With the recent deaths of Jefferson Airplane members Paul Kantner and Signe Anderson, naturally a great deal of attention has turned towards the band. Following up on their “Origins” interview series, Forbes magazine took the time out to interview some of the band’s surviving members to learn about the origins of two of the band’s most popular songs, “White Rabbit” and “Somebody To Love.”
On “White Rabbit”:
Grace Slick: “I wrote it on a piano that cost me $50 at a place in San Francisco where they sold used furniture. It was a tiny, 88-key upright, and 10 keys weren’t working. It was really a piece of junk. I’m not a great musician, but I had something in mind. All I need is a keyboard or guitar and I pluck around until I can hear what I hear in my head. Then I put it on tape or play it for the band. It was always fascinating to hear what they would come up with. White Rabbit is very short, so radio liked it because they could get a lot of commercials in. Why it got so popular is amazing because it’s not rock and roll. It is a Spanish march. The music is weird. The lyrics paraphrase – if you don’t paraphrase you’ll get sued – Alice In Wonderland. And I sort of ripped off Bolero, too.”
Jack Casady: “I just took the snare roll and translated it to the bass string. Bolero! And I do remember recording both of those songs. It was in gigantic [RCA Los Angeles] Studio A, at the corner of Sunset and Ivar. They could record 101 strings at once in there it was so massive. And here was this little four-piece band in the middle – it was a riot! We kind of all huddled in a circle.”
On “Somebody To Love”:
Grace Slick: “I don’t know whether it was a Tuesday or Thursday, but I remember being in front of the microphone, then listening to the playback on four big Altec speakers in the control room. I remember thinking, ‘My God, that is amazing – they make it sound like I can really sing.’ My mom was a singer. I can imitate her, but it’s not my style. She was a lot quieter. They didn’t have rock and roll in the thirties.”
Jack Casady: “I always thought it was a great rock and roll song, and a lot of fun to play. F sharp – I mean, bass players love F sharp! From my point of view musically, I was trying to make it a good aggressive driving song in every chorus and verse.”
On both:
Jorma Kaukonen: “Absolutely. The big hits, none of us has the publishing on them [laughs]. That’s the story of my life. We only get mechanical royalties of $3.98 when it’s played on the radio. But still, every time a check comes, that’s $3.98 more than you had before you opened the envelope.”
Listen to both amazing songs below:
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