Grace Slick and her men

Marty had taste and self-respect.

Well, I guess we know where that last name came from.

In her bio she writes about how well hung the bassist Jack Casady was. Short guy, and a bit nerdy--but according to Slick, moose meat down there, and amazing in bed.%0D %0D

Grace fucked Jim Morrison too, and said he was well-hung. Grace was a hot number in her day. She was also a major-league drunk who didn't get sober until she was well into middle-age.

Grace is an amazing,charismatic woman. She makes todays female rockers-Gwen,Fergie, etc. look like fucking bores. If she fucked the Airplane, Greatful Dead, Quicksilver, and Big Brother then more power to her. A beautiful, talented and witty woman deserves all the dick she can get!

btw, Marty was a closeted gay,jealous prick.

I like Balin. It's not his fault he didn't find Slick attractive. I suppose she fucked Mickey Thomas after the band finally ditched Marty for good.

Recent photo of Ms. Slick. Grey-haired grandmother but still pretty:

I'm gay but I'd have let her blow me just to not have to hear that jackhammer vibrato of hers for a few minutes.

"Now, I'm seventy years old. People ask me why I don't paint oils. It takes too long. Cleaning brushes in linseed oil, and it takes six months to really dry, and all this. I don't have that kind of time. I work with acrylic. It's water based. You can clean it under water. If you spill it on yourself, you just throw it in the washing machine. It takes about two days to dry, so that's my kind of deal. I don't want to wait around for it. And it looks like oil, so who cares?" - Grace Slick, 2009

"We Built This City" is quite possibly the worst song ever recorded.

She was hot in the 60s.%0D %0D I found Marty Balin the best-looking guy on Jefferson Airplane. He had a sweet voice. I don't know if he was gay but I heard Joplin had a brief fling with him.%0D %0D Another reason why Slick didn't get her hands on him was he had autism.

A question to musicians who know about these things - did bands like Jefferson Airplane and other psychedellic bands not use traditional minor and major keys? Did they use modal keys and Greek keys for their music? It sounds really different from the normal minor and major keys, especially that White Rabbit song.

Jorma K was a classically trained musician, so he had at hand keys above and beyond the traditional rock (major) and blues (minor) scales.

R12 = Mr. Roboto.

"We Built This City" is quite possibly the worst song ever recorded."%0D %0D I can think of many that are far worse.

R17, but few are more uncool (if you are about that sort of thing.)

"WBTC" was kind of a catchy tune. Not great art, but far from the worst song ever. Never understood the hate for it. I remember when it came out, too. It got a ton of airplay.

She's a talented painter

I've always loved Grace Slick - she's still alive and well in Malibu at age 71 and has concentrated on her painting for a number of years now. I give Grace a lot of credit for knowing when it was time to quit the music business. Unlike most of her contemporaries, Grace knew that an old person on a rock and roll stage singing about getting high and fucking was pathetic so she left the business for good in the late 80s, right after Starships string of hits. Grace has said she has no plans to return to music, and she's very happy with her life.

R14t%0D %0D The Doors played around with things like that a very great deal and Love did as well. %0D %0D Check out Love if you haven't already.

[quote]Grace knew that an old person on a rock and roll stage singing about getting high and fucking was pathetic Why couldn't she sing about hip replacement and not being able to find your multi-vitamins?

bump

luvgroovy: Do you work near Harvard Square?

I dont know and dont care who she has done or hasnt.

Grace slick was one fine HOT woman. And if she was bi or lesbian I'd still have the hot's for her with or without any men in her life.

She was hot when younger. And she has a great sense of humor. I like Marty Balin's vocal on Count on Me, Miracles, and With Your Love.

Really hate We Built this City and the other horrible song they had in that era. Seemed almost the complete opposite of Jefferson Airplane.

She is still f-ing pretty!

She may be 70+ but look at her face, she doesnt have the face of a 70 yr. old. Her hair may be white now but very few wrinkles for someone her age.

I'd do her in a heart beat if she was gay :)

I don't like a lot of their early work mostly because I was born in the 60's. but I love some of their later material.

As for grace having any humor I don't know, guess I could google it.

And yes I agree she was and still is hot ;)

-2/4/012 shepanther-

Hearing her on the Airplane's Somebody to Love and White Rabbit was a revelation to mini me. Never knew a woman could sing like that.

I just found out grace slick is a painter. Does she do any shows? If so wished she could come to Iowa city the gay/lesbian mecca of the state.

And I agree she has a very powerful voice. That woman is so talented. Truly amazing!

I think miracles,and we built this city is the best. I think marty balin and grace and mickey thomas were magic together, grace never got it. I think she has let down her fan base. Starship will fly on without her. Its sad.

How many kids did Grace have, just the one with Paul Kantner, China? IIRC, China did some acting.

Here's Paul. Grace and Paul had similar jawlines.

[quote]a guy called Marty Balin

Oh yeah, that guy -- the one who got together with Paul Kantner & started the group.

She was a raven haired beauty. "Miracles" is also one of my all-time favorite songs.

Did someone mention me?

Did Slick really leave Marin County for LA?

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We must never forget...

Grace Slick about sleeping with Jim Morrison:

This was new. Like making love to a floating art form with eyes. I’d never had anyone “study” me like that. It wasn’t the standard evaluation of body parts. He seemed to appraising the distance between us if it was an invisible garment that needed to be continually breached with each motion. With our hips joined together and his body moving up and down, if felt like he was taking a moment each time to circle the area between our bodies with his eyes and consider the space that separated us. He was a well built boy, his cock was slightly larger than average, and was young enough to maintain the engorged silent connection right through the residue of chemicals that can threaten erection.

At the same time, he was surprisingly gentle. Somehow, I’d expected a sort of frantic horizontal ritual. It’s interesting; the most maniacal guys on stage can be such sublime lovers. But everybody has to stop being a jerk sometimes. Jim mystified me with that otherworldly expression, and at the same time, his hips never lost the insistent rolling motion that was driving the dance.

When he did look directly in my face, he seemed to be constantly searching for the expression that might break the lock, as if I might be wearing a disguise. I’m not sire what I mean by that, but I can say that it was both intriguing and disconcerting, waiting for him to ask me if I was someone else – an impostor or a product of his imagination.

I have no idea how long I was there, but there was no lying around afterward having a cigarette, dreamily looking at each other. I knew I should leave before I got caught – we both had other relationships – and I felt like an intruder. I dressed as fast as I could, without looking like it was a race. Jim didn’t seem to notice; he appeared to be totally unconscious, just lying there motionless on the bed. But naked, with eyes closed and without moving a muscle from his completely immobile posture, he said, Why wouldn’t you come back?” Since I hadn’t said anything about coming or going, I didn’t know what he expected to hear, so I went into proper Finch College mode and said, “Only if I’m asked.” He smiled, but never asked.

Marty Balin seemed bitter about never getting any credit from Paul ,Grace or anyone else for that matter. He had his own measure of success he must have been one sensitive guy to let it get to him like that.I must say that he exercised good judgement in staying away from Grace sexually. She was quite attractive but an "unselective" slut at best!

She's had some health problems and cannot be on her feet for very long. As a result of that and possibly meds, she's become quite heavy but I'll bet she can still sing.

My theory about Grace Slick is that she was struggling with her suppressed lesbianism by sleeping with a lot of different men. She needed to convince herself that she is straight and that she can sleep with men.

Loved Balin's voice.

The "VH1 Behind the Music" strongly suggested (short of outright saying it) that Balin was (and still is) a major dick,felt insecure as his role as the lead vocalist and therefore disliked Grace. The rest of the band - -particularly Kantner - seemed like they hated him. Grace talks about how she slept with all them and while the guys are bitter about it, she's all "hey, it's rock & roll!"

He may be mad that the band's best known songs are from Slick. Even some of the non-hits by Slick are some of their best songs like "Two heads," "rejoyce," "Lather" and "Greasy Heart."

But Balin has some great songs like "Today" and "Coming Back to Me."

She's getting up there. :(

Balin's lyrics are superior to Slick's. Grace Slick's lyrics were always too pompous to be true. Fuckin' bitch.

Her lyrics really bloomed in the last Jefferson Airplane's album 'Jefferson Airplane'. She didn't write junkie stuff in that album.

Grace isn't gay. She admits in her autobiography that she went through a period of wondering what being a lesbian would be like, but only got as far as making out with another girl before realizing it wasn't for her. She liked the feel and the look of a hard penis.

She's very pro gay, though. Most of her longtime friends are gay men. And I think some of her art exhibits have benefitted gay charities.

R48, no she wrote about panda bears.

I preferred her 60s work.

R50, she also wrote 'Freedom' and 'Now is the Time'. You have to be kidding me. Her 60s lyrics were really incoherent. People got carried away with her 60s songs because of the music and not because of the lyrics back at that time. Let's be honest!

R49, she seems gay to me. She just didn't dare to flirt or date a beautiful woman, so she convinced herself that she is not a lesbian. However...xxx

Great interview at R46! I love her answer to, "How about singing in a band again?"

"No, I don't like old people flapping their wrinkles around on stage."

LMAO! Too bad the Rolling Stones, Iggy Pop and Vadge won't accept that she's right.

I must admit that she wrote at least a good song in the sixties. 'Lather' is a great song. However, i think that Jefferson Airplane pretty screwed it at the beginning, when they put that 'typewriting' sound. Why the hell did they add that sound to the studio version of 'Lather'? I really hate it. You can hear the same 'typewriting sound' in 'Trouble in Mind' sung by Janis Joplin. I wonder if they deliberately added that sound, or there is another explanation behind this sound. It's really annoying and it makes these two emotionally powerful songs less beautiful. I wish someone could release these two songs without the creepy typewriting sound.

"Lather" is full of sound effects that correspond to the lyrics. The sounds of the typewriter are when we learn about Howard C. Green, just turned 33, his leather chair waits at the bank.

Jefferson Starship played 'Lather' Live. There is that Live version in Youtube. I don't think that Grace Slink sings it there, i know she was a former Jefferson Starship member, but i think that's not her voice. I could be wrong though. Anybody knows anything about that?

I agree though with R53. This sound effect doesn't do justice to the song, no matter what you say dear R54. It's pretty distracting.

*Slick

That's a nice version, R55. Thanks for sending that.

R54, what about 'Trouble In Mind'? Why there is that typewriting sound in this song as well? I don't think that your explanation is very satisfactory. It fits though, but still...

Jefferson Starship now tours under that name (since Kantner is with it, it's back to "Jefferson") and there have been female vocalists filling in for Slick. I believe even Signe Toly has sung with them now and then.

"Too bad the Rolling Stones, Iggy Pop and Vadge won't accept that she's right."

Also Fleetwood Mac. It's fucking ridiculous for a woman in her sixties to be wearing six inch platform heels and a top hat, stretching her shawl-clad arms out and twirling around onstage while she attempts to sing in a croaking, way past her prime voice. You hear that, Stevie? It's time to retire.

Grace was the outrageous focal point of JA. Remember she almost spiked the punch at the White House reception for Finch College alumni? She also performed one show, dressed as Hitler(!) singing the entire concert with a German accent. Her autobiography is the best I've ever read of a former rocker.

I loved Balin's work with Jefferson Starship - In Starship he had the hits, in JA Grace had their only 2 in 1967. They all reunited in 1989 as JA and toured that summer. I saw them and they sounded great and they seemed to be all getting along. Kantner is the one who can be a dick.

In the sixties, Lou Reed had said this about her and about these bands...

"People like Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead, are the most untalented bores that ever came up. Just look at them physically. I mean, can you take Grace Slick seriously?”

Lou had a jealous streak in general. He wanted all the lights on him. He wrote 'I'll Be Your Mirror' for me, but if you examine closely the song, it shows how narcissistic Lou was. It was all always about him.

Lou Reed crapped on the Beatles too. Sourpuss and had his own issues.

This is a quick little clip of David Crosby and Stephen Stills in the recording studio. They were talking about JA and The Grateful Dead. Stills didn't like working with JA.

Fuck you, audio engineer who interrupted and stopped the tape when it got interesting.

R64, do you believe that Jefferson Airplane is an overrated band? Too much hype? Tell me, baby, i want to see how you view it...

R65, are you sure that question was for me? I don't really have an opinion on JA's music. I just found that clip fascinating because it was a couple of musicians in the studio talking about bands.

That whole era of music is before my time and I don't even feel I'm in a position to critique any of the music because I'm too busy being envious and in awe of anyone who got to experience it first hand.

I think Grace Slick is great. Love her.

R66, yes mon bebe, the question was for you. It doesn't matter if you were of that era, you can form your own opinion and... don't be envious of time! I'm not of that era either, however, i think that everything can be criticized if you are careful with the subject of your criticism.

I was bored and i wanted to push somebody a little...i just chose you..sorry for the inconvenience, love. Have fun...adios~

*giggles

Well, I'm afraid on this topic, you couldn't push my buttons. I grew up during the popularity of the "New Kids on The Block," so even the worst of the late 60s was genius by comparison.

R68, i was born in 1984 and i'm sassy enough to push your button, but i respect your gentle nature... so i'm going to sit back in my corner to read or write something else. :P

R68, my high-school soundtrack consisted of Britney, autotuned Cher, Ricky Martin, and the boybands. NKOTB sounds like Chopin in comparison.

[13] In the late 60s musicians made a lot of use of chords that moved in parallel (f.i. minor 7th chords, Major 7th to Minor 7th, etc) and abrupt 'tonal shifts' (f.i. a sudden leap from C-Major to E-flat Major without modulation).

As for the use of modal harmony: the Association's "Along Comes Mary" from '66 is an example of a song written in the Dorian-mode(DEFGABCD).

In a way pop music then was more progressive (at least from a music theory perspective) than it is now.

I think a lot of them were influenced by Jazz (Brubeck and Davis especially), who themselves were influenced by classical composers such as Milhaud, Stravinsky, Debussy and Wagner.

Was Grace fucking any of the British rockers? Jagger, The Yardbirds etc?

Offhand, I can't think of many of her British contemporaries. I assume Led Zep would have been a bit younger than Grace. Though I seem to recall hearing that writer Germaine Greer fucked Robert Plant, I think she's much older than he is.

The British rockers, in the 1960s, seemed to be more into models, rather than being with female rockers.

btw, it's not so unusual that Grace fucked most of the guys in her band, Linda Ronstandt did the same thing.

Grace Slick was certainly not a doll though. I wonder how come and she had the balls to drool so openly over these guys and get them in bed. Was she so desperate or something?

Could someone who was a heavy drug/alcohol person like these people tell me how it is Grace can recall a night with Jim Morrison in so much detail considering she was under the influence of so many things?

Graham Nash also has a great book out, but I wonder how people like this can recall yesterday, let alone years when they were doing tons of shit.

I was true in my book, all the time. God is my witness.

Was Graham Nash as much of a druggie as Stephen Stills and David Crosby were?

Graham was in The Hollies before CSN&Y, I don't think The Hollies were know for being druggies.

Whoever is interested in Grace Slick's tits, you can see her right tit bare in this photo.

No, Graham was never as bad as the other two. He says that he always had better control over his habit(s). He could stop anytime. He would try and help Crosby by showing him how he could just stop, Crosby was just too addicted. Graham tells this story about how Crosby got so desperate for drugs that he gave the pink slip for his car (forget which luxury car it was) to a drug dealer and when the drug dealer ended up dead after ODing, Crosby broke into the dealer's apt to get the slip back.

Forget Stills. He could never be helped. Even Sammy Hagar tells stories about how out of control Stills' habit was well into his 50s. I love that man as an artist and he is my favorite, but totally fucked up, huge ego and a reputation for being an asshole.

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Grace Slick had a lot of mystique, and was probably at the height of her appeal while singing with the Great Society. Marty Balin founded and formed Jefferson Airplane (although Jorma came up with the name). Balin was an excellent singer and probably the best songwriter to emerge from the San Francisco scene. He could be seen back then (e.g., '66) occasionally on Haight St with a gal or two. Judging from one or two brief encounters, he seemed a decent fellow. He probably drifted from the group and the scene because he was less into the increasing decadence and dissipation.

Looks like she's addicted to food now.

R81, you could only dream of having the awesome life she did.

She's over 70. She's not expected to be a supermodel.

She had the life when it was her time.

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That's her LEFT tit!

Nice tit though.

No, it's true.....We Built This City is the worst song ever recorded.

What a whore.

[quote]r13 In the late 60s musicians made a lot of use of chords that moved in parallel (f.i. minor 7th chords, Major 7th to Minor 7th, etc) and abrupt 'tonal shifts' (f.i. a sudden leap from C-Major to E-flat Major without modulation).

[quote]As for the use of modal harmony: the Association's "Along Comes Mary" from '66 is an example of a song written in the Dorian-mode(DEFGABCD).

[quote]In a way pop music then was more progressive (at least from a music theory perspective) than it is now.

[quote]I think a lot of them were influenced by Jazz (Brubeck and Davis especially), who themselves were influenced by classical composers such as Milhaud, Stravinsky, Debussy and Wagner.

r71 -- what the heck is Pearl Jam/Lifehouse etc doing?

I never liked Grace Slick. She always seemed so bitchy, so unlikeable.

nah you got it wrong - she had the most gorgeous voice and any Artist who survived Altamont deserves huge respect xxxx

[quote]I loved Balin's work with Jefferson Starship - In Starship he had the hits, in JA Grace had their only 2 in 1967. They all reunited in 1989 as JA and toured that summer. I saw them and they sounded great and they seemed to be all getting along.

I saw the Airplane on that tour, too, and feel lucky to have had the chance. They sounded really good, had a deep and varied set list (mostly Airplane, some early Jefferson Starship) and all seemed to be happy to be doing the show.

Grace, in particular, was funny and looked to be enjoying the hell out of it. I think she may have decided this was going to be about the end of her performing career, so she just went all-out.

Supposedly she also slept with half the men in New Jersey and most in Vermont.

Grace has always had a ' bi' vibe about her. I remember years ago she hosted a 'Women in Rock' special and she was seriously checking out sexy Ronnie Spector.

[quote]you could only dream of having the awesome life she did.

That's because she was born into a rich family, so she's one of the lucky ones who could fake it till you make it as an artist, coasting on daddy and mommy's (mayflower first voyage descendant) money.

Class is always the unspoken elephant in the room with most american artists esp pop stars.

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R24, no I don't. I have had a drunken lunch or two there.

Love Grace but her look has changed drastically over the past 15 years. Man she looks so old.

I've never heard that Marty Balin was "a major dick." And why would he feel "insecure as his role as the lead vocalist?" He has a great voice. And I've never heard anywhere that he was "closeted." Not wanting to fuck Grace Slick doesn't make him gay. I think he probably just disliked her, and I can understand that. She always came across in interviews as very full of herself and bitchy. Frequently seemed drug-addled, and probably was. Marty Balin seems like a good guy; at Altamont he bravely tried to stop the Hell's Angels from beating up some poor soul and got knocked unconscious himself.

I never liked the Jefferson Airplane. I never thought they were much musically. Paul Kantner and Grace Slick seemed particularly odious. I remember some article about a concert Jefferson Airplane did in Europe, Germany, I think. The crowd had stood in the rain, waiting for the band to perform. Seems Grace Slick was having some tummy trouble; I guess after years of drugging she probably wasn't in very good shape. She wasn't too concerned that there were thousand of people who had paid to be entertained by the band waiting in the rain. She was in no condition to perform. The band could have played without her. But Paul Kantner made this fateful decision: the concert would be cancelled. To play without Grace Slick would be like "the Rolling Stones playing without Mick Jagger." So it was announced to the crowd that the band would not go on. And the crowd went berserk. They stormed the stage and destroyed all the equipment, including the band's instruments, some which were irreplaceable. Later Kantner said he didn't regret his decision. What a dick!

She did one concert dressed as HITLER and sang in a German accent! Fucking hilarious. She loved to outrage and there is the story she and Abby Hoffman tried to get into the White House at a tea hosted by Tricia Nixon. She said they wanted to spike the punch for Nixon.

Happy birthday Grace.

I usually don't like live recordings, they are often badly recorded and sound hollow, but I love Bless Its Pointed Little Head, a great live album, particularly the last song, I think, Bear Melt.

The Airplane were in E. Lansing once and I was working on the second floor of the bookstore when this guy came up the stairs and said 'hello'. He looked really familiar but I didn't realize who he was (Marty Balin) until I went downstairs and I was told that the Airplane had been in the store. I guess Grace doesn't do stairs.

Grace had gone to finishing school with Tricia, or something?

There was a reason she was invited to the WH but they wouldn't let her bring Abby

Young Marty Balin was cute. Loved his voice too. Remember his early 80s solo hit, "Hearts?" It sounds so ...1981. I love it.

To all of you judging Grace by the number of sexual conquests....times were different then. I know it's cliche' but it's true. This was the sexual revolution where one could have as many partners as one desired and do it openly, without shame or embarrassment or fear of being called a whore. The worst that could happen was an unwanted pregnancy. Everything else had a cure and I guess unwanted pregnancy had a cure as well. Everyone slept with everyone. That's the way it was. We had few worries other than the Draft - and for those who were honest - the military didn't want us. So she slept around, big deal. She was happy. The men were happy (I assume). She was beautiful and famous and had hit records. Why wouldn't they fuck her? They didn't have to live with her abrasive personality. Some of you acting so prudish wish you had the sex life Grace did.

I remember reading of an incident from the late 70's or early 80's where the police showed up at her home to investigate a noise complaint. A drunken Grace opened the door holding a shotgun and told the police to get the fuck off her property.

True story. That "Hearts" video gave 11 year old me one of my first boners.

I love the song 'Jane', that's about the only song I like from Jefferson Starship

The police pulled her over once for driving at a high speed - the wrong way - on the Golden Gate bridge. I loved her autobiography Somebody To Love? - she was brutally honest and talked about her 'straight' life before starting a group with her 1st husband and his brother, The Great Society. She was a salesgirl at I. Magnin and had to deal with society mavens who advised her about creaming her elbows.

This cunt again?

I believe it, R106. Balin was in peak form then.

Slick's songs may seem pretentious but they are catchy as hell and I love them. "rejoyce," "Two Heads," "Greasy Heart..." all great.

I never listed to the first "Airplane" album all the way through until a few years ago and the funny thing is it's obvious one major reason they hired Slick was because she sounded so similar to the departing Signe Anderson. This is Anderson singing.

R42 a better theory: she loved dick

[Mickey] Thomas obviously joined Jefferson Starship too late, having missed out on Jefferson Airplane’s free love period, during which Slick fucked everyone in and around the band, with the exception of Marty Balin (who—let’s get this straight—was too undesirable for Grace Slick to have sex with).

One didn’t need to make up lies in order to engage in random coitus with the groupie/bandmate in closest proximity to oneself; one just showed up at Grace’s pad and disrobed.

She had an Asian male fetish. Very true.

r113 that guy is a little too into it

Marty Balin is the featured vocalist (sorry, Grace) on this '70's classic.

Enjoy -

I think it was Marty who wanted nothing to do with Grace.

Marty was a lot better looking than most of the band, especially Paul Kantner.

Just saw Jorma and Jack --Hot Tuna Acoustic -- at City Winery a few weeks ago. Great show. And very talented. Wished they spoken more about the Airplane days.

Better boobs then Miley but probably unable to match Miley's trick of clamping her ankles behind her neck.