I was a big fan of Iron Butterfly back in the day. It was the intro into psychedelia for us--bell bottoms and big hair and flower power. My memories are centered on how long it was--you would be 'all' sweated out if you tried to dance to it..lol Anyway, here's the history of a rare group of blue-eyed soul people:

The band was formed in 1966 in San Diego and released their debut album, Heavy, in 1968, after signing a deal with ATCO, an Atlantic Records subsidiary. The original members were Doug Ingle, Ron Bushy, Jerry "The Bear" Penrod, Darryl DeLoach and Danny Weis. All but Ingle and Bushy left the band after recording the first album in late 1967; the remaining musicians, faced with the possibility of the record not being released, quickly found replacements in bassist Lee Dorman and guitarist Erik Brann (aka Erik Braunn) and resumed touring.

Weis and Penrod almost immediately went on to form the supergroup Rhinoceros.

The 17-minute "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", the title track of their second album, became a Top Thirty hit in the US. (Doug Ingle is reported to have said the title was an alcohol-slurred version of "In the Garden of Eden", although this is probably apocryphal; see the song's page.) The members when In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida was recorded were Doug Ingle (keyboards and vocals), Lee Dorman (bass guitar), Ron Bushy (drums) and 17-year-old Erik Brann, also Braunn (guitar). The next album, Ball, topped the charts but more lineup changes followed. In 1970 with Erik Brann gone, Iron Butterfly released their fourth album, Metamorphosis with two new members, guitarist / vocalist / songwriter Mike Pinera (whose Blues Image had opened for the Butterfly's Vida tour and who later led Ramatam and played with Alice Cooper) and guitarist Larry "Rhino" Reinhardt. The album only managed to get into the top twenty. The band broke up in 1971. Dorman and Reinhardt later became members of the supergroup Captain Beyond.

The band was booked to play at Woodstock, but got stuck at an airport. When their manager called the promoters of the concert, they explained the incredible situation they had been dealt and asked for patience. However, the manager demanded that the Butterfly be flown in by helicopter whereupon they would "immediately" take the stage. After their set they would be paid and flown back to the airport. The manager was told that this would be taken into consideration and he would be called back. In truth, his outrageous demands were never given a second thought.

Iron Butterfly classic line-up. From left to right : Ingle, Bushy, Dorman and Brann
Iron Butterfly classic line-up. From left to right : Ingle, Bushy, Dorman and Brann

The band re-formed in 1974 with Ron Bushy and Eric Brann joined by bassist Philip Taylor Kramer and Howard Reitzes. (Kramer later made news with his 1995 disappearance and the discovery of his bones and minivan at the bottom of Decker Canyon in 1999). The albums released during this lineup: Scorching Beauty in 1975 with Reitzes and Sun and Steel early 1976 with DeMartines.

A very brief semi-reunion in 1978, enlisting Jimi Henderson on vocals and former Van der Graaf Generator / The Koobas / Juicy Lucy / Spooky Tooth bassist Keith Ian Ellis, imploded during a tour of Germany, when Ellis was found dead in a motel room.

The famous line-up of In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida got together for the Atlantic Recording Corporation's 40th anniversary concert and celebration, appearing on stage along with the surviving members of Led Zeppelin, and with Aretha Franklin among many other acts of the company's roster in 1988.

On October 3, 2002, original guitarist/vocalist Darryl DeLoach died of liver cancer at the age of 56.

On July 31, 2003 Erik Brann died of cardiac failure at the age of 52. He was working on a new solo album at the time of his death. The album to date remains unreleased, although friends and family of Brann are working on seeing its release.

As of 2004, the group is once again re-formed, and is touring with early members Ron Bushy and Lee Dorman. Iron Butterfly is now working on a new album that should be released in mid-late 2007.

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Comment by Edie Antoinette on December 26, 2007 at 8:12am
Yeah--they give the 'real' stuff to certain ones like cancer patients and those with glaucoma--but the THC me and my husband ingested was NOT the active ingredient in cannabis. We were idiots! But thanks C.

I love this cut too. They tear it up at around 9:00 like you say..give the drummer some! LOL
Comment by Shelley "SoleMann" King on December 23, 2007 at 9:10am
Another case that has always fascinated me although i know i'm going off the blog topic is Charles Manson and LSD...I have read Helter Skelter 3 times and watched every movie and documentary on the case....Just found out that Sammy Davis Jr. was supposed to be in the Tate house that night....He was friends with Tate and his Hairstylist Jay Sebring was also one of the victims.
Comment by Shelley "SoleMann" King on December 23, 2007 at 8:36am
LSD
Comment by Shelley "SoleMann" King on December 23, 2007 at 8:32am
LSD, also known as acid, was first synthesized on November 16, 1938[1] by Swiss chemist Dr. Albert Hofmann at the Sandoz Laboratories in Basel, Switzerland.

On April 19, 1943 Dr. Hofmann intentionally ingested 250 µg of LSD, which he hypothesized would be a threshold dose, based on other ergot alkaloids. After ingesting the substance Hofmann was struggling to speak intelligibly and asked his laboratory assistant, who knew of the self-experiment, to escort him home on his bicycle, due to no vehicles being available from wartime restrictions.

On the bicycle ride home, Hofmann's condition became more severe and in his journal he stated that everything in his field of vision wavered and was distorted, as if seen in a curved mirror. Hofmann also stated that while riding on the bicycle, he had the sensation of being stationary, unable to move from where he was, despite the fact that he was moving very rapidly. Once Hofmann arrived safely home, he summoned a doctor and asked his neighbor for milk, believing it may help relieve the symptoms. Hofmann wrote that despite his delirious and bewildered condition, he was able to choose milk as a nonspecific antidote for poisoning.

Upon arriving the doctor could find no abnormal physical symptoms other than extremely dilated pupils. After spending several hours terrified that his body had been possessed by a demon, that his next door neighbor was a witch, and that his furniture was threatening him, that Albert Einstein was chasing him with a kitchen knife, Dr. Hofmann feared he had become completely insane.

In his journal Hoffman said that the doctor saw no reason to prescribe medication and instead sent him to his bed. At this time Hofmann said that the feelings of fear had started to give way to feelings of good fortune and gratitude, and that he was now enjoying the colors and plays of shapes that persisted behind his closed eyes. Hoffman mentions seeing "fantastic images" surging past him, alternating and opening and closing themselves into circles and spirals and finally exploding into colored fountains and then rearranging themselves in a constant flux. Hofmann mentions that during the condition every acoustic perception, such as the sound of a passing automobile, was transformed into optical perceptions.

Eventually Hoffman slept and upon awakening the next morning felt refreshed and clearheaded, though somewhat physically tired. He also stated that he had a sensation of well being and renewed life and that his breakfast tasted unusually delicious. Upon walking in his garden he remarked that all of his senses were "vibrating in a condition of highest sensitivity, which then persisted for the entire day".
Comment by Shelley "SoleMann" King on December 23, 2007 at 8:26am
You can just imagine how stoopid we looked sitting with our legs crossed rolling baked banana peels..

ROFLMBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

BWAAAAAA...To bad you ain't got a pic of that....LOL
Comment by Edie Antoinette on December 23, 2007 at 5:35am
The closest me and my first husband ever came to that kinna stuff was our experiment with THC. It stands for Tetrahydrocannabinol-the pure factor of weed, but that mess wasn't nothing pure..it was these little teenie granuals that they say was 'really' horse tranqulizer!

What dopes (pun intended) we were. We got into weed by accident and once my then husband told me he heard baked banana peels could get you high..so our behinds had the 'nerve' to try it.

You can just imagine how stoopid we looked sitting with our legs crossed rolling baked banana peels..

ROFLMBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Comment by Edie Antoinette on December 23, 2007 at 5:28am
You know it! C'mon--"In-a-gadda-da-vida=In The Garden of Eden???" Yeah, they was on SOME kinna trip.

LSD was the thing then..check out these facts on it:

LSD stands for d-Lysergic Acid Diethylamide; it is a potent psychedelic drug derived from the fungus ergot. It has a profound effect on one’s nervous system affecting the way one thinks and perceives the surroundings. It is known to induce hallucinations in the user which depending on the dose may have an effect for as long as 72 hours. LSD’s street name is acid also known by names like stars, trips and strawberries; it is usually available in the form of bits of paper with the drug painted on it that are licked or in liquid or granular form. LSD primarily causes one to lose receptivity to the dimensions of time and space; it results in the person reacting unpredictably to various things. LSD also results in the user reliving past memories which may include unpleasant ones or his imagination may create a world of its own that could result in the user being badly terrified and may suffer a panic attack. There are several cases in which people have injured themselves or worse when under the influence of LSD. Long term effects of LSD on the psychological level are mental instability and paranoia that could lead to insanity while on the physical level it is known to cause sudden death due to heart failure.
Comment by Shelley "SoleMann" King on December 23, 2007 at 5:21am
Interesting group with a sound meant for that era...How much you wanna bet that they dropped a few tabs of acid back in the day....LOL

Introspection

Entr'acte

  1. play Norman Brown — Night Drive
  2. play Norman Brown — Feeling
  3. play Norman Brown — Still
  4. play Miles Davis — miles 1
  5. play miles 2
  6. play miles 3
  7. play miles 4
  8. play miles 5
  9. play Marvin Gaye — I Met A Little Girl
  10. play Santana — 01 Singing Winds, Crying Beasts
  11. play Santana — 02 Black Magic Woman-Gypsy Queen
  12. play Mongo — 02. Afro Blue



The history of the Butlers/Raw Soul is dense, but for all of us music nerds, that's normal. It is not totally clear what year the Butlers actually formed but they released their first single in 1963 on Liberty Records. That single was "She Tried To Kiss Me" and another single followed on Guyden entitled "Lovable Girl." After the Guyden single the Butlers took a break not recording another record until the single "Laugh, Laugh, Laugh" was released on the Phila label in 1966. The group also backed Charles Earland and Jean Wells on one Phila single ("I Know She Loves Me"). 


As you might be noticing, the Butlers were doing a fair amount of recording but not achieving much success. The group's recordings sold regionally but never had the promotion to make an impact on the national scene. After the single with Phila, the Butlers moved to the Fairmount label (part of the Cameo-Parkway family) and released a handful of singles, some being reissued singles of the past. The Butlers were with Fairmount for 1966-67 and then moved to Sassy Records. Sassy released the group's greatest single (in my opinion) "Love (Your Pain Goes Deep)" b/w "If That's What You Wanted." A copy of that 45 sold for just under $500 last summer on eBay. Even though that isn't that much in the world of record collecting--it's still a hefty sum. The Butlers released another single on Sassy ("She's Gone" b/w "Love Is Good") that appears to be even 
harder to come by then the "Love (Your Pain Goes Deep)" single.

 

The true history become a bit blurred here as the AMG biography states that the Butlers last record was released on C.R.S. in 1974 (". However, between 1971 and that single, Frankie Beverly formed a group called Raw Soul and released a number of singles. Some of the songs recorded by Beverly during this period are "While I'm Alone," "Open Up Your Heart," (both on the Gregor label) and "Color Blind." "Color Blind" was released by the Eldorado label and rerecorded by Maze. Beverly's big break came when Marvin Gaye asked Raw Soul to back him on a tour. Gaye helped Beverly/Raw Soul get a contract at Capitol. Beverly decided to take the group in a different direction, a name change occurred, and Maze was created. 

The above isn't the most complete history of Beverly but hopefully someone will know a way to get in touch with the man or his management because a comprehensive pre-Maze history needs to be done on Frankie Beverly (his real name is Howard, by the way). Below you'll find every Frankie Beverly (pre-Maze) song available to me right now ("Color Blind" will be up soon). 

If you have a song that is not included below, shoot it over to funkinsoulman (at) yahoo.com and it will go up in the next Frankie Beverly post (later this week--highlighting Maze). Also, if you have any more information please share your knowledge. The Butlers material has been comp-ed sporadically (usually imports) but the entire Maze catalog has been reissued and is available. 

Enjoy.  "She Kissed Me" (Fairmount, 1966 or 1967) 
 
 "I Want To Feel I'm Wanted" (not sure which label or year) "Laugh, Laugh, Laugh" (Phila, 1966) "Because Of My Heart" (Fairmount, 1966 or 1967)
   
 "Love (Your Pain Goes Deep)" (Sassy, 1967)
   
 "If That's What You Wanted" (Sassy, 1967)
 



Frankie Beverly is one of those cats that has lasting power. He started in the music business doing a tour with doo wop group the Silhouettes and then formed his own group called the Blenders. The Blenders never recorded a single, Beverly wouldn't appear on wax until forming the Butlers a few years later. Along with Beverly, the Butlers included Jack "Sonny" Nicholson, Joe Collins, John Fitch, and Talmadge Conway.

Beverly would later enjoy great success fronting Maze and Conway would become a
well-known penning Double Exposure's
"Ten Percent" and the Intruders' "Memories Are Here To Stay." 
 While Maze is a phenomenal group, Beverly's work before that group will always stand out as his best (imo).

The Butlers produced tunes that most Northern Soul fans would kill for and Raw Soul gave the funksters something to pursue. If, by chance, you know of a way to get in touch with Frankie Beverly or his management, please drop me an e-mail. It would be absolutely great to do an interview with him about his pre-Maze work. He's still playing out, most recently doing a New Year's Eve show in Atlanta.
:: Funkinsoulman ::

Power...Through Simplicity ♪♫♪

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