Jefferson Airplane

“I think of myself as a positive agnostic. I don´t know, therefore I am open. I don’t know, therefore I´m interested.”

― Grace Slick

Jefferson Airplane, the iconic San Francisco rock band, played a pivotal role in defining the sound of the 1960s. As trailblazers of the psychedelic rock movement, their songs captured the spirit of the counterculture movement, and they became synonymous with the era’s quest for freedom, self-expression, and political change.

They have long been one of my favourite bands and I am so excited to finally share their story and music with you on Funga.

I recently watched the Coen Brothers’ film A Serious Man, which I highly recommend. The soundtrack includes multiple Jefferson Airplane tracks, inspiring me to write this article. Jefferson Airplane’s music fits perfectly within the existential tone of the movie – their psychedelic music mirroring the protagonists quest for answers in a universe that may not offer any. Below, I’ve shared a great scene from the film, which features one of my favourite songs by the band.

Jefferson Airplane was formed in 1965 by singer Marty Balin and guitarist Paul Kantner, two musicians who shared a love for folk music and were inspired by the rapidly evolving rock and roll scene. Initially a folk-rock group, the band began to experiment with the psychedelic sound emerging from San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district.

With the addition of key members like guitarist Jorma Kaukonen, bassist Jack Casady, drummer Spencer Dryden, and later, the vocalist Grace Slick, Jefferson Airplane established their lineup. Grace Slick’s arrival in 1966 brought a new dynamic to the band. Her distinctive voice, coupled with her outspoken, rebellious attitude, quickly made her a defining element of the group’s sound.

As Jefferson Airplane rose to prominence, they became central figures in the 1967 Summer of Love, a defining moment for the counterculture movement. The band’s performances at the Monterey Pop Festival and the Human Be-In in Golden Gate Park solidified their status as icons of the “hippie” generation.

The band’s breakthrough came with their second album, Surrealistic Pillow (1967), which became one of the cornerstones of psychedelic rock. Two of the album’s tracks, “Somebody to Love” and “White Rabbit,” became massive hits, catapulting Jefferson Airplane to national fame. Both songs exemplified the band’s fusion of folk-rock roots with the hallucinatory, mind-bending qualities of psychedelic music.

“White Rabbit,” written by Grace Slick, was particularly emblematic of the era’s experimentation with drugs and the exploration of altered states of consciousness. Drawing on imagery from Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the song served as a metaphor for the mind-expanding possibilities of the counterculture’s embrace of psychedelics like LSD.

While the original band dissolved by 1972, Jefferson Airplane’s legacy continued through the music they created during their peak years. Through it, they captured the zeitgeist of a revolutionary era and helped to define the sound and spirit of the counterculture movement.