Iron Butterfly Bassist Lee Dorman Dead At 70

Lee Dorman – bass player for psychedelic rock band Iron Butterfly – was found dead in his car in California overnight.

A spokeswoman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department said Mr Dorman, 70, died of natural causes, the NY Times reports.

Best known for their 1968 hit In-a-Gadda-da-Vida, Dorman had been touring with the San Diego-based band, along with maintaining his other project Captain Beyond up until recently.

The NY Times reports that a current member of Iron Butterfly – Martin Gerschwitz – said that Mr. Dorman was on the list waiting for a heart transplant due to a variety of heart problems that he was experiencing. Mr. Gerschwitz added that he believed Mr. Dorman did not have any immediate survivors.

It’s the second time this year that a one-time member of Iron Butterfly has passed away – lead guitarist Larry Reinhardt died earlier this year.

Here’s the video to that song – In-a-Gadda-da-Vida – to remember just exactly who Iron Butterfly are and to relive some of their finest work. But be warned, the full version goes on for 17 minutes.

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