Iron Butterfly Lee Dorman and
Erik Brann joined
Ron Bushy and
Doug Ingle to form a new lineup of
Iron Butterfly in late 1967. The first album from this lineup,
In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, sold over 30 million copies, was awarded the first platinum award and stayed on the
Billboard magazine charts for nearly three years. With arrangement assistance from Dorman, Erik Brann wrote the song "Termination", which was featured on the album. They are best known for the 1968 hit "
In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", providing a dramatic sound that led the way towards the development of
hard rock and
heavy metal music. The song, originally written by
Doug Ingle as "In the
Garden of Eden" but as a result of singing the first draft whilst intoxicated was misheard by drummer
Ron Bushy as "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", went to number thirty on the
Billboard Hot 100, and charted highest in the
Netherlands, where it went to number seven. in 1969 While recording
In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, Dorman assisted Erik Brann with the arrangement of Brann's song "Termination", and was given a co-writing credit. Their music has found a significant impact on the international rock scenes, influencing numerous acts such as
Black Sabbath,
AC/DC,
Rush,
Alice Cooper,
Mountain,
Uriah Heep,
Soundgarden,
Stone Temple Pilots,
Slayer,
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, and
Queens of the Stone Age. Dorman had four stints with the group; 1967 to 1971, 1977 to 1978, 1978 to 1985, and from 1987 until his death in 2012. He was the longest serving member of the original foursome, and the longest serving of all the past and present members of Iron Butterfly.
Captain Beyond Shortly after his first departure from Iron Butterfly in 1971, Dorman co-founded the supergroup
Captain Beyond with ex-
Deep Purple lead vocalist
Rod Evans, Dorman’s Butterfly band mate
Larry Reinhardt, and
Bobby Caldwell. The band had an eclectic style bridging elements of
hard rock,
progressive rock and
jazz fusion with
space rock. They released three albums between 1972 and 1977. The band was plagued from its inception with significant problems, including
lawsuits involving Evans, Reinhardt and Dorman with their former bands, and a dispute over musical style with their record label,
Capricorn Records. == Personal life ==