Also consider when analyzing this performance that Grace had been up all night waiting and waiting to perform, and finally did several hours after the scheduled time. She was barely awake, but being the great singer that she was, Grace pulled it off :-)
I agree, BETH, listen to the studio performance! Why does anyone listen to ANY music other than the '60s awesomeness. Hendrix, DOORS, Cream, Butterfield Blues Band, etc etc. But then again, you would understand, if you were THERE... 😎👍🙏🙏🙏
I know live recordings are more immediate and exiting, however this particular version was taped very early in the morning and "augmented " by the use of psychedelic drugs. I would suggest listening to the original album or there are other live versions that really do justice to Grace's voice.
Grace said in her book she preferred mescaline but stopped taking psychedelics by 68. At Woodstock she said she drank wine and smoked weed......and never once went to the toilet because it was disgusting. Haha None of the band were tripping that day either. They looked frazzled because they were frazzled from 2 days of no sleep on top of being stoned.
Donald Butcher: I completely agree with you. The studio version would be easier to analyse because there is no background noise. However, it's still Grace Slick at her vocal best, in my opinion.
Listing to a vocal only (isolated) version of “White Rabbit” is a suitable demonstration. Her voice does not need a band to back it up. The lyrics are more profound on their own than with Jefferson Airplane.
First off, Grace Slick is The Queen of F'ing Everything in my book. Of her voice she said, "I have five or six good notes, but I know how to use them". You should listen to the LP version of this as her vocal control is much stronger. If you want to hear softer songs by Grace, give a listen to Lather, Triad or Will You Remember Me?. You can listen to a dozen live recordings of this song and hear a dozen different inflections, but you will always hear her strength.
Hi there. I am 72 years old. I was 20 when Woodstock happened and I was there so I heard this performance in THAT moment but I may have been young but I knew this Band and this performance were iconic. I was already familiar with Grace and how special she was and is. I was also at the beginning of becoming a Classically trained musician back then but As much as Bach and Scarlatti informed my growth so did Grace. "Vocal" doesn't always mean a human voice singing. The blend of the voices in a Bach invention and Grace Slick singing in the context a Rock Band still feel like the same magic in my soul. I truly am happy for you that you were blessed to discover this music in 2022. Explore Grace as a painter...Creativity makes a wide swath across many Art forms. Grace ended her career in music in her early 50's. She did not disappear but gave a clear statement that (exact words can be googled) that she could not get with the visual of a 50 year old woman singing rock n roll. I was there at. her last performance and her voice and emotional connection was still stellar. No vocal damage to be heard. I think she was ready to put her creativity in to other things.
Grace Slick was a great power singer. Somebody to Love was probably their biggest hit. Then they morphed into Jefferson Starship, many good songs. Hard to believe she's in her early 80s, good memories. I agree it was a good place to be in the late 60s especially for music. Keep up the good work!
Another female singer from Woodstock worth checking out is Melanie Safka. Though I think the live recording to listen to is of Candles in the Rain (Kay Down) from a Dutch TV show when she is backed by the Edwin Hawkin Singers
2006 was when I discovered this performance… I was obsessed with her for a long time after that. Incredible voice, so powerful and unique. Very fast vibrato.
Beth you are really talented at dissecting songs, singers, and details. This was a perfect one for you to react to since Grace Slick really breaks the mold on traditional singing
She's one of the few individuals that made the 60's to what it was, she's such a cool individual and still a rebel in every fiber of her body. Great painter as well. I would recommend her duet with Linda Perry as well, "Knock Me Out".
@@Mark-iv7np Yes I guess most know her from 4 None Blondes, I believe she only made one solo record (if I recall correctly). But she has written hits for others and turned up here and there with various artists. 🙂
Great response and explanation of what I consider THE BEST song of the Psychedelic San Francisco sound by one of the greatest singers of that time. I was in love with Grace Slick and had fantasies of the two of us together. Never happened, of course, but the memory is good.
Thanks for doing this. Grace when she talked sounded like my chain smoking grandmother. But she could really belt out a song. Again thanks for bringing back some happy times in my life. And for being my red haired fix. Luv ya Beth
Grace Slick is also high as a kite! They were like the first band to wake everyone up in the morning! Imagine waking up to Jefferson Airplane live performance! :)
It's about psychedelics, yes, but mainly it's about the book "Alice in Wonderland" And this is performed early after staying up, higher than hell, in the morning at Woodstock in front of about 500,000 people. A great job by them. Great reaction too🎼❤💖
In Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the Dormouse, who in keeping with his name falls asleep at the Mad Tea Party, doesn’t actually say anything about feeding your head. But Grace Slick was probably aware that the author Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson), of whom the Dormouse may be a literary avatar, had written an essay in which he recommended feeding the mind as well as the body.
I actually want a dormouse tattoo because of this song. The '60 (and '70 too) were really interesting periods imo. I agree with the dormouse, eventhough he didn't say it in the book, it's part of this song. Which in my opinion perfectly represent these time periods.
Carroll was an absolute nutter. He was stoned out of his gourd when he wrote most of his books. I mean they are pretty amazing and frankly very strange, but he also had some troubling aspects to him. The ones suggested by some aren't very nice to say, but Carroll was at the very least a weird dude and drug addict.
In that time there was no internet, no UA-cam, there were no reactors or vocal coaches. And you're wright Grace had a lot of tension in her voice. Very appropiate for White Rabbit according the meaning of the song. Grace Slick has been for me through the years a great singer in Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship.
really looks like she is coming off a good buzz there at the start. looks like she is getting her blood flowing again and increasing as the song goes and she builds to amazing climax at the end
Suggestion Check out Somebody to Love and White Rabbit in Album form. This is from Woodstock and most performers had little or no sleep for 24 -72 hrs. Thanks for all your great work Beth :)
@@zippymax1 😂😂 Except when she goes tight like a laser beam. Not saying it has to be one or the other all the time - I find her choices (to do, or not do) very interesting. Unique. Glad I found another fan. 😃
@@laurabrevitz3944 you're right. I wrote my burping trollblurb, and then realized Grace is straight and clear as a bell many other times--but I figured I'd leave my alcohol-influenced diatribe unedited so you could properly crucify me. Secret masochists, we trolls savor such agony.
This was the second to last song in Jefferson Airplane's line-up, who went on-stage at 8:00am, following the Who. The other song I've heard was "Somebody to Love", really early in the set.
The one and only Grace Slick, High Priestess of the counter culture. Her combinations with Marty Balin in the Jefferson classics such as "Somebody To Love", "Volunteers" and "The House At Pooneil Corners" are stunning. Jefferson Airplane were the only band to perform at the three most iconic US festivals of the 60s, Monterey, Woodstock and Altamont.
Grace Slick’s vibrato deserves to be studied just like Freddie Mercury. I cannot tell you how immensely happy I am that I found this. I knew of JS but never really listened to them until a few years ago and I gotta tell you it was love at first sight. No one around me understands my love for her and her voice. Thank you for uploading this!
Hehe.. remember listening to this when I was young. Close your eyes and you can see the music.. and I did.. lol Love the way she sang it. So different and like many good singers at that time.. draws you in to their world.
Good reaction. Great performer with a lot of history. Jefferson Airplane and her voice came to become an anthem to a large portion of her generation. I recommend reacting to "Somebody to Love" ; you will enjoy her power.
Grace Slick was one of the most powerful voices of the late 60's, early 70's. Her band, Jefferson Airplane, which morphed into Jefferson Starship to just Starship, is still touring. However, it is without Grace, as she retired from singing many years ago. She is now an artist and is very happy with her Golden Years. It is great that you are reacting. As others have mentioned, this was not one of her better performances, as she got very little to no sleep the night before and was not in her best voice. Check out the studio version and you will find that this song was sung much more powerfully on the album.
the psychedelic sound of that age was so unique. When I'm in the mood for it, this is always one of my go to's. Many did things we would now consider unhealthy and extreme but the songs and sound were unforgettable. The doors were also one of my favorites of that time.
Janis and Grace; The POWER voices of the'60s. With Grace' baritone and then into attack mode; just incredible voice. all singers/musicians have their 'best slow (love) songs'; her's being the song 'Today' where she is absolutely dreamy.
I'm sad you weren't born in the 60's because then you would have grown up listening to two decades of greatest musicians. I happy though that you're discovering them now.
I love the way you describe the voice and you seem to really feel it and embody it to convey it. I also notice a vibrato in Grace Slick's voice especially in the later parts of the song. I always wondered how singers do this.
Yes, her voice was *really* tired out in this particular performance. While the tricks you noted were definitely part of her style, I think they were much more evident in this performance because she was working so hard. She didn't hit a lot of the regular high notes but worked around them in smart ways. I really do love her technique.
To racinnut: She not only pulled it off, this IMHO is the greatest performance Grace ever did. She just delivered on this and the song before. I hate that my mind doesn't remember the song any more. Beth, thank you for using this version. It is the best that Grace ever did. We can never know what inspires a performer to be epic. But 400,000 people could probably be an influence.
Find it hard to understand how a singer and rocker would not have listened to Woodstock! The talent on that stage was amazing! Watch the movie, listened to the album! This happened just before my 14th birthday, just before my freshman year of High School. So much incredible music in one place!
It’s like you were reading my mind. I searched your page just yesterday to see if you had covered this song. My wife and I just added this song to our acoustic duo set list. Thank you for all your insights.
One thing to consider: stage amplification in 1969 was primitive compared to today...and a lot of what you hear has to do with singers working both to hear themselves and keep together with the band. Probably rights issues prevent you from working with the studio version--but that's a more characteristic vocal performance from Slick.
I was an alto when I was in chorus and musical theater in high school, and I always felt super insecure about my voice because while it was strong in an ensemble, it wasn't a great soloist voice. I never felt like I had that cute pop star kind of voice and was cursed with a mezzoalto that had no place anywhere. I fell out of singing in college because I never joined any groups, but I kept singing in the car. I've lost a lot of my training. I'd always known Jefferson Airplane was a good band, having taken a History of Rock and Roll music course in college and listened to White Rabbit, but I'd never appreciated it until I came across a TikTok with a remixed version of Somebody to Love, which sent me down the rabbit hole (heh, pun) and slowly but surely I fell in love with Grace Slick's vocals. She made me realize that my strong voice is a gift, and I want to get back into vocal training so I can learn how to sing just like her. I'd even sell my soul if I could learn her vibrato technique, but I'm pretty sure her vibrato is like Freddie Mercury's and can never be emulated
Hi Beth! I like this video! Grace is one of those singers that is unique but also talented! She has a wide range of vocals and she can sing! Great job!
There is a vid on YT that has Grace's individual voice track for this one and also Somebody to Love. That's the sine qua non for hearing a power voice. This woman was pure dynamite. Grace had vocal cord surgery before joining the Airplane. Not that unusual for the time I think, and the instrument that surgeon helped create is an all time great.
The isolated (vocal only) versions of both of those songs have more power by themselves than with Jefferson Airplane. And the isolated instrumentals are the same way.
Have you ever listened to Melanie? She was at her top in the early 70's, I think? That daughter of he who sang Achy Breaky Heart (me and names struggle...) actually did a duet with her, I think! But Melanie's Nickel Song, Brand New Key or What Have They Done to My Song Ma are some of my all-time favorites from that wonderful time when the sixties turned into the seventies! (To my shame I still love some bubblegum-music of that time... ;D )
I can't believe that you have never heard Grace Slick and the Jefferson Airplane before. The genius about the Woodstock performance, was that it was early in the morning, and Grace and the band had probably had no sleep, and still off their faces on psychedelics, marijuana and alcohol. The song before White Rabbit... Don't you need somebody to love, is great too. Her introduction... Shouting... "Good morning, people!!!" Check it out, Beth ❤️
I was always so in love with the persona of Grace, based on this film clip. I saw this years ago, and instantly fell in love, and have had a past-life crush on her ever since. Not just her beauty, but the intensity of this song. It's wonderful.
Grace Slick was such a unique singer as this live performance shows. Here you can hear the studio take of her isolated vocals.ua-cam.com/video/dyMtIwobqbI/v-deo.html Well it´s hard to make it better but Emilana Torrini from Iceland also did a pretty good job with it...doesn´t she? ua-cam.com/video/ruIezHP_YvU/v-deo.html
Some of the specifics of her performance that you mentioned don’t show up on the studio version. I wonder if she was having some trouble hearing the monitors at the show.
Grew up in Southern California as a teenager in the’60’s and was fortunate enough to get to see a large number of bands during those years. Saw Jefferson Airplane twice. I don’t care if Grace sang a cookbook I would have bought it. As always and forever, they were one of the best.
Great reaction.. I grew up in the 60s and 70s. Woodstock was the event twhere the youth of of that time showed and dreamed what could be. Within a year Altamont (and Charles Manson) ended that dream and showed the world the nightmare of where we were headed. However if you want to know what that time was like through music you should Watch the full Woodstock Documentary as well as Altamont. Way to many iconic and legendary performances to mention.
The Voice that Launched a Thousand Trips !!!!!
Also consider when analyzing this performance that Grace had been up all night waiting and waiting to perform, and finally did several hours after the scheduled time. She was barely awake, but being the great singer that she was, Grace pulled it off :-)
Her monitor was messed up also , it's why she was putting her hand to ear
And she was on so much drugs and alcohol she said she was surprised they were able to perform haha
Yes...it was the sleep deprivation....lol
I would have recommended Beth listen to her studio performance of this iconic tune.
I agree, BETH, listen to the studio performance! Why does anyone listen to ANY music other than the '60s awesomeness. Hendrix, DOORS, Cream, Butterfield Blues Band, etc etc. But then again, you would understand, if you were THERE... 😎👍🙏🙏🙏
I know live recordings are more immediate and exiting, however this particular version was taped very early in the morning and "augmented " by the use of psychedelic drugs.
I would suggest listening to the original album or there are other live versions that really do justice to Grace's voice.
Grace said in her book she preferred mescaline but stopped taking psychedelics by 68. At Woodstock she said she drank wine and smoked weed......and never once went to the toilet because it was disgusting. Haha None of the band were tripping that day either. They looked frazzled because they were frazzled from 2 days of no sleep on top of being stoned.
Donald Butcher: I completely agree with you. The studio version would be easier to analyse because there is no background noise. However, it's still Grace Slick at her vocal best, in my opinion.
There's also that isolated vocal track going around but agreed, this version not the best example.
Their performance on the Smothers Brothers was good, fine sound quality.
Listing to a vocal only (isolated) version of “White Rabbit” is a suitable demonstration. Her voice does not need a band to back it up.
The lyrics are more profound on their own than with Jefferson Airplane.
Grace's voice is just a national treasure.
Worldwide treasure!
A Legend, for a reason.
Grace Slick's sound is one of a kind.... Phenomenal!!!!!!!!!!
First off, Grace Slick is The Queen of F'ing Everything in my book. Of her voice she said, "I have five or six good notes, but I know how to use them". You should listen to the LP version of this as her vocal control is much stronger. If you want to hear softer songs by Grace, give a listen to Lather, Triad or Will You Remember Me?. You can listen to a dozen live recordings of this song and hear a dozen different inflections, but you will always hear her strength.
Lather is really great.
She is the Queen who rules!!!
she changed a lot down through the years too.
Yes indeed!
Amen!
The original recording is even better. Unbelievable
Hi there. I am 72 years old. I was 20 when Woodstock happened and I was there so I heard this performance in THAT moment but I may have been young but I knew this Band and this performance were iconic. I was already familiar with Grace and how special she was and is. I was also at the beginning of becoming a Classically trained musician back then but As much as Bach and Scarlatti informed my growth so did Grace. "Vocal" doesn't always mean a human voice singing. The blend of the voices in a Bach invention and Grace Slick singing in the context a Rock Band still feel like the same magic in my soul. I truly am happy for you that you were blessed to discover this music in 2022. Explore Grace as a painter...Creativity makes a wide swath across many Art forms.
Grace ended her career in music in her early 50's. She did not disappear but gave a clear statement that (exact words can be googled) that she could not get with the visual of a 50 year old woman singing rock n roll. I was there at. her last performance and her voice and emotional connection was still stellar. No vocal damage to be heard. I think she was ready to put her creativity in to other things.
This is real Legend !!! This performance was taped at sunrise. For me Grace is in the top 10 singer of the sixties.
Top 10 regardless of decade
Grace is a Scorpio. Scorpios keep things in and are intense. It’s about power and control and the truth. It’s emotional.
There’s a version of this on UA-cam which is the isolated vocal track from the album track. It’s amazing.
I’ve heard that, it is awesome!
I was going to say the same thing! It is magnificent!
@@AzDesertFoxx Moi aussi. Came to the comments just to see if it had been mentioned yet.
@@i.marchand4655 tres bien!
Also her singing it with her first band, grace slick and the great society. The song was very different then.
Dawn, you've been waiting all night, the sound system is dodgy, and 450000 people are waiting for you to sing no pressure
Plus no fancy machines to help, limited tech, out in the open exposed to the environment and obviously on drugs 😅, let me see y'all try that.
I could listen to Grace all day. Her voice is mesmerizing, especially in the right settings.
Grace Slick: The voice that launched a thousand trips!
Grace Slick was a great power singer. Somebody to Love was probably their biggest hit. Then they morphed into Jefferson Starship, many good songs. Hard to believe she's in her early 80s, good memories. I agree it was a good place to be in the late 60s especially for music. Keep up the good work!
And after that they became Starship and had a couple of 80's classics in We Built This City and Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now.
She had a solo career as well.
“Face to the Wind” for your consideration.
Hey dear Beth, whenever somebody says eg.
“I haven’t heard Grace Slick before…”
I think. “oh…. yes you have… You just do not know that you have…”
We built this city on rock and roll.....
As a child of the eighties I always loved 'Dreams' and 'Seasons'
Completely
Another female singer from Woodstock worth checking out is Melanie Safka. Though I think the live recording to listen to is of Candles in the Rain (Kay Down) from a Dutch TV show when she is backed by the Edwin Hawkin Singers
Definitely Melanie, great suggestion!!!
Grace and Melanie !
My favorite goddesses music !
@@Mark-iv7np Melanie is the bee's knees!
I saw them when they did a concert when I was a student at the University of Miami in 1969. Grace Slick was beautiful.
2006 was when I discovered this performance… I was obsessed with her for a long time after that. Incredible voice, so powerful and unique. Very fast vibrato.
Beth you are really talented at dissecting songs, singers, and details. This was a perfect one for you to react to since Grace Slick really breaks the mold on traditional singing
Never heard of Grace or the song? Have you been living under a rock? They are iconic.
She's one of the few individuals that made the 60's to what it was, she's such a cool individual and still a rebel in every fiber of her body. Great painter as well.
I would recommend her duet with Linda Perry as well, "Knock Me Out".
What about Linda's phenomenal singing on What's Up? 😊😁
@@Mark-iv7np Yes I guess most know her from 4 None Blondes, I believe she only made one solo record (if I recall correctly). But she has written hits for others and turned up here and there with various artists. 🙂
Great response and explanation of what I consider THE BEST song of the Psychedelic San Francisco sound by one of the greatest singers of that time. I was in love with Grace Slick and had fantasies of the two of us together. Never happened, of course, but the memory is good.
One of my favourite songs.
Thanks for doing this. Grace when she talked sounded like my chain smoking grandmother. But she could really belt out a song. Again thanks for bringing back some happy times in my life. And for being my red haired fix. Luv ya Beth
Grace Slick is also high as a kite! They were like the first band to wake everyone up in the morning! Imagine waking up to Jefferson Airplane live performance! :)
Love this band and Grace Slick so much. Please react to Joan Baez and Judy Collins singing Diamonds and Rust on her 75th anniversary
It's about psychedelics, yes, but mainly it's about the book "Alice in Wonderland"
And this is performed early after staying up, higher than hell, in the morning at Woodstock in front of about 500,000 people.
A great job by them. Great reaction too🎼❤💖
In Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the Dormouse, who in keeping with his name falls asleep at the Mad Tea Party, doesn’t actually say anything about feeding your head. But Grace Slick was probably aware that the author Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson), of whom the Dormouse may be a literary avatar, had written an essay in which he recommended feeding the mind as well as the body.
I actually want a dormouse tattoo because of this song. The '60 (and '70 too) were really interesting periods imo. I agree with the dormouse, eventhough he didn't say it in the book, it's part of this song. Which in my opinion perfectly represent these time periods.
Carroll was an absolute nutter. He was stoned out of his gourd when he wrote most of his books. I mean they are pretty amazing and frankly very strange, but he also had some troubling aspects to him. The ones suggested by some aren't very nice to say, but Carroll was at the very least a weird dude and drug addict.
The line on the Dormouse isn’t connected to the next line on “feed your head.” The 2 lines are separate.
@@tonymanero5544 Alice in Wonderland and Alice through the looking glass are taught as great classical literature. F*CK knows WHY.
@@socialmeaslesinpartnership1252 because they are!
Grace Slick , one of the best female voices ever. I think this one was in woodstock.
Great!
@@Spo-Dee-O-Dee I think you mean "doesn't"...present tense. Grace still walks among us!!!!
Definitely, her, Dusty Springfield, Stevie Nicks, Linda Ronstadt
@@Mark-iv7np Pat Benatar , Ann Wilson .
In that time there was no internet, no UA-cam, there were no reactors or vocal coaches. And you're wright Grace had a lot of tension in her voice. Very appropiate for White Rabbit according the meaning of the song. Grace Slick has been for me through the years a great singer in Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship.
LSD was my cosmic internet--but I had a hard time telling demons from people.
really looks like she is coming off a good buzz there at the start. looks like she is getting her blood flowing again and increasing as the song goes and she builds to amazing climax at the end
Grace Slick rules ....
One of the most iconic performances of the 60's. The end of innocence in a way.
Suggestion Check out Somebody to Love and White Rabbit in Album form. This is from Woodstock and most performers had little or no sleep for 24 -72 hrs. Thanks for all your great work Beth :)
I find Slick's vibrato (or lack thereof) very interesting, too - almost unique. Love this band, love this song.
LACK THEREOF?! HERETIC#!!1@&!!$!!1!
That is vibrato on LSD and steroids!
@@zippymax1 😂😂 Except when she goes tight like a laser beam. Not saying it has to be one or the other all the time - I find her choices (to do, or not do) very interesting. Unique.
Glad I found another fan. 😃
@@laurabrevitz3944 you're right. I wrote my burping trollblurb, and then realized Grace is straight and clear as a bell many other times--but I figured I'd leave my alcohol-influenced diatribe unedited so you could properly crucify me. Secret masochists, we trolls savor such agony.
@@zippymax1 Wooden ships on the water very freeeeeee..... 😁
@@laurabrevitz3944 ...guess I'll set a course and go.
Another soooo informative 'reaction' from Beth, she's the best.
Grace Slick, she was my favorite singer of the 'rock' singers, nooobody was better.
This was the second to last song in Jefferson Airplane's line-up, who went on-stage at 8:00am, following the Who.
The other song I've heard was "Somebody to Love", really early in the set.
The one and only Grace Slick, High Priestess of the counter culture. Her combinations with Marty Balin in the Jefferson classics such as "Somebody To Love", "Volunteers" and "The House At Pooneil Corners" are stunning. Jefferson Airplane were the only band to perform at the three most iconic US festivals of the 60s, Monterey, Woodstock and Altamont.
yep. Grace said out of the 3 Monterey was by far the best - great weather, beautiful location, plenty of bathrooms lol.
It's amazing these reactors to this song that do not know Alice in Wonderland.
Grace Slick should always be listened to loud. ONE of my favorite singers
Grace Slick’s vibrato deserves to be studied just like Freddie Mercury.
I cannot tell you how immensely happy I am that I found this. I knew of JS but never really listened to them until a few years ago and I gotta tell you it was love at first sight. No one around me understands my love for her and her voice. Thank you for uploading this!
Grace could use her vibrato to slay dragons.
Hehe.. remember listening to this when I was young. Close your eyes and you can see the music.. and I did.. lol
Love the way she sang it. So different and like many good singers at that time.. draws you in to their world.
Couldn't be a better period in history to be young 66 to 72.
Good reaction. Great performer with a lot of history. Jefferson Airplane and her voice came to become an anthem to a large portion of her generation. I recommend reacting to "Somebody to Love" ; you will enjoy her power.
That vibrato (?) On "may look like HIS" id one of the best moments in recording history.
Grace Slick was one of the most powerful voices of the late 60's, early 70's. Her band, Jefferson Airplane, which morphed into Jefferson Starship to just Starship, is still touring. However, it is without Grace, as she retired from singing many years ago. She is now an artist and is very happy with her Golden Years. It is great that you are reacting. As others have mentioned, this was not one of her better performances, as she got very little to no sleep the night before and was not in her best voice. Check out the studio version and you will find that this song was sung much more powerfully on the album.
Still a beautiful, now white haired lady. Sharp mentally too.
I know you know the more technical terms for it , but what I know is that Grace Slick can freaking sing , she has an incredible voice !!!!!
the psychedelic sound of that age was so unique. When I'm in the mood for it, this is always one of my go to's. Many did things we would now consider unhealthy and extreme but the songs and sound were unforgettable. The doors were also one of my favorites of that time.
Superb! One of my favourite tracks of all time
Janis and Grace; The POWER voices of the'60s. With Grace' baritone and then into attack mode; just incredible voice. all singers/musicians have their 'best slow (love) songs'; her's being the song 'Today' where she is absolutely dreamy.
Love today saw Airplane live way back when
Grace Slick is one of my favorite singers.
I'm sad you weren't born in the 60's because then you would have grown up listening to two decades of greatest musicians. I happy though that you're discovering them now.
My favourite singer
I love the way you describe the voice and you seem to really feel it and embody it to convey it. I also notice a vibrato in Grace Slick's voice especially in the later parts of the song. I always wondered how singers do this.
Yes, her voice was *really* tired out in this particular performance. While the tricks you noted were definitely part of her style, I think they were much more evident in this performance because she was working so hard. She didn't hit a lot of the regular high notes but worked around them in smart ways. I really do love her technique.
Grace slick, the face that launched a thousand trips.
Jefferson Airplane is the best!! they were at their best here.
This is crazy. I've been watching Beth for a year at least, I only got into this band THIS WEEK. InSANE coincidence
Nice! The music era I grew up in and listening to.....
To racinnut: She not only pulled it off, this IMHO is the greatest performance Grace ever did. She just delivered on this and the song before. I hate that my mind doesn't remember the song any more.
Beth, thank you for using this version. It is the best that Grace ever did. We can never know what inspires a performer to be epic. But 400,000 people could probably be an influence.
Great review of a great and influential song of the late 60s. Definitely also listen to the studio version!
Find it hard to understand how a singer and rocker would not have listened to Woodstock! The talent on that stage was amazing! Watch the movie, listened to the album! This happened just before my 14th birthday, just before my freshman year of High School. So much incredible music in one place!
Kids...
Grace looks so wildly happy, and wasted 🙂 There's so much more to this than vocal analysis
Great song, great performance
This is the bedst version of this short and unique number. and the lyrics are so great. Grease Slick and this band .WOW !!!!!
It WAS a fantastic time to be alive, Beth!!!
Love her voice, perfectly matched the music of that time.
It’s like you were reading my mind. I searched your page just yesterday to see if you had covered this song. My wife and I just added this song to our acoustic duo set list. Thank you for all your insights.
Grace slick originally did this song with the band Great Society
I was there, near the front for this performance. It is notable to realize that this was 7:30 AM on a Sunday morning.
Love this song amazing Grace Slick & Vocals too behold trippy indeed
Yes it was a wonderful time to be alive. Lot of great music
One thing to consider: stage amplification in 1969 was primitive compared to today...and a lot of what you hear has to do with singers working both to hear themselves and keep together with the band.
Probably rights issues prevent you from working with the studio version--but that's a more characteristic vocal performance from Slick.
I love to hear you do a cover of this. I think it suits your vocal skills. I almost a forgotten classic.
God I LOVE Grace Slick's voice and she was totally untrained. A true rock goddess.
It was! I saw the Airplane a number of times, my favorite band...
Actually, Grace Slick did have throat nodule surgery in 1969. Not sure when, but probably after Woodstock.
Hey Frederick, from the album Volunteers, is probably her at her absolute best.
Me encantó su interpretación esa voz con mucha garra bien Beth 👏👏🍀🍀
I was an alto when I was in chorus and musical theater in high school, and I always felt super insecure about my voice because while it was strong in an ensemble, it wasn't a great soloist voice. I never felt like I had that cute pop star kind of voice and was cursed with a mezzoalto that had no place anywhere. I fell out of singing in college because I never joined any groups, but I kept singing in the car. I've lost a lot of my training. I'd always known Jefferson Airplane was a good band, having taken a History of Rock and Roll music course in college and listened to White Rabbit, but I'd never appreciated it until I came across a TikTok with a remixed version of Somebody to Love, which sent me down the rabbit hole (heh, pun) and slowly but surely I fell in love with Grace Slick's vocals. She made me realize that my strong voice is a gift, and I want to get back into vocal training so I can learn how to sing just like her. I'd even sell my soul if I could learn her vibrato technique, but I'm pretty sure her vibrato is like Freddie Mercury's and can never be emulated
Thank so much for doing this...awesome version..
Hi Beth! I like this video! Grace is one of those singers that is unique but also talented! She has a wide range of vocals and she can sing! Great job!
There is a vid on YT that has Grace's individual voice track for this one and also Somebody to Love. That's the sine qua non for hearing a power voice. This woman was pure dynamite. Grace had vocal cord surgery before joining the Airplane. Not that unusual for the time I think, and the instrument that surgeon helped create is an all time great.
The isolated (vocal only) versions of both of those songs have more power by themselves than with Jefferson Airplane.
And the isolated instrumentals are the same way.
In an interview about 30 years ago she said that she can't sing very well, but she could yell with the best of them.
"psychedelic man". I just heard "Beth's" voice for the first time, and my God she sounds like an angel singing!
You had to also remember Beth that the sound system was awful at Woodstock, and she was having a tough time hearing herself.
She has a finger in her ear trying to hear herself.
Her voice did well. She was sounding great in the 80's singing "Nothing Gonna Stop Us Now" and "We Built This City" in the band Starship.
Have you ever listened to Melanie? She was at her top in the early 70's, I think? That daughter of he who sang Achy Breaky Heart (me and names struggle...) actually did a duet with her, I think! But Melanie's Nickel Song, Brand New Key or What Have They Done to My Song Ma are some of my all-time favorites from that wonderful time when the sixties turned into the seventies! (To my shame I still love some bubblegum-music of that time... ;D )
Melanie is still alive & well. She's amazing.
I can't believe that you have never heard Grace Slick and the Jefferson Airplane before.
The genius about the Woodstock performance, was that it was early in the morning, and Grace and the band had probably had no sleep, and still off their faces on psychedelics, marijuana and alcohol.
The song before White Rabbit... Don't you need somebody to love, is great too.
Her introduction...
Shouting... "Good morning, people!!!"
Check it out, Beth ❤️
ua-cam.com/video/v_gg6JNLtXI/v-deo.html
I was always so in love with the persona of Grace, based on this film clip. I saw this years ago, and instantly fell in love, and have had a past-life crush on her ever since. Not just her beauty, but the intensity of this song. It's wonderful.
This is just bloody fantastic, the lyrics is awsome and the singing is just to kill for
Master piece!!
Grace Slick was such a unique singer as this live performance shows. Here you can hear the studio take of her isolated vocals.ua-cam.com/video/dyMtIwobqbI/v-deo.html Well it´s hard to make it better but Emilana Torrini from Iceland also did a pretty good job with it...doesn´t she? ua-cam.com/video/ruIezHP_YvU/v-deo.html
Haley Reinhart does this song real justice, also. Check. Her. Oot.
@@JeyGore I will thanks :)
Woah - Thank you for the link to Emilana's cover. That was brilliant!
@@WhiteTiger333 my pleasure. Recorded when Emiliana was 19 in 1996 for the musical Stone Free in Reykjavik Iceland :)
I appreciate your honesty here, in that she could injure herself with her technique.
Grace Slick was simply awesome.....
Some of the specifics of her performance that you mentioned don’t show up on the studio version. I wonder if she was having some trouble hearing the monitors at the show.
Grew up in Southern California as a teenager in the’60’s and was fortunate enough to get to see a large number of bands during those years. Saw Jefferson Airplane twice. I don’t care if Grace sang a cookbook I would have bought it. As always and forever, they were one of the best.
Great reaction.. I grew up in the 60s and 70s. Woodstock was the event twhere the youth of of that time showed and dreamed what could be. Within a year Altamont (and Charles Manson) ended that dream and showed the world the nightmare of where we were headed. However if you want to know what that time was like through music you should Watch the full Woodstock Documentary as well as Altamont. Way to many iconic and legendary performances to mention.
Love love love her voice it’s so unique
Mindblowingly great song and great analysis!