Surrealistic Pillow Anniversary

On this day in 1967, the game changing album from Jefferson Airplane, "Surrealistic Pillow", was released. Let's take a look at some history and fun facts about this iconic album.

1. It was the first album to feature vocalist Grace Slick and drummer Spencer Dryden

Original drummer Alexander "Skip" Spence left the band in mid-1966 and was soon replaced by Dryden, while new female vocalist Slick joined in the fall of 1966 after formerly being a member of the San Francisco rock band, the Great Society.

2. The song 'Embryonic Journey' was featured in the Friends finale

Not just the finale, it was featured in the final scene of the beloved sitcom.

3. Jerry Garcia's influence

Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia is credited on the RCA label copy of "Surrealistic Pillow" and received credits on the "Flight Log" compilation and the "Jefferson Airplane Loves You" box set. He is also noted as "musical and spiritual advisor". However, his reputed presence on several tracks is denied by producer Rick Jarrard.

Read more below: https://ultimateclassicrock.com/jefferson-airplane-jerry-garcia-surrealistic-pillow/

4. 'White Rabbit' was written Grace Slick as a "wake-up call to parents"

Slick wrote the hit song, along with 'Somebody to Love' while she was still with The Great Society and intended the composition to be a wake-up call to parents who read their children stories like "Alice in Wonderland" and then would wonder why their children used drugs. She later commented that all fairytales tell little girls they need have a Prince Charming who comes and saves them. But not Alice:

"[She was] on her own...in a very strange place, but she kept on going and she followed her curiosity - that's the White Rabbit. A lot of women could have taken a message from that story about how you can push your own agenda...The line in the song 'feed your head' is both about reading and psychedelics...feeding your head by paying attention: read some books, pay attention."

5. P!nk covered 'White Rabbit' in 2017

P!nk covered the song in for the Disney film "Alice Through the Looking Glass" directed by Tim Burton. The song was also featured as a bonus track on the Japan edition of her "Beautiful Trauma" album. Another cover by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals was featured on the film's soundtrack.

6. Legacy

The album peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). "Surrealistic Pillow" is considered to be one of the most influential and quintessential works of the early psychedelic rock era the and 1960s counterculture.