Erik Brann

Who was Erik Brann?

Erik Keith Brann, born Rick Davis and also known as Erik Braunn, was an American guitarist with the 1960s acid rock band Iron Butterfly. He is featured on the band's greatest hit, the 17-minute In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, recorded when he was 17.

A Boston, Massachusetts native and a violinist, Brann was accepted as a child into the prodigy program at the Boston Symphony Orchestra, but was soon lured away to become a rock guitarist, joining Iron Butterfly at 16. He played with Ron Bushy, Lee Dorman and Doug Ingle from 1967 to 1969. 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 charts for nearly three years. With arrangement assistance from Dorman, Brann wrote the song "Termination," which was featured on the album.

The album's mini-bio, written when he was 17, tells of an acting ambition he once had, clothing and food preference and the ease with which rock 'n roll artists were able to arrange sexual encounters.