IRON BUTTERFLY "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" Drum Solo by Ron Bushy*

I like it

 

It's brilliant. Easily one of the most "musical" drum solos ever. I have no problem listening to the whole thing. It's probably the only drum solo I can listen to all the way through under any circumstances. If I find myself in the middle of "Moby Dick" or "The Mule", I usually skip it. If anybody faults Bushy on grounds of technique, they're missing the point. It isn't about showing off.

I haven't read this whole thread and someone may have already mentioned this, but the approach to the drum solo here is reportedly based upon an African liturgy of the Mass called "Missa Luba." Therefore we see Ron Bushy participating in the noble recreation of many 60's rock musicians, which is to adopt and interpolate non-rock musics into rock compositions in order to stretch the boundaries of rock music. As such it's a phenomenal success. Great selection, great interpretation, and the result is a wonderfully intuitive spiritual aspect to what would otherwise be just another piece of psychedelic shlock-rock. I believe that the drum solo actually made this song the huge hit that it was in spite of the chart performance of the obligatory truncated single version. Even when I was very young and not at all knowledgeable about music, I thought of "In A Gadda Da Vida" as the song with that amazing drum part.

 

Love it! I like that repeating "tick-tock" pattern at the end, when the organ starts back up. (On my original 8-track tape, that was where it switched from track 3 to track 4. Don't ask me why I remember that.)

 

Love that one too! Played by Jim Keltner I believe.

 

Love It! Beats the hell out of Toad.

 

I've always loved this solo. I will also give props to the use of it in "Manhunter". One of the scariest movies I've ever seen.

Jim Gordon played the drums on "Jump Into the Fire". His paranoid schizophrenia later got the best of him and he killed his mother.

Doug

 

I was about 12 or 13 and an aspiring drummer when In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida was released. Needless to say, I wasn't happy until I could play it.
I'm sure the other members of my household could have done with out it.

 

Love Ron's drum solo.

 

Wow. I never heard that one, but it makes sense. I bought Missa Luba when it was first released. Haven't listened to it in decades, but that's about to change.

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That is one UGLY set of drums.

I have to assume they sound great though. I mean, they'd have to.

As a kid, I loved trying to replicate this drum solo myself. To this day, if I'm ever just fooling around on the kit, no matter what I try to play, I always end up incorporating some bit of Bushy's solo whether I intend to or not. It is simply the epitome of melodic drumming.

The version on the live album does not excite me as much, but that studio version is classic. Other rock drummers might use their solo time to try to do all sorts of fast, impressive rudiments and such. Clearly Bushy's intent was to make music. This might be THE most listenable rock drum solo ever for that reason!

 

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