Erik Brann
August 11, 1950 – July 25, 2003
Although best known as a guitarist for Iron Butterfly, Erik Brann actually started his musical journey on violin, being chosen for the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s child prodigy program when he was very young. But in 1967, when he was just 16, Brann’s career took him in an entirely different direction when he joined Iron Butterfly, just in time to play guitar on their 16-minute masterpiece, “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida,” considered by many to be the world’s first heavy metal song. Brann’s tenure in the band lasted barely two years when he reportedly left the business in 1969. Brann resurfaced a few times over the next few decades to take part in various reincarnations of the Butterfly, but the group were never able to achieve any sort of success. On July 25, 2003, Erik Brann died of a heart attack while working on his first solo album.
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