Oh, but in your head baby I'm afraid

[JSngry]

Who is the "Laura" that Grace Slick refers to at the end of the song?

I knew a Laura once. She knew where it was, so I don't think it's the same one.

[Jazzmoose]

[John L]

Ask Alice. I think she knows.

[mikelz777]

Ask Alice. I think she knows.

Only when she's 10 feet tall.

[jazzbo]

She was living in Texas at the time, very young. Hadn't met George yet.

[AllenLowe]

she's only a dream...

[Christiern]

Is this the Laura who inspired your aimless thread?

[jazzbo]

I'm confused. . .where in the song is "Laura". . . .

Maybe Dr. Laura knows where it is. . . .

Or more seriously, if Grace is singing "Laura" is the song too early to have "meant" Laura Nyro?

[Free For All]

[JSngry]

I'm confused. . .where in the song is "Laura". . . .

Right at the very end, just before the guitar solo. It's the last thing she says. I guess it's "Laura"... Maybe it's "lava", "love Ra" or something else. Right now today, I really don't care. But in 2004, I guess I thought it was "Laura" & thought there might be a story there.

What I want to know now is why the hell Moose resurrected a 4.5 year old thread that had heretofore gotten zero responses. That's just weird, Laura.

[Christiern]

Perhaps....

Aldous loved her.

[Jazzmoose]

What I want to know now is why the hell Moose resurrected a 4.5 year old thread that had heretofore gotten zero responses. That's just weird, Laura.

And you deserve an explanation!

I had just finished watching a replay of the Rafael Marquez/Isreal Vasquez title fight, and all through the fight I couldn't help noticing that Vasquez had this really big head that was kind of disturbing, so afterwards I came here and tried to find your 'big head' thread with the search feature. Unfortunately, this thread was what it gave me...

But look at these guys; they're the same heighth, and this is NOT trick photography!

[JSngry]

Here's that thread: http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=187

But still, we don't know who the Laura was to whom Grace was speaking.

Odd...

[Jazzmoose]

Some mysteries are solved; some remain. Whatcha gonna do?

[JSngry]

Have a Coke & a smile.

Because...

[Dave James]

There is no reference to Laura in the actual lyrics of the tune, so it must've been something she improvised.

Here are some interesting song facts and other emphemera including a reference to Miles Davis and Sketches of Spain as the genesis of White Rabbit.

Slick got the idea for this after taking LSD and spending hours listening to the Miles Davis album Sketches Of Spain. The Spanish beat she came up with was also influenced by Ravel's "Bolero."

Slick wrote and performed this when she was in a band called The Great Society. She brought it with her, along with "Somebody To Love," when she joined Jefferson Airplane in 1966.

The UK version of the album didn't have this on it.

This was one of the defining songs of the 1967 "Summer Of Love." As young Americans protested the Vietnam war and took a lot of drugs, this played in the background.

On an original recording by The Great Society, the song is barely recognizable due to Grace's higher voice before several throat operations that lowered her range after each one.

The Airplane was often found giving free concerts around the Haight-Asbury area of San Francisco. They shared a large house with several musicians during the psychedelic '60s, often applying for and receiving parade permits to walk the streets. Grace was always a radical thinker, rejecting "Daddy's money." She once appeared on The Merv Griffin talk show made up in black face, causing a big controversy.

This capped off Jefferson Airplane's set at Woodstock in 1969. They took the stage at 8am on the third day, following a performance by The Who that started at 3am.

According to Grace Slick's autobiography, the album name came when bandmate Marty Balin played the finished studio tapes to Jerry Garcia of The Grateful Dead, whose first reaction was "Sounds like a surrealistic pillow." Slick says that she loves the fact that the phrase Surrealistic Pillow "leaves the interpretation up to the beholder. Asleep or awake on the pillow? Dreaming? Making love? The adjective 'Surrealistic' leaves the picture wide open."

Up over and out.

Edited September 24, 2008 by Dave James

[Bright Moments]

Is this the Laura who inspired your aimless thread?

chris you never cease to surprise me! posting a babe! wow!!!

[jazzbo]

Elizabeth Banks, although not looking as much like her as some photos. . . .This was among the first few images to come up in a google search for "Laura" because she's playing Mrs. George W. Bush in Stone's new film. I'm pretty sure Chris found her that way. And got a political jab in as well! Two birds with one stone! That's what the wisdom experience brings does for you.

[Bright Moments]

Elizabeth Banks, although not looking as much like her as some photos. . . .This was among the first few images to come up in a google search for "Laura" because she's playing Mrs. George W. Bush in Stone's new film. I'm pretty sure Chris found her that way. And got a political jab in as well! Two birds with one stone! That's what the wisdom experience brings does for you.

wow!