Who sang the song White Rabbit in 1967?
White Rabbit (song) "White Rabbit" is a song written by Grace Slick and recorded by the American rock band Jefferson Airplane for their 1967 album Surrealistic Pillow.
Who wrote White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane?
“White Rabbit” was written by San Francisco-based singer Grace Slick while she was still a member of her original band, The Great Society. Upon joining Jefferson Airplane in 1966, she offered up “White Rabbit” while the band was recording their seminal second album, Surrealistic Pillow.
What is the meaning behind the song White Rabbit?
About “White Rabbit”. One of the most iconic songs of ’60s psychedelic rock, “White Rabbit” uses imagery from Alice In Wonderland to illustrate the surreal effects of taking hallucinogenic drugs. “White Rabbit” was written by San Francisco-based singer Grace Slick while she was still a member of her original band, The Great Society.
When was White Rabbit by Grace Slick written?
"White Rabbit" is one of Grace Slick 's earliest songs, written during December 1965 or January 1966. [8] It uses imagery found in the fantasy works of Lewis Carroll —1865's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its 1871 sequel Through the Looking-Glass —such as changing size after taking pills or drinking an unknown liquid.
Who originally sang White Rabbit?
Jefferson AirplaneWhite Rabbit (song)"White Rabbit"Songwriter(s)Grace SlickProducer(s)Rick JarrardJefferson Airplane singles chronology"Somebody to Love" (1967) "White Rabbit" (1967) "The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil" (1967)16 more rows
What drug is the song White Rabbit about?
LSDWhite Rabbit — Jefferson Airplane's track was inspired by Miles Davis, Lewis Carroll — and LSD.
Who sang White Rabbit at Woodstock?
Jefferson AirplaneRemembering when Jefferson Airplane performed 'White Rabbit' live at Woodstock. Woodstock '69 was a turning point in cultural history and a significant event which transcended music, an event which was one of the most vital landmarks that America has ever witnessed.
Is White Rabbit based on Alice in Wonderland?
The White Rabbit is a fictional and anthropomorphic character in Lewis Carroll's 1865 book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
Why do we say White Rabbit?
On the first day of every month, you may hear people saying 'White rabbits'. According to superstition, the saying is meant to give you good luck, if you say it on the first day of the month before midday.
What is the spiritual meaning of rabbit?
Rabbit symbolism and meanings include sensitivity, gentleness, fertility, haste, new beginnings, the moon, and good luck.
Who was the best at Woodstock?
1. Jimi Hendrix. Without question, the greatest performance of the Woodstock Music & Arts Fair was the final performance of them all—Jimi Hendrix.
What songs did Jefferson Airplane do at Woodstock?
Jefferson Airplane Woodstock SetlistThe Other Side of This Life.Somebody to Love.3/5 of a Mile in 10 Seconds.Won't You Try/Saturday Afternoon.Eskimo Blue Day.Plastic Fantastic Lover.Wooden Ships.Uncle Sam Blues.More items...
What does chasing the White Rabbit mean?
In English, chasing a white rabbit means to chase the impossible, a fantasy, a dream. In 1967, the rock band Jefferson Airplane wrote a song called “White Rabbit.” The song tells of Alice's adventures and hints that drugs are involved. And if you go chasing rabbits. And you know you're going to fall.
What does the White Rabbit symbolize in Alice in Wonderland?
It is the White Rabbit which Alice runs after and searches for endlessly in Wonderland, a symbol of her quest for knowledge. Just when things seem rather desperate the rabbit appears yet again, and Alice drives on through.
What causes Alice in Wonderland syndrome?
The causes for AIWS are still not known exactly. Typical migraine, temporal lobe epilepsy, brain tumors, psychoactive drugs ot Epstein-barr-virus infections are causes of AIWS. AIWS has no proven, effective treatment. The treatment plan consists of migraine prophylaxis and migraine diet.
What does the Mad Hatter symbolize in Alice in Wonderland?
Ralph Steadman wrote this about his version: “THE HATTER represents the unpleasant sides of human nature. The unreasoned argument screams at you.
Is Alice in Wonderland about drugs?
The book and various films have all been interpreted as making reference to drug abuse, with Alice drinking potions, eating mushrooms and hallucinating as if she were on LSD, all while the world around her changes frighteningly and her mood and perceptions are hugely altered.
What does chasing the White Rabbit mean?
In English, chasing a white rabbit means to chase the impossible, a fantasy, a dream. In 1967, the rock band Jefferson Airplane wrote a song called “White Rabbit.” The song tells of Alice's adventures and hints that drugs are involved. And if you go chasing rabbits. And you know you're going to fall.
Did Jefferson Airplane take drugs?
Paul just stepped over him and went into his room.” Befitting the times, the Airplane took prodigious amounts of drugs of all sorts. “Absolutely,” Slick says. “Personally I never freaked out on acid.
Who sang the song "White Rabbit"?
The story behind the song: White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane. “We are the people our parents warned us about,” Grace Slick yelled in the 60s. As the bluff lead singer with San Francisco band Jefferson Airplane, no-one embodied the free-thinking spirit of the times like she did. And if one song came to define the Haight-Ashbury counter-culture ...
Where was White Rabbit recorded?
Casady recalls the day Jefferson Airplane recorded White Rabbit: “We recorded it out at Sunset and Ivar, in a huge room at RCA where they used to record A Hundred And One Strings. The room was massive, so we basically set up the instrumentation in the middle of this room and played it live onto four-track.
What is the song "Feed Your Head" about?
The caterpillar is sitting on a psychedelic mushroom smoking opium!”. She also argued that the song was about the importance of education : ‘ Feed your head ,’ the rousing climax to White Rabbit, was intended as a call to liberate brains as much as the senses.
Where did Slick write White Rabbit?
Slick wrote White Rabbit at home in Marin County a year earlier, on an upright piano with missing keys, at the end of an acid trip during which she listened to Miles Davis ’s Sketches Of Spain for 24 hours straight. Then she presented it to her then bandmates, San Francisco raga-folk avatars the Great Society.
When was the song "Feed Your Head" released?
Released in the loved-up summer of 67, its heavy allusions to the altered states in Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland, along with its exhortations to ‘feed your head’, seemed to invite a whole new generation to trip out on the pleasures of psychedelics. For those for whom love, peace and LSD were inseparable, it became an anthem. “It was timely for the era,” Airplane founder Marty Balin admitted years later. “The myth, the idea, the acid.”
Who recalls the day Jefferson Airplane recorded White Rabbit?
Casady recalls the day Jefferson Airplane recorded White Rabbit:
Who played the bass in the band White Rabbit?
Also in that band were Grace’s drummer husband Jerry, brother-in-law Darby Slick [lead guitar], Peter Van Gelder [bass] and rhythm guitarist David Minor. According to the latter, who began as the Great Society’s chief songwriter, White Rabbit was an answer to a call.
When was White Rabbit released?
The Great Society version of "White Rabbit" was released in 1968 on an album called Conspicuous Only In Its Absence (credited to "The Great Society With Grace Slick"), a live recording of a show at The Matrix in San Francisco.
Who wrote the song "Alice in Wonderland"?
This was written by Jefferson Airplane frontwoman Grace Slick, who based the lyrics on Lewis Carroll's 1865 children's book Alice In Wonderland (officially Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ). Like many young musicians in San Francisco, Slick did a lot of drugs, and she saw a surfeit of drug references in Carroll's book, including the pills, the smoking caterpillar, the mushroom, and lots of other images that are pretty trippy. She noticed that many children's stories involve a substance of some kind that alters reality, and felt it was time to write a song about it.
Why does Alice go ask Alice use minor chords?
In the "go ask Alice" part, it shifts to major chords to celebrate her courage and resourcefulness as she finds her way. The Alice character appealed to Slick because she wasn't the stereotypical damsel in distress.
What song did Led Zeppelin release in 1971?
On the first page, the White Rabbit appears, leading Alice on her adventure. In 1971, Led Zeppelin released " Black Dog ," another song with a color-animal title that doesn't appear in the lyric. The Airplane were frequently found giving free concerts around the Haight-Ashbury area of San Francisco.
What song did Alice sing on Smothers Brothers?
She once appeared on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour made up in blackface, causing a big controversy. The line in this song, "go ask Alice, " provided the title of a 1971 book published by an anonymous author. The book was a "diary" of a young girl in the 1960s who had a drug addiction and died.
Is White Rabbit a good song?
Recalling the song in a 2016 Wall Street Journal interview, Slick said: "Looking back, I think 'White Rabbit' is a very good song... My only complaint is that the lyrics could have been stronger. If I had done it right, more people would have been annoyed."
Where did Slick write White Rabbit?
Slick wrote White Rabbit at her home in Marin County in 1966. She had purchased a small upright piano for $80 at a warehouse San Francisco, on which she wrote many of Jefferson Airplane’s earliest songs.
What is the song "The White Rabbit is your curiosity" about?
For Slick, the song “is about following your curiosity. The White Rabbit is your curiosity.”
What song does Peter Pan use to feed his head?
Peter Pan uses fairy dust and can fly, Dorothy and her friends in “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” cut through a poppy field and wind up stoned and fast asleep.”. Slick also sees the song as a liberating call to arms for intelligence and education, to ‘feed your head’.
What was the first pop song focused on the experience of hallucinogens?
Jefferson Airplane’s White Rabbit was famously the first pop song focused on the experience of hallucinogens that scored major air time on mainstream radio. The soundtrack of the Summer of Love 1967 perfectly captures the free-wheeling counterculture essence of the band’s leading lady, Grace Slick.
Is chasing the white rabbit a lifetime pursuit?
It turns out chasing the White Rabbit – at least in Grace Slick’s case – can be a lifetime pursuit.
What is the meaning of the song White Rabbit?
One of the most iconic songs of ’60s psychedelic rock, “White Rabbit” uses imagery from Alice In Wonderland to illustrate the surreal effects of taking hallucinogenic drugs.
Where did Slick write White Rabbit?
Slick wrote White Rabbit at home in Marin County a year earlier, on an upright piano with missing keys, at the end of an acid trip during which she listened to Miles Davis’s Sketches Of Spain for 24 hours straight. +2. Surrealistic Pillow (1967) Jefferson Airplane. 1.
What is the white rabbit influenced by?
Musically, “White Rabbit” features a “march” tempo and instrumentation that was influenced by Spanish bolero music. A 1960 album by jazz icon Miles Davis was also a major influence. Slick remembers: “I took acid and listened to Miles Davis’s ‘Sketches of Spain’ album for 24 hours straight until it burned into my brain—particularly ‘Concierto de Aranjuez,‘ which takes up most of the first side. It’s hypnotic.”
What song is based on Alice in Wonderland?
Jefferson Airplane. One of the most iconic songs of ’60s psychedelic rock, “White Rabbit” uses imagery from Alice In Wonderland to illustrate the surreal effects of taking hallucinogenic…. Read More.
Why do you use bold and italics in a song?
Use Bold and Italics only to distinguish between different singers in the same verse.
Who was the jazz icon who influenced the 1960s?
A 1960 album by jazz icon Miles Davis was also a major influence. Slick remembers: “I took acid and listened to Miles Davis ’s ‘Sketches of Spain’ album for 24 hours straight until it burned into my brain—particularly ‘Concierto de Aranjuez,‘ which takes up most of the first side. It’s hypnotic.”.
Is White Rabbit on the blacklist?
The song’s metaphorical drug references flew largely over the heads of radio censors, but “White Rabbit” did eventually end up on “blacklists” at several stations once its meaning became apparent. The Illinois Crime Commission released a list of “drug-oriented rock records” in which they said that “White Rabbit” was “extolling the kicks provided by LSD and other psychedelics.”
What is White Rabbit slang for?
We all know the well-known sayings ‘pinch punch first day of the month’ and ‘ white rabbits, white rabbits ‘. They are said to bring people luck if you say them on the first day of the month before midday, but where did they come from? The theories: It originates from Medieval times when people believed in witches.
When did Jefferson Airplane Release White Rabbit?
Released originally by Jefferson Airplane in February 1967 on its “Surrealistic Pillow” album and then as a single that June, “White Rabbit” peaked at No. 8 on Billboard’s pop chart.
Who sang Jefferson’s?
Singer-songwriter Grace Slick was one of the lead singers for the band Jefferson Airplane. She wrote the song ” White Rabbit ” and sang the popular tune “Somebody to Love.”
What is White Rabbit slang for?
We all know the well-known sayings ‘pinch punch first day of the month’ and ‘ white rabbits, white rabbits ‘. They are said to bring people luck if you say them on the first day of the month before midday, but where did they come from? The theories: It originates from Medieval times when people believed in witches.
What drug is the White Rabbit?
While composing her song, she had taken LSD – a “mind-expanding” drug then popular among musicians and the youth counterculture in San Francisco. In fact, when Slick wrote “ White Rabbit ” in 1965, the music scene in San Francisco had become something of an epicenter of cultural change.
What is a white bunny?
A snow bunny is an attractive woman who enjoys skiing or a white woman who likes or is in a relationship with a black man.
Who sang Jefferson’s?
Singer-songwriter Grace Slick was one of the lead singers for the band Jefferson Airplane. She wrote the song ” White Rabbit ” and sang the popular tune “Somebody to Love.”
Who wrote “White Rabbit”?
Grace Slick wrote “White Rabbit” herself, and the track was produced by Rick Jarrard.
When was White Rabbit released?
Release Date of “White Rabbit”. Jefferson Airplane’s version of “White Rabbit” was officially released by RCA Records on 24 June 1967. The label released it as the second single from the band’s famous album “Surrealsitc Pillow”.
What is Miss Slick's song about?
But what makes this song unique is that she elaborates on the concept of getting high by focusing on a subject named “Alice” and namedropping various other characters from “Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland” (1865).
What is the number 6 song on the Billboard Hot 100?
“White Rabbit” topped RPM Top Singles (Canada) and peaked at number 6 in the States (the Billboard Hot 100). Years after its initial release, it would also manage to chart in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
Who is the white rabbit?
The titular “White Rabbit”, who is never actually namedropped in the song, is a well-known character featured in a classic piece of English literature entitled “ Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland ” (1865).
Who wrote the song "Harp on"?
And that is the primary sentiment which this song’s writer, Grace Silk, intended the track to harp on. She perceived a hypocrisy and wanted to introduce the idea to parents that the illicit drug epidemic which swept through the United States in the 1960s was partially their fault.
What song did Grace Slick sing with Jefferson Airplane?
Grace Slick brought “White Rabbit” with her to Jefferson Airplane. “White Rabbit” is one of two hit songs Grace Slick brought over when she left a short-lived band called The Great Society and joined Jefferson Airplane. The other hit is a song titled “ Somebody to Love “.
What is White Rabbit slang for?
We all know the well-known sayings ‘pinch punch first day of the month’ and ‘ white rabbits, white rabbits ‘. They are said to bring people luck if you say them on the first day of the month before midday, but where did they come from? The theories: It originates from Medieval times when people believed in witches.
What drug is white rabbit?
After all this was the era of legal opium use. Jefferson Airplane’s 1967 psychedelic anthem White Rabbit runs with the drug theme.
