Douglas Lee Dorman (September 15, 1942 – December 21, 2012) was an American bass guitarist best known as a member of the psychedelic rock band

Iron Butterfly Iron Butterfly was an American rock band formed in San Diego, California, in 1966. 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 m ...

. He was also a founding member of the British-American supergroup

Captain Beyond Captain Beyond is an American rock supergroup formed in Los Angeles in 1971.
at

Career

Iron Butterfly

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 ''Billboard'' (stylized in lowercase since 2013) is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events and styles related to th ...

'' charts for nearly three years. With arrangement assistance from Dorman,

Erik Brann Erik Keith Brann (born Rick Davis; August 11, 1950 – July 25, 2003), also known as Erik Braunn, was an American guitarist with the 1960s acid rock band Iron Butterfly. He was featured on the band's greatest hit single, hit, the 17-minute ''In-A ...

wrote the song "Termination," which was featured on the album. They are best known for the 1968 hit "

In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" (derived from "In the Garden of Eden") is a song recorded by Iron Butterfly, written by band member Doug Ingle and released on their 1968 album of the same name. At slightly over 17 minutes, it occupies the entire secon ...

", providing a dramatic sound that led the way towards the development of

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

and heavy metal music. The song, originally written by

Doug Ingle Douglas Lloyd Ingle (September 9, 1945 – May 24, 2024) was an American musician, best known as the founder, organist, primary composer and lead vocalist for the band Iron Butterfly. He wrote the band's hit song " In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", which was ...

as "In the

Garden of Eden In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden (; ; ) or Garden of God ( and ), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the biblical paradise described in Genesis 2–3 and Ezekiel 28 and 31.. The location of Eden is described in the Book of Ge ...

" 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 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...

, and charted highest in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, where it went to number seven. While recording ''

'', 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 Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...

AC/DC AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formativ ...

, Rush,

Alice Cooper Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...

Mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

, Uriah Heep,

Soundgarden Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto. Cornell switched to rhythm guitar in 1985, replaced on drums initially ...

Stone Temple Pilots Stone Temple Pilots, commonly abbreviated as STP, is an American Rock music, rock band formed in San Diego, California, in 1989. Originally consisting of lead vocalist Scott Weiland, guitarist Dean DeLeo, bassist Robert DeLeo, and drummer :Songs ...

Slayer Slayer is an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California, formed in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style made them ...

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard (KGLW) are an Australian rock band formed in 2010 in Melbourne, Victoria. The band's current lineup consists of Stu Mackenzie (vocals, guitar), Ambrose Kenny-Smith (vocals, harmonica, keyboards), Cook Craig ( ...

, and

Queens of the Stone Age Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated as QOTSA or QotSA) is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1996. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme shortly before he returned to his native Palm Desert, California. ...

. 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 Captain Beyond is an American rock supergroup formed in Los Angeles in 1971.
at

with ex-

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...

lead vocalist

Rod Evans Roderic Evans (born 19 January 1947) is a retired British singer known as the original vocalist of the rock bands Deep Purple and Captain Beyond. Evans began his professional career in The Maze before becoming a founding member of Deep Purple ...

, Dorman’s Butterfly band mate

Larry Reinhardt Larry "Rhino" Reinhardt (July 7, 1948 – January 2, 2012) was an American rock guitarist who played with Iron Butterfly and Captain Beyond. At one time Reinhardt was known by the nicknames "El Rhino" and "Ryno". Early history Born in Florida, Un ...

, and Bobby Caldwell. The band had an eclectic style bridging elements of

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

and

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric gui ...

with

space rock Space rock is a music genre characterized by loose and lengthy song structures centered on instrumental textures that typically produce a hypnotic, otherworldly sound. It may feature distorted and reverberation-laden guitars, minimal drummin ...

. They released three albums between 1972 and 1977. The band was plagued from its inception with significant problems, including

lawsuits A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. T ...

involving Evans, Reinhardt and Dorman with their former bands, and a dispute over musical style with their record label,

Capricorn Records Capricorn Records was an independent record label founded by Phil Walden and Frank Fenter in 1969 in Macon, Georgia. Capricorn Records is often credited by music historians as creating the southern rock genre. History Label and studio fou ...

Personal life

Dorman was raised in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, and moved to

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

in the 1960s. He began playing

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

in his teens.

Death

Dorman died of natural causes in his car in Laguna Niguel, California on December 21, 2012. He was the second member of the ''In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida'' lineup to die, being preceded by Brann in 2003, and succeeded by Bushy in 2021, and Ingle in 2024.

Discography

Iron Butterfly (See full discography at

) * ''

'' (1968) * ''

Ball A ball is a round object (usually spherical, but sometimes ovoid) with several uses. It is used in ball games, where the play of the game follows the state of the ball as it is hit, kicked or thrown by players. Balls can also be used for s ...

'' (1969) * ''

Live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film * ''Live'' (2023 film), a Malayalam-language film *'' Live: Phát Trực Tiếp'', a Vietnamese-langua ...

'' (1970) * '' Scorching Beauty'' (1975) * '' Sun and Steel'' (1976) Captain Beyond (See full discography at

Captain Beyond Captain Beyond is an American rock supergroup formed in Los Angeles in 1971.
at

) * Captain Beyond (album), ''Captain Beyond'' (1972) * '' Sufficiently Breathless'' (1973) * '' Dawn Explosion'' (1977)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dorman, Lee 1942 births 2012 deaths Musicians from St. Louis American rock bass guitarists American male bass guitarists Iron Butterfly members Captain Beyond members Guitarists from Missouri 20th-century American bass guitarists 20th-century American male musicians