German charts, whereas it became the group's lowest placing in the UK at #66 only. Boney M. would use the double A-side format in this period, typically with the A1 being the song intended for radio and A2 being more squarely aimed at discos. The sides would usually be switched on the accompanying 12″ single. Although no-one knew, at the time it was recorded, "Gadda-Da-Vida" became a controversial Boney M. record since it turned out none of the original members sang on it. Because of a fall-out between producer Frank Farian and the group, he had session singers La Mama (Cathy Bartney, Patricia Shockley and Madeleine Davis) sing the female vocals while he did the deep male vocals as usual. The group only promoted it once on TV. Two different single edits were done of the full 9-minute version that appeared on the 12-inch single. "Gadda-Da-Vida" was the A-side in Japan. Only the French release correctly stated the song title as "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida".

Releases

7″ singles

• "Children of Paradise" (Farian, Reyam, Jay) - 4:40 / "Gadda-Da-Vida" (Ingle) - 5:18 (Hansa 102 400-100, Germany)
• "Children of Paradise" (Final mix) - 4:28 / "Gadda-Da-Vida" (Final mix) - 5:05 (Hansa 102 400-100, Germany)

12″ single

• "Gadda-Da-Vida" (Long version) - 8:56 / "Children of Paradise" (12″ mix) - 5:18 (Hansa 600 280-100, Germany)