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Grace Slick
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Grace Slick | ||
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 Grace Slick
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Grace Barnett Wing | |
| Born | October 30, 1939 (age 67) Evanston, Illinois, USA |
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| Genre(s) | Psychedelic rock Arena rock Hard rock |
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| Occupation(s) | Singer | |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, Piano, Recorder, Guitar | |
| Label(s) | RCA Records | |
| Associated acts |
Jefferson Airplane Jefferson Starship |
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Grace Slick (born Grace Barnett Wing, October 30, 1939 in Evanston, Illinois) is an American singer and songwriter, who was one of the lead singers of the rock groups Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship, Starship and also as a solo artist, for nearly three decades, from the mid-1960s to the mid-1990s.
Slick is considered to be one of the most important musicians in bringing the 1960s psychedelic rock to mainstream appeal. She is known for her witty, influential, thought-provoking lyrics, and her powerful contralto voice.
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Slick was born in Evanston, a Chicago suburb, to Ivan W. Wing (of Norwegian-Swedish extraction) and his wife Virginia Barnett.[1] She attended Castilleja, a private girls school in Palo Alto, California, near San Francisco. Following graduation, she attended Finch College in New York from 1956 to 1958 and the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida from 1957 to 1959.
Slick maintained a friendship with Janis Joplin that began early in her music career and lasted until Joplin's death by drug overdose on October 4, 1970. She also had a friendship, as well as a sexual relationship, with Jim Morrison. According to her biography, there was no real romance involved. However, Jeff Tamarkin's Got a Revolution! The Turbulent Flight of Jefferson Airplane makes no mention of any relationship between Slick and Morrison.
Slick was married twice, to Gerald "Jerry" Slick, a cinematographer, and to Skip Johnson, a Jefferson Starship lighting designer. She has one daughter, China Wing Kantner (born January 25, 1971). China's father is former Jefferson Airplane guitarist Paul Kantner, with whom Grace had a relationship from 1969 through 1975.
During her musical career, Slick was a member of several rock bands: The Great Society, Jefferson Airplane, and Jefferson Airplane's successor bands, Jefferson Starship and Starship.
Slick was known not only for her provocative lyrics, but also for her alcoholism and public persona. Notable songs that she recorded with Jefferson Airplane/Starship include "White Rabbit", "Somebody to Love", "We Built This City", "Volunteers", "Lather", and "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now". Jefferson Airplane's album Volunteers was ranked one of the top 500 albums of all time by Rolling Stone magazine.
Slick's solo albums include Manhole, Dreams, 'Software' and Welcome to the Wrecking Ball. Dreams, produced by Scott Zito, is thought to be Grace Slick's' finest hour as a vocalist by many critics.
Alongside her close contemporary Janis Joplin, Slick was an important figure in the development of rock music in the late 1960s. Her distinctive vocal style exerted a definite influence on other female performers, such as Sandy Denny and Dolores O'Riordan. Like Joplin, Slick's uncompromising persona and powerful voice helped to open up new modes of expression for female performers, giving a new legitimacy to the role of the female lead singer in the male-dominated world of rock music.
Slick has had numerous run-ins with the law. On four separate occasions, she was arrested for alcohol-related offenses, including driving under the influence and public drunkenness. She was admitted to a substance-abuse rehabilitation facility on at least one occasion[2]. She has also commented publicly on her use of LSD.
She was reportedly arrested in 1994 for assault with a deadly weapon, after pointing an unloaded gun at a police officer (after, according to her, the officer came onto her property without explanation). [3]
Slick left Starship in 1988 at age 48. During a 1998 interview with VH1 on a Behind The Music documentary featuring Jefferson Airplane, Slick stated that the main reason she retired from the music business was "because all rock and rollers over the age of 50 look stupid and should retire".
After retiring in 1989 from the music business, Grace turned her attention to painting. She has done many renditions of mostly her fellow 60s musicians such as Janis Joplin and Jerry Garcia as well as many others. In 2000, she began displaying and selling her artwork.
She has generally stayed away from music, although she did sing on one occasion on the soundtrack to The Crow: City of Angels. The song was a duet with Linda Perry of 4 Non Blondes and was called "Knock Me Out".
In a 2001 USA Today article, she said "I'm in good health and people want to know what I do to be this way [...] I don't eat cheese, I don't eat duck — the point is I'm vegan". [... [4]
She released her autobiography, Grace Slick: Somebody to Love? a Rock and Roll Memoir, in 1998.
Slick's longevity in the music business helped her earn a rather unusual distinction: the oldest female vocalist on a Billboard Hot 100 number one single. "We Built This City" reached #1 on November 16, 1985, less than three weeks after her 46th birthday. The previous record was age 44 for Tina Turner, with 1984's number-one hit, "What's Love Got To Do With It". Turner (who is, coincidentally within a month of Slick's age) turned 45 two months after the song topped the charts. Slick broke her own record in Summer 1987 at age 47 when "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" topped the U.S. charts. Her record stood for 12 years, but was ultimately broken by Cher, who was 53 in 1999 when "Believe" hit number one.
Slick did vocals for Jazzy Spies, a series of animated shorts about the numbers 2 through 10, which aired on Sesame Street. Jazzy Spies #2, for instance, appeared in the first episode of the first season of Sesame Street, November 10, 1969.
- Grace Slick biography at Jefferson Airplane Official Web Site.
- Grace Slick at the Internet Movie Database
- Grace Slick at the Notable Names Database.
- Grace Slick Fan Site.
- Grace Slick biography at Gotarevolution.com.
- Grace Slick biography at Frontrowgallery.com.
- Grace Slick biography at Limelightagency.com.
- Counterculture Meets Mall Culture for Grace Slick