Ah, the Easter bunny, chocolates, painted eggs — and Jefferson Airplane. OK, maybe the San Francisco psychedelic rock band of ’60s fame isn’t the first thing that comes to mind at this time of year, but they do have a great song called “White Rabbit.”
The song brilliantly blends lyrical references to Alice in Wonderland with a Spanish traditional dance music known as a bolero (think Ravel, or Miles Davis’ album Sketches of Spain), and yet sounds like rock music. The song was right for its times, reaching the top 10 as a single in 1967, but Rolling Stone magazine calls it one of the 500 greatest songs of all time.
This video captures Jefferson Airplane at their peak, performing “White Rabbit” at Woodstock in 1969.
Related stories:
Freed and found: Nancy Sinatra nails ‘Bang, Bang’
1,2,3, go: Great rock ’n’ roll count-ins