Grace Slick: The Biography

by Barbara Rowes

Dust jacket "This is the authorized biography of the longest-reigning first lady of rock, Grace Slick. It is her story - growing up as a child of the middle class, marriage to the boy next door, discovering and creating music, finally emerging as one of the strongest voices of the sixties counterculture, and living through and conquering the crises of the seventies. Also it is the story of a rock band, an anarchic collection of talented individuals collectively known as the Jefferson Airplane, who grew and changed, split up and regrouped, redefined as Jefferson Starship, and how they won and lost their battles over the years to maintain their musical integrity against the difficult influences of rock fame and success and all that they entail. And it is in a way the story of everyone who found social consciousness in the sixties, only to have it threatened by the material concerns of the seventies. Today Grace is as strong and as vocal as ever, and this book stands as a penetrating, inside look at the rock world and the 'psychedelic generation,' and one woman who survived it all at the top."

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction

Hardcover

Published January 1, 1980

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the first autobiographies of Grace Slick of the Jefferson Airplane to be written in 1980. I must say it is a very good biography on a most underrated female voice in rock in roll history. Yet in this book Rowes points out "Grace's own voice was an instrument of unusual resonance: a hidden breath of magical intensity and passionate depth which poured out of the gut and head in equal proportions." p.45 Listen to the songs White Rabbit, and Somebody to Love and you will hear what I am talking about. I always thought the media never liked her so she never got the accolades for her incredible voice. This biography is a candid and detailed look of Grace Slick personal and professional life. The book is well researched and written about her life in the 60's and 70's. It covers the main themes of sex, drugs, and rock and roll and I wonder how Grace ever lived through all of it. A great anecdotes and portraits of Woodstock. Altamont, Abbie Hoffman,(and the plan to drop President Nixon acid at a White House tea party)Morrison, Hendrix, Janis, and the Grateful Dead. Its a fascinating account of a very strong woman into her own adapting priorities and shifting focus as she ages.

[Linda Cardott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting story, behind the music, hippies, free love, drugs, 60s - late 70s culture changes as seen through the eyes of musicians of San Francisco......

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great look at the times that Grace and Jefferson Airplane/Starship were popular...next up, Grace's Autobiography

[Steve Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly thorough examination of Grace Slick, Jefferson Airplane and the San Francisco hippie scene of the late 1960s. This is not a fan book, it's a serious bio that provides an inside look at a unique period in popular music and youth culture. However, the book only covers Slick's life up to 1980; for the rest of the story you'll have to read her memoir.