Iron Butterfly Guitarist dead

[Leanmean]

While we were mourning Barry White and Herbie Mann's death, another contributor to music history died: Erik Braunn, lead guitarist for Iron Butterfly. I'm going to play my In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida CD tonight in his memory. When I was just a young thing of 12-going-on-13, I hung out at the local mall in Bill Bear's Records. I listened to that album in the soundproof album listening room over and over until they kicked me out because I never bought anything. (No money!) My favorite songs were "Most Anything That You Want" and "Flowers and Beads." I fancied myself in love with Erik because he was so cute and was only 16, just a few years older than me and a year younger than the high school kids I hung out with who worked in the stores at the mall. I thought I saw a brief mention on the Internet or somewhere when it happened, but I was so floored by Barry's death that Erik's just passed me by. Maybe it was more than I could handle and I blocked it out until I ran across something again today. Here is an article about him:

Erik Braunn of Iron Butterfly dies
LOS ANGELES (Classic rock news website) - Erik Braunn, the lead guitarist on Iron Butterfly's 1968 classic psychedelic rock anthem "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida," died on Friday (July 25) in Los Angeles of cardiac arrest, according to the L.A. Times. He was 52 years old.

Braunn was born in Pekin, Illinois and raised in Los Angeles. He was a child prodigy on classical violin by the age of four, though he eventually switched to guitar and rock 'n' roll.
He was 16 when he joined Iron Butterfly, which had been put together a year earlier by singer and organ player, Doug Ingle, drummer Ron Bushy and bassist Lee Dorman. He spent two years with the group, from 1967 to 1969, and during that time recorded the guitar part for the 17-minute "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida," cementing his place in music history with one of rock's most memorable riffs. An edited, three-minute version peaked at Number 30 on the pop chart. The album In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida went platinum and stayed on the charts for two years.

After leaving the group, Braunn became a songwriter, studio musician and producer. Over the years, he would join former band mates for Butterfly reunions. In 1975, he reformed a version of the band with Bushy.

During a 1988 reunion of the group, Braunn told the L.A. Times that he enjoyed the success of "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida," but constant touring took its toll. He said, "My first vacation I bought a car, a Jaguar, and parked it outside the hospital where I spent two weeks for ulcers and gastroenteritis."

[NickNack]

This is the first I'm hearing about this, Leanmean. You would think the man's passing would have garnered more attention, being part of a classic piece of rock music such as this. Only 52... sad news.