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).