Jefferson Airplane – ‘White Rabbit’
  • Writer: Grace Slick
  • Producer: Rick Jarrard
  • Recorded: 1967 at RCA Studios, Los Angeles
  • Released: Spring 1967
  • Players:
    Grace Slick — vocals
    Marty Balin — vocals
    Paul Kantner — guitar, vocals
    Jorma Kaukonen — guitar
    Jack Casady — bass
    Spencer Dryden — drums
  • Album: Surrealistic Pillow (RCA, 1967)
  • Also on:
    Bless Its Pointed Little Head (RCA, 1969)
    The Worst of Jefferson Airplane (RCA, 1970)
    Flight Log (Grunt, 1976)
    2400 Fulton Street — An Anthology (RCA, 1987)
    Jefferson Airplane Loves You (RCA, 1992)
  • Jefferson Airplane formed in 1965 in San Francisco.
  • Its early days were spent playing at Marty Balin’s club, the Matrix.
  • Grace Slick joined the band in October 1966, replacing original singer Signe Toly Anderson, who left to have a baby.
  • Slick brought with her the hit “White Rabbit,” which she had written, performed and recorded with her previous band, the Great Society. The Airplane’s version adds the Latin-flavored “Bolero” arrangement.
  • The song is Slick’s interpretation of the Alice In Wonderland story, albeit with a more psychedelic slant.
  • Some radio stations banned the song because of what they felt were blatant drug references — particularly the song-ending mantra “Feed your head!”
  • “White Rabbit” and “Somebody to Love” were the first major pop hits from the prolific San Francisco rock community.
  • “White Rabbit peaked at Number Eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold more than a million copies as a single.
  • The Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia was credited as a “musical and spiritual adviser” on the Surrealistic Pillow album, and he played on some of the songs.
  • Surrealistic Pillow hit Number Three on the Billboard Top 200 and earned a gold record for sales of more than 500,000 copies.
  • On June 17th, 1967, a few months after Surrealistic Pillow’s release, Jefferson Airplane performed at the legendary Monterey International Pop Festival.

FAST FORWARD:

  • Jefferson Airplane broke up in 1972, with some members morphing into the Jefferson Starship.
  • The Airplane regrouped briefly for an album and tour in 1989.
  • Jefferson Airplane was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.
  • In 1998, Slick arranged for a portion of her royalties from “White Rabbit” to go to the People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).