User:PianoUpMyNose/White Rabbit

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This page is about the Jefferson Airplane song. For the Egypt Central song, see White Rabbit (Egypt Central album). For other uses, see White Rabbit (disambiguation).
"White Rabbit"
Single by Jefferson Airplane
from the album Surrealistic Pillow
B-side"Plastic Fantastic Lover"
ReleasedJune 24, 1967 (1967-06-24)
RecordedNovember 3, 1966 (1966-11-03)
StudioRCA, Hollywood, California, U.S.
Genre
Length2:31
LabelRCA Victor
Songwriter(s)Grace Slick
Producer(s)Rick Jarrard
Jefferson Airplane singles chronology
"Somebody to Love"
(1967) 		"White Rabbit"
(1967) 		"The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil"
(1967)
Music video
"White Rabbit" on YouTube

"White Rabbit" is a song written by Grace Slick and recorded by the American rock band Jefferson Airplane for their 1967 album Surrealistic Pillow. It draws on imagery from Lewis Carroll's 1865 book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its 1871 sequel Through the Looking-Glass.

It was released as a single and became the band's second top-10 success, peaking at number eight[3] on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was ranked number 478 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time[4] and appears on The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.

Background[edit]

Inspiration and writing[edit]

Between November 1965 and January 1966, the Great Society recorded their first single, "Someone to Love". Both the song and its B-side, "Free Advice", were written by lead guitarist Darby Slick. His sister-in-law, singer Grace Slick, was then inspired to write a new song of her own.[5] She wrote the lyrics to "White Rabbit" – originally titled "White Rabbit Blues"[6] – at the end of an LSD trip at her home in Marin County, California,[7] during which she had listened to Sketches of Spain by Miles Davis "over and over for hours".[8]

Written after an LSD ".trip at her home in Marin County, California,[7] the lyrics of "White Rabbit" were inspired by what Slick saw as a correlation between psychedelic experiences and children's fantasy,[6] specifically Lewis Carroll's 1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its 1871 sequel Through the Looking-Glass.[9] The song's title is derived from the character the White Rabbit, who leads the main protagonist Alice down the rabbit hole into Wonderland.[10]


Slick asserted that the song's lyrics were aimed at "hypocritical parents" who happily exposed their children to such suggestive literature, as well as drank alcohol themselves,[8] only to later object to their kids' adolescent interests in drugs.[11] As she explained in a 1990 interview with Rolling Stone:

"White Rabbit" was directed not to the kids but to the parents. People think I was exhorting all young people to take drugs. We already were taking drugs. I didn't have to exhort the young people. I was telling the older people, "This is what we're doing and why we're doing it. You tell us not to take drugs, and yet you read us books—when we're very young—like Peter Pan, which says sprinkle something on your head and you can fly, books like Alice in Wonderland, where she takes at least five different drugs and has a wonderful time. What do you think you told us? That a chemical is going to get you where you want to go."[12]

After penning the lyrics, Slick composed the music in her living room on a red upright piano she had bought for $80 that "was missing around ten keys in the upper register",[13] "but that was OK because I could hear in my head the notes that weren’t there."[14] The music of "White Rabbit" was largely inspired by Miles Davis' 1960 album Sketches of Spain, which Slick claimed to have listened to "over and over for hours" prior to writing the song.[8] Slick also cited Maurice Ravel's Boléro as an influence on the song, particularly its Spanish-inspired rhythm and its crescendo,[15][16] the latter of which she described as "[feeling] like how an orgasm is built."[14] Overall, Slick said she wrote most of "White Rabbit" in "probably half an hour", before finishing it up the next day.[6]

The Great Society version[edit]

"White Rabbit"
Song by the Great Society
from the album Conspicuous Only in Its Absence
ReleasedMarch 1968 (1968-03)
RecordedApril 1966 (1966-04)
VenueThe Matrix, San Francisco
GenreRaga rock[17]
Length6:15
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)Grace Slick
Producer(s)Peter Abram

"White Rabbit" became a live favorite for the Great Society,[11] being first performed in early 1966 at a dive bar on Broadway in San Francisco.[18] An early performance recorded in April[19] at the Matrix was later released in 1968 on the live album Conspicuous Only in Its Absence.[11] As with many of their songs,[17] the group's version of "White Rabbit" was heavily influenced by Indian music.[20] The track begins with a lengthy instrumental jam comprising a soprano saxophone solo by Peter Van Gelder followed by a guitar solo by Darby Slick.[19] Grace Slick's vocals do not enter until approximately two-thirds (4:23) into the song.[21]

In his commentary on the track, author Craig Fenton felt that the song's instrumentation was "strong enough to have been without vocals" and said, "When Grace was handed the torch she had several opportunities to hit the high notes, and to make the lyrical segment on par with the musical."[21] Conversely, journalist Rob Chapman dismissed Darby's "lengthy raga meanderings" as "the right idea for the wrong song", adding that "Darby hasn't got his Eastern chops sufficiently together for it to work." Furthermore, Chapman described Grace's vocal delivery as "stilted and uncertain; Grace sounds as if she is still trying to work out the best way to sing the song, and awkwardly attempts to adjust the flow of her lyrics the music's irregularity."[22]

Rob Hughes of Classic Rock magazine wrote, "the original version of the song was much trippier ... it was Eastern-flavoured ... and [Grace] Slick's vocal was less stately. But the Spanish march and echoes of Ravel's Boléro were already there."[23]

Composition[edit]

"White Rabbit" begins with a distinct bass guitar intro that establishes the basic bolero rhythm of the song. The rhythm is in 4
4 time, departing from the typical 3
4 meter of bolero.[24] Author Nadya Zimmerman describes the motif as "military-style", however "far from being from aggressive" and "calm, as if heard from a distance."[25]

The bass guitar establishes the basic bolero rhythm of the song (although this is counted in a 4/4 meter, as opposed to the typical 3/4 of bolero). The bass is quickly joined by the snare drum. The electric guitar enters playing a wandering melody that has a vaguely Spanish sound.[24]

Music[edit]

Songs such as Jefferson Airplane's "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit" reveal why many in the San Francisco counterculture made the same decision as Grace Slick, staying at home to enjoy a pluralistic, countercultural construction of the East. Even the opening of "White Rabbit" is a strangely mixed exotic bag. It begins with the bass repeating a military-style bolero motive that, far from being aggressive, is calm, as if heard from a distance. There is something eerily portentous about it, though, as it gets louder and more charged with the addition of the snare drum and the creeping upward motion of the bass harmony by a half step. These two elements create the expectation of continued intensification, yet this is quickly thwarted. No new layer enters and the bolero motive is left to repeat itself while the bass ceases its ascent up the harmonic ladder and starts again on its original pitch.[25]

The opening of "White Rabbit"[26]

Presumably Jefferson Airplane knew of Love,[27]

Larger-scale chromatic mediant relationships could create a sense of two tonal centers,

LSD also fostered polytonality. As Paul Kantner explained, playing music while on LSD is "not really conductive to acting functionally together with other people in the right key ... because people just wander off in other keys."[28]

Although Slick originally wrote "White Rabbit" in the key of F-sharp minor,[13] different interpretations of the song's tonality have been proposed. Music teacher Emily Langerholc[29]

"White Rabbit" is in 4
4 time, departing from the typical bolero triple metre.[24] The song begins with a twelve measure intro.[30] Split into three phrases,[24] the intro starts with a two measure bass motif on F-sharp[30] that establishes the basic rhythm of the song.[24] After the first two measures, the bass line moves up a semitone to G,[31] and the snare drum enters with a military-style beat.[24] Although the harmonic movement of a minor second suggests a continued ascent, the fifth measure instead drops back down to F-sharp to repeat the progression.[32]

Although "White Rabbit" is often notated in the key of F-sharp minor,[29] the song has been classified as being in B harmonic minor and using the F-sharp Phrygian dominant mode instead.[33]

Like Boléro, "White Rabbit" is essentially one long crescendo.[34]

Slick acknowledges that F-sharp "is difficult for guitar players as it requires some intricate fingering".[35]

Reception[edit]

Cash Box called it "a real strong outing guaranteed to get lots of attention."[43]

Chart history[edit]

Cashbox[44] (11 weeks): 59, 45, 23, 14, 12, 11, 8, 6, 7, 22, 41

Personnel[edit]

References[edit]

Citations[edit]

  1. ^ Myers, Marc (May 31, 2016). "How Jefferson Airplane's Grace Slick Wrote 'White Rabbit'". International Times. Archived from the original on August 6, 2016. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
  2. ^ Heller, Jason; Spanos, Brittany; Vozick-Levinson, Simon; Harris, Keith; Greene, Andy. "Jefferson Airplane: 12 Essential Songs". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
  3. ^ "Top 100 Music Hits, Top 100 Music Charts, Top 100 Songs & The Hot 100". Billboard.com. Archived from the original on July 13, 2014. Retrieved July 8, 2011.
  4. ^ "The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. December 9, 2004. Archived from the original on June 22, 2008. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
  5. ^ Tamarkin 2003, pp. 109–110.
  6. ^ a b c Tamarkin 2003, p. 110.
  7. ^ a b Saunders, Luke (22 September 2021). "LSD and 24-hour jazz: the story of Jefferson Airplane's 'White Rabbit'". Happy Mag. Retrieved 9 April 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ a b c Jones, Josh (11 October 2019). "How Grace Slick Wrote "White Rabbit": The 1960s Classic Inspired by LSD, Lewis Carroll, Miles Davis' Sketches of Spain, and Hypocritical Parents". Open Culture. Retrieved 13 May 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ^ Butterworth 2021, p. 38.
  10. ^ Armstrong, Neil (22 June 2020). "White Rabbit — Jefferson Airplane's track was inspired by Miles Davis, Lewis Carroll — and LSD". Financial Times. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  11. ^ a b c Butterworth 2021, p. 39.
  12. ^ Kennedy 2013, pp. 61–62.
  13. ^ a b Myers 2016. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFMyers2016 (help)
  14. ^ a b Slick, Grace (23 August 2021). "Grace Slick and Jack Casady of Jefferson Airplane: how we made White Rabbit" (Interview). Interviewed by David Jesudason.
  15. ^ Kennedy 2013, p. 61.
  16. ^ McHale 2015, p. 60.
  17. ^ a b Larkin 2007, p. 1531.
  18. ^ McStarkey, Mick (7 September 2021). "How Grace Slick composed 'White Rabbit', the greatest drug anthem of all time". Far Out Magazine. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  19. ^ a b Londergan, Tim (22 July 2019). "White Rabbit: The Great Society; Jefferson Airplane; Elephant Revival". Tim's Cover Story. Archived from the original on 9 March 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  20. ^ Fenton 2006, p. 62.
  21. ^ a b Fenton 2006, pp. 62–63.
  22. ^ Chapman 2015.
  23. ^ Hughes, Rob (5 March 2019). "The Story Behind The Song: White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane". Classic Rock. Archived from the original on 13 April 2022.
  24. ^ a b c d e f Hanley 2015, p. 37.
  25. ^ a b Zimmerman 2010, p. 66.
  26. ^ Zimmerman 2010, p. 67.
  27. ^ Hicks 2000, pp. 68–69.
  28. ^ Hicks 2000, p. 69.
  29. ^ a b Langerholc, Emily (6 July 2016). "A Journey Through a Strange Modal Territory: Phrygian Mode in Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit"". Rebel Music Teacher. Retrieved 7 April 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  30. ^ a b Joyner 2010, p. 227.
  31. ^ Zimmerman 2010, p. 190.
  32. ^ Zimmerman 2010, pp. 190–191.
  33. ^ Serna, Desi (26 March 2016). "How to Play in Harmonic Minor Mode on the Guitar". For Dummies. Retrieved 7 April 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  34. ^ Robert Dimery (1 October 2015). 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die (First ed.). Cassell. ISBN 978-1844038800.
  35. ^ Jesudason, David (23 August 2021). "Grace Slick and Jack Casady of Jefferson Airplane: how we made White Rabbit". The Guardian.
  36. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1967-08-05. Archived from the original on 2018-01-14. Retrieved 2018-01-14.
  37. ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  38. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 8/12/67". Tropicalglen.com. Archived from the original on 28 November 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  39. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Jefferson Airplane" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
  40. ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles of 1967". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 12 August 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  41. ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1967/Top 100 Songs of 1967". Musicoutfitters.com. Archived from the original on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  42. ^ "Cash Box YE Pop Singles - 1967". Tropicalglen.com. Archived from the original on 7 September 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  43. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. June 24, 1967. p. 22. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  44. ^ Hoffmann, Frank (1983). The Cash Box Singles Charts, 1950–1981. Metuchen, NJ & London: The Scarecrow Press, Inc. p. 303.

Bibliography[edit]

External links[edit]


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