"In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" is a psychedelic rock 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 wasn't 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.^[1]

In later years, band members claimed that the track was produced by legendary 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.

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. To wit, Blue Cheer's treatment of "Summertime Blues", Hendrix's "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)", and Steppenwolf's "Born to Be Wild" – whose lyrics contain the phrase "heavy-metal thunder" – have in common insistently driving rhythms that typify music of the heavy metal style. In 2009, it was named the 24th greatest hard rock song of all time by VH1.^[2]

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 couldn't 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 and/or high 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.

The song features a memorable, "endless, droning minor-key riff,"^[3] a guitar and bass ostinato, which is repeated throughout nearly the entire length of the song. It is also used as the basis for extended organ and guitar solos, which are interrupted in the middle by an extended drum solo, one of the first on a rock record and one of the most famous. What made this particular drum solo unique was 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. It's then followed by Doug Ingle's 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.

A live version reaching over 19 minutes long was released as part of their 1969 live album. This version, however, has evidence of heavy editing from the actual live recording. The guitar solo, for example, seems to have been recorded in a studio or somewhere else where there was no audience in attendance. The live version also lengthens the drums solo by roughly four minutes and the organ solo by about one minute. The version also omits the bass and drum solo jam (heard from 13:04–15:19 on the studio recording). The version that was edited and released as a single omits the instrumental solos and leaves roughly three minutes of music.

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

"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. Due to 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".

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)

• By Mongo Santamaría on the album Feelin' Alright (1970)

• by Shin Jung-hyeon and the Questions on the album In-A-Kadda-Da-Vida (1970)

• By the Incredible Bongo Band on the album Bongo Rock (1973)

• 1985 saw a guitar instrumental 12″ single released of "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" on Sutra Records. Guitarist Les Fradkin recorded this as a duo with synthesist Rob Hegel. The act was called Maddog.

• David Van Tieghem recorded a 12″ single with a "Day-Glo Mix" and "Black Light Mix" 1986.

• Thrash metal band Slayer cover the song on the Less Than Zero (1987) soundtrack album.

• Jag Panzer covered it on the Chain Of Command album (2004).

• Hard rock band Electric Earth covered this song on their debut album, Organic Songs - Volume One (2005).

• Symphonic power/speed metal band Blind Guardian covered this song for their single "Fly" (2006).

• Drum and bass producer High Contrast covered this song on his 2007 album, Tough Guys Don't Dance (High Contrast album).

• A version entitled "In-A-Gadda-Stravinsky" can be found on the Frank Zappa album Guitar. The main riff can be distinctly heard during the beginning of the song.

• New York hip hop artist Nas also used the song as a sample for his "Hip Hop Is Dead" single release and on the "Thief's Theme" track.

• The Smashing Pumpkins also released a cover of the song in their Live Smashing Pumpkins album series.

• Acid Bath covers the song on their DVD, "Acid Bath: Double Live Bootleg!"

• Fred Ho covers the song on his big band CD, "Celestial Green Monster"

• 16 BIT aka Michael Münzing and Luca Anzilotti, better known for their projects Off (with Sven Väth) and later Snap!, did an electronical cover version "(Ina) Gadda-Da-Vida" produced with Amiga 500 featuring Eddie Hind on the 1987 album Inaxycvgtgb.

• Dave Matthews Band bassist, Stefan Lessard, played a tease during the band's 12.19.98 performance in Chicago.^[4]

Samples from "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" were used in the following songs.

• "Thief's Theme" by Nas from the album Street's Disciple.

• "Hip Hop Is Dead" by Nas from the album Hip Hop Is Dead.

• The group Chase borrowed the coda from "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" for the coda to their song, "Get It On".
• In the "Flying Saucers" episode of Home Improvement, Tim Taylor used the song to scare his kids into thinking he and his wife are aliens, as punishment for them making this up to scare their younger brother Mark.
• The song was used in the climax of the movie Manhunter (directed by Michael Mann), the filmed version of Thomas Harris' novel Red Dragon.
• The song was used by Sam Malone on the television show Cheers.
• The song appears in Leisure Suit Larry: Love for Sail! during a drug-induced dream sequence.
• The song was used in the TV series Supernatural in episode 6 of season 1, titled "Skin".
• The song was used in the television series Criminal Minds, season 1, episode 16, titled "The Tribe" in the opening scene.
• The song has been referenced in The Simpsons on a number of occasions. In the episode "Bart Sells His Soul", Bart switches a hymn out for "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" with an adapted chorus: "In the Garden of Eden," the song's original title. Reverend Timothy Lovejoy believed I. Ron Butterfly to be the one who penned the song, in lieu of the band: Iron Butterfly. Homer tells Marge he remembers making out to "this hymn". Although the length is cut-edited, it's implied the whole long version was played, ending with the caption "SEVENTEEN MINUTES LATER" as the organist passes out and hits her head on the keys. In the episode "Stark Raving Dad", to celebrate the news of Michael Jackson coming to visit Springfield, KBBL Radio plays "a seldom-heard, extra-long version of In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida".
• In the television series That 70's Show episode "Drive in", where Fez needs to hide rock music from his foster parents, he and Hyde are listening to this song while singing "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head".^[5]
• The song was used in Resident Evil: Extinction when the convoy is driving down the long road.
• The opening riff of the cover by the Incredible Bongo Band was sampled in the song "Hip Hop is Dead" and "Thief's Theme" by Nas.
• "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" is contained in the polka medley "Polkas on 45" from the 1984 Weird Al album "Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D.
• The song was used in Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare, in the house when Spencer sits in the living room "watching" TV.
• The song was used in the film The Pirates of Silicon Valley.
• "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" is on one of Mr. Van Dresen's 8-track tapes in Beavis and Butt-head. Also, a news report mentions the "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" slayings years ago.
• It was heard in a Castrol TV commercial that aired during NBC's telecast of Super Bowl XLIII.
• It was played in the denouement of the film Ocean's Twelve.
• In the video game Postal 2 after smoking Cat nip, the Postal Dude says "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, baby".
• In the Andrew Dice Clay The Adventures of Ford Fairlane Wayne Newton says "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, baby".
• It is mentioned in Gilmore Girls, in season five's episode "Come Home", by Gil, when he asks Lane's cousins, "Do you guys know 'In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida'?"
• It can be heard playing in the sitcom Seinfeld by Elaine.
• In the House episode "The Jerk", House's team treats an obnoxious teenager using Psilocybin Mushrooms. In the scene where Cameron and Chase are examining him while he is "high", "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" plays in the background.
• It is used to underscore images of Ho Chi Minh's funeral in the legendary short film 79 Primaveras by Cuban filmmaker Santiago Álvarez.
• The name of the Futurama episode "In-A-Gadda-Da-Leela" is a reference to the song, as Turanga Leela and Zapp Brannigan get stranded on a Garden of Eden planet.
• The song was used in the film "21"
• In the 1986 movie The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Chop Top (Bill Moseley) requests the song when he and Leatherface (Bill Johnson) breaks into a radio station office.
• The song is playable on the upcoming video game Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock.