Monday May 17, 2021 “Somebody to Love” Thomas Jefferson (Airplane)
You know it’s remarkable how many presidents have also been rock stars and this week we are going to explore that phenomenon starting with Thomas Jefferson (Airplane).
Thomas Jefferson was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809 and who had previously served as the second vice president of the United States under John Adams between 1797 and 1801. He was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence but he was no Jefferson Airplane.
“Somebody to Love” was written by Darby Slick who was Grace Slick’s brother-in-law, and the song was originally recorded by Darby Slick’s group The Great Society which was fronted then by former model Grace. Grace Slick would leave that group to replace Signe Andersen, the primary lead singer of the Jefferson Airplane, who had just given birth to a daughter and was ready to give up the rock & roll lifestyle.
Original Jefferson Airplane drummer was guitarist Skip Spence who was a founder of the band Moby Grape, played guitar in the band Quicksilver Messenger Service and did some work with Stephen Stills’ first band Buffalo Springfield.
Co-lead singer, guitarist and keyboard player for Jefferson Airplane, Marty Balin also ran a popular rock club in San Francisco, The Matrix and after Janis Joplin’s drug related death Balin decided to move away from the rock & roll lifestyle that his bandmates had slipped into, which left him somewhat estranged from the group.
“Somebody to Love” was an international top ten hit and a launching pad for our first presidential rock star.
Stay safe and well...and enjoy this vintage American Bandstand video with Grace Slick looking very much like....a nun?