Grace Slick faded relatively young, but back in the ’60s she was among the most important female artists in rock, the face of the San Francisco sound that turned made psychedelia the soundtrack to the Summer of Love.
Slick joined the Jefferson Airplane in 1966, when singer Signe Anderson quit after the birth of her first child. She brought with her this song she wrote for her previous band, the Great Society, basing it lyrically on “Alice in Wonderland” and musically on Ravel’s “Bolero.” Though it only made it to No. 8 on the Hot 100, it became emblematic of the whole hippie movement, which is why I included it on my list of top 10 songs by women for WXPN.
Here’s what it sounded like when the Great Society recorded it in concert. Slick’s vocals don’t begin until more than 4 minutes in.
