Growing up, most of my friends wanted to be teachers or nurses... I wanted to be Grace Slick.
The first time I heard "Somebody to Love," I was 'all in.' My first term paper in high school was about Jefferson Airplane. It was a subject I knew and I figured if I copied a bit here or there, my English teacher was seriously not going to read a book about a drug and sex promoting, foul-mouth LOUD rock band. Apparently I was right, I got an A.
Back then we had Janis and Grace. While I also loved Joplin...the depth of her singing could only offer a small glimpse into the tragedy of her life...it was Grace who was my role model. That accounts for so much about me...I can't even begin to tell you.
While Janis seemed so fragile, Grace had the attitude and the vocal chops to back it up. She was also the first woman to ever scream "MotherF$#^&R" on a record. If you've ever heard my mouth, the whole role model thing should clarify that.
While she was great singing lead, I always thought she was at her strongest singing behind Marty Balin...trading vocal licks. Other than "White Rabbit" and "Somebody to Love", there aren't a lot of great videos for the early Airplane shows. So today's live lick comes from 1969...Woodstock and a very stoned Marty & Grace singing "Volunteers."
Added treat today is a really nice live audio version of "It's No Secret," from the "Bless Its Pointed Little Head" album.
Inhale deeply.
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