History Of The Band Jefferson Airplane

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Jefferson Airplane started out as a folk-rock band from the Haight-Ashbury area of California, who changed their sound to become one of the most popular psychedelic rock bands of the 60's. They released their first album in 1966, and became the first San Francisco group to land a contract with a major record label (History), but it wasn't until the 1967 release of Surrealistic Pillow that they received national attention. The addition of Grace Slick, from a band called the Great Society, was a pivotal move in the Airplane's success, bringing them two US top 10 hit singles: "Somebody to Love", and "White Rabbit" (Jefferson). "White Rabbit" was based on the story Alice in Wonderland, and took you on a surreal musical fantasy trip recounting Alice's experiences in Wonderland (Rock). The song, which made reference to an altered reality after Alice took pills and ate mushrooms, was banned in some cities (Rock).


The Airplane was a very controversial group, during a very controversial time. For their appearance on The Smothers Brothers in the fall of 1968, Grace Slick painted her face black and gave the Black Panther Party's "black power" salute after finishing the song "Crown of Creation" (Jefferson). The release of one of their next albums, with the planned title "Volunteers of Amerika" was delayed after conflict with their label over the content of songs such as "Uncle Sam Blues". The album was finally released in the USA in November of 1969 with the shortened title "Volunteers" (Jefferson).


In 1974 the band Jefferson Starship was formally launched, and although they were quite successful, there was still much turmoil. Grace Slick's alcoholism became a problem, and at a 1978 concert in Germany, Slick was in a drunken stupor using profanity and reminding the audience that their country had lost during WWII and that they were responsible for the wartime atrocities (Jefferson). Grace Slick was asked to resign.

The band Starship rose from the ashes with successful hits like "We Built this City", and "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now". Other spin off bands included: Hot Tuna, KBC Band, and Jefferson Starship - The Next Generation.

My high school years were spent listening to Jefferson Starship, and Jefferson Airplane, "We Built this City" being one of the more popular songs of that time, and of course the songs "White Rabbit" and "Somebody to Love" are timeless. My boyfriend at the time was a musician, who had started a band with his best friend, who was also dating my best friend. We would get together in the garage and listen to them play, and they talked us into singing. One of the songs we attempted was "Somebody to Love", and since my voice was the deepest I did the singing. We never really got out of the garage, but I sure enjoyed those times.



Major Events



1963 - Civil rights demonstrations in Birmingham, AL, Martin Luther King gave his "I have a dream" speech in Washington, D.C., President Kennedy is assassinated, and Johnson becomes president.










Woodstock was regarded as one of the most pivotal moments in music history, and was listed among Rolling Stone's "50 Moments That Changed the History of Rock and Roll" (Woodstock).




