Grace Slick is one of the most recognizable voices of 1960’s psychedelic rock. The lead singer for Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship, and Starship, Slick left her mark on ’60s and ’70s music history. She’s hailed alongside rockstars Stevie Nicks, Patti Smith, and Janis Joplin as one of the most prolific female musicians of her time. Since she first appeared on the San Francisco music scene in her twenties, Slick was a force to be reckoned with– she never held back. Now 79-years-old, the rock icon has many stories to tell; including her biggest regret, why she doesn’t play music anymore, and what Slick never realized about herself, although everyone else did.
Music Was Her Escape Route from Life as a House Wife
Slick’s parents were both college educated, and her father held a job as an investment banker in San Francisco. However, after attending college herself and starting a career in modeling, Slick didn’t see herself following the life path that was expected of her. Living in the suburbs bored her, and with Haight-Ashbury just a stone’s throw away, she was ready to take the leap.
She told The Wall Street Journal, “I was a product of ’50s America in Palo Alto, California, where women were housewives with short hair and everything was highly regulated. I went from the planned, bland ’50s to the world of being in a rock band without looking back.”
The Truth About Her Style On Stage
Grace Slick became an iconic vocalist and musician of rock and roll, not just for a female artist, but any artist. Audiences were drawn to her onstage aura. Mic in hand, Slick holds her space with limited movement compared to other lead singers of the rock genre. Gently swaying to the sound, as if entranced by the instrumentals for the first time, fans adore her live performances. So where does her style come from?
Slick told The Wall Street Journal, “People in the audience thought I moved around on stage like a panther. I’m actually a klutz. The reason I moved so carefully was to avoid tripping and breaking my neck.”
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Comment The greatest American band and maybe the world’s greatest
Comment Just listened to “Fillmore East, Nov. ’69” a show I attended.
The Airplane were a “sick” band, in the best sense of the word!
It’s no wonder the “classic’ line-up didn’t last to much longer into
1970. But the Slick/Kantner/Balin/Kaukonen/Dryden/Casady line-up remains
one of the classics of all-time in Rock n’Roll. Lots of stuff going on-
interesting writing, unique tight yet free-form harmonizing and playing,
a total devil-may-care attitude and aggressive sensibility that pre-dated
“Punk” by almost a decade. Jefferson Airplane Loves You…we love you right back yo
Happy Birthday Grace! Job well done!
A little late, but I want to congratulate Grace on her birthday. Grace Slick, the best female rocksinger ever. If you knew how much you have meant to me.
Magnus J.
Gothenburg
Sweden