Grace Slick believes something that few other veteran artists would likely agree with: Aging rock stars don't belong on a stage. "All rock-and-rollers over the age of 50 look stupid and should retire," she once said. Slick is now 72, and since a short Jefferson Airplane reunion tour ended in 1989, she has mostly left music behind to focus on her visual art. One exception was a brief appearance at a 2001 Jefferson Starship show in Los Angeles. But unlike most people on this list, Slick continues to talk to the media, and she's often photographed at her art shows.

I never liked this lady, and not just for the comment she made in the above mentioned article. She thinks she knows everything, has an opinion about everything, and dismisses everyone who disagrees with her. I saw her one time on a gardening show, and of course she thought she was one of the top experts in the field. I know a lot about gardening, and her knowledge was minimal.

But what about her comments about aging rock stars?

Maybe she knows that she couldn't cut it as a rock star nowadays.




"As we say in England, it can get a bit trainspottery"

I have never liked her. I simply can not stand her 'singing'. It is this box that is turned on at the beginning of the song ,and never lets up. Have never understood the praise the got for her dueting or "harmonizing" with Balin. To me it's this annoyingly atonal ooh-ing over and behind his vocals.

She could probably cut it, but the same audiences who would accept a 73-year-old male rock singer would never in a million years accept a 73-year-old female rock singer. That's why bands with female singers eventually have to find young, attractive prostitutes impersonators to replace them.





Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 2013-03-23 16:19 by tatters.

I forgot to mention this. I am an aging rock star fan over the age of 50. Is Grace trying to suggest that I stop listening to the Stones and other rock music, because she finds it distasteful? Do I look foolish to others? I pretty much do what I wish, within reason, and could care less what other people think, particularly this nasty lady.

It's a little ironic, her being the ultimate 60's hippy and lived the dream so to speak. Where is the let people be who they want to be spirit now Grace? The harsh truth for Ms Slick is that, whilst she had a tremendous voice she was the front person more because of the way she looked. Noone could argue that she wasn't an attractive woman, but that fades (time destroys a womans face) and whilst this also applies to men, society doesn;t judge them as harshly - rightly or wrongly.

Being over 50 in musician terms means nothing. The only area it seems to affect is the song writing - not many classic rock songs have been written by anyone over 50. But for the likes of the Stones, Zeppelin and many others, they can still put out shows that thousands will buy tickets for. There is a demand for it and the musicians love playing to an audience. Grace Slick needs to shut the @#$%& up and do some weeding.

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crumbling_mice
It's a little ironic, her being the ultimate 60's hippy and lived the dream so to speak. Where is the let people be who they want to be spirit now Grace? The harsh truth for Ms Slick is that, whilst she had a tremendous voice she was the front person more because of the way she looked. Noone could argue that she wasn't an attractive woman, but that fades (time destroys a womans face) and whilst this also applies to men, society doesn;t judge them as harshly - rightly or wrongly.

Being over 50 in musician terms means nothing. The only area it seems to affect is the song writing - not many classic rock songs have been written by anyone over 50. But for the likes of the Stones, Zeppelin and many others, they can still put out shows that thousands will buy tickets for. There is a demand for it and the musicians love playing to an audience. Grace Slick needs to shut the @#$%& up and do some weeding.

You got that right crumbling mice. Although she has the right to say whatever she wants, it's difficult to comprehend why she thinks like that; why the bitterness?
Rock and roll,
Mops

Looking for a great quip of hers I read somewhere but have never been able to find my way back to,...

She was stopped by a cop doing over 100 coming back into Marin somewhere up on the Waldo Grade above Sausalito.

The cop asked her if she knew how fast she was going,...? Her come back was a classic and as obnoxious as could be, that my gray cells just can't seem to regenerate for me.

Happen to know it?

Peanut
PeanutGallery

I don't mind that she mouths off, she just seems to be a bit of an eccentric old crank. I doubt anyone takes her comments seriously.

Hey, PeanutGallery, what happened to your signature blue?

In the Sixties Grace had a great voice. She was beautiful and intelligent.
I knew her and though the Airplane were not necessarily one of my favorite bands I did respect them.

Drugs and booze turned herinto a mess.

Ten years ago, I saw Grace at gallery where she was selling her art. I thought it was fairly awful. It took courage to go up and speak to her. It took her awhile to remember me but finally she did, out of some distant haze. She felt embarassed as though she was thinking, "OMG someone who knew me when I was the real Grace." I felt sad.

Still, she was no more of a mess than Keith was for a very long time.

Keith was and is very lucky to have managed to finally move forward. I'm certainly glad about that.

If I hadn't known the "real Grace," I would be as contemptuous of her as some of these posts here are. To write her off as a "no talent" is not accurate.

She blew it...just like Brian Jones did.

I haven't followed her comments and I'm not really a fan, but I thought that picture on this thread is great. I love when people don't have plastic surgery and have the strength of character to be themselves. If people want to talk about rebellion and standing up for something, to be yourself is one of the rarest qualities in any community, especially show business. So good on her and she deserves plenty of praise for that.

The reason that she makes such comments is because she is shallow, being obsessed with physical beauty, and is excessively age-conscious about it. She is not really the aesthetic-minded hippy that her pop stardom made her out to be, but is really instead the skin-deep model she was before her days with the Jefferson Airplane.

I recall her appearing on the David Letterman show in the mid-80s, where at the beginning of the interview Dave compliments her for her staying power in music and the ability of the Starship to continue turning out big hits, but Grace took the glass half empty view by bemoaning how "everything falls apart", meaning physical qualities, etc. And if you flip open her autobiography it's the same thing, where she will tell you about the horrors of her aging process, of how she gets down on all fours over a mirror to note all the folds and sags, swearing that she'll never get back up on stage looking like she does and that she'd rather just putter about the supermarket in a big frumpy jumper.

All those years her fan thought she was a voice, but she never got over thinking of herself as just a face.

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stonesrule

She blew it...just like Brian Jones did.

Oh, gimmie a break. Grace is fine. And there was a time when most of us shared her belief about the ridiculousness of 50-year-old rock singers. The only reason we've changed our minds about that is that we are all now ourselves over 50. At least she walked the walk, you know? She stayed retired and found other things to do with her life. She didn't say "You'll never catch me singing 'White Rabbit' when I'm 50" only to still be out there singing it today on endless Vegas tours.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013-03-23 20:04 by tatters.

I saw a televised interview with her which must be ten years old and she said the same thing but . . .. She said that Rock and Roll was a young persons medium and that 50 year old people do not belong on a Rock and Roll stage, and most imporatantly, 'myself included!'

She included herself in that comment which was not bitter but wistful. She also gave a pass to our beloved Rolling Stones (who have never said something so controversial(LOL))by calling their continued touring 'poignant.'

At another time she distingushed between some bands who were more rock/jazz/ blues oriented in that they played music as opposed to 'dressing up' and putting on a 'show.'

As for the her current look and age? She did suffer from diverticulitis which put her into a coma for awhile. She looked quite a bit more slim and youthful before that.

One thing I would critize her for is at the concert in Germany when while drunk she started to berate the audience with 'who won war?!?!" Over. And Over.

Berating your audience, a german audience who were not alive dring WW2, was wrong. She was drunk, surprise, but still that was very wrong.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013-03-23 19:57 by deadegad.

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deadegad
b

One thing I would critize her for is at the concert in Germany when while drunk she started to berate the audience with 'who won war?!?!" Over. And Over.

She was singing Wooden Ships. "There's just one thing I've got to know; can you tell me please, who won the war?"






Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 2013-03-23 22:37 by tatters.

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deadegad
I saw a televised interview with her which must be ten years old and she said the same thing but . . .. She said that Rock and Roll was a young persons medium and that 50 year old people do not belong on a Rock and Roll stage, and most imporatantly, 'myself included!'

She included herself in that comment which was not bitter but wistful. She also gave a pass to our beloved Rolling Stones (who have never said something so controversial(LOL))by calling their continued touring 'poignant.'

At another time she distingushed between some bands who were more rock/jazz/ blues oriented in that they played music as opposed to 'dressing up' and putting on a 'show.'

As for the her current look and age? She did suffer from diverticulitis which put her into a coma for awhile. She looked quite a bit more slim and youthful before that.

One thing I would critize her for is at the concert in Germany when while drunk she started to berate the audience with 'who won war?!?!" Over. And Over.

Berating your audience, a german audience who were not alive dring WW2, was wrong. She was drunk, surprise, but still that was very wrong.

She did, really? That's quite a switch from what she was saying in 2002 just ahead of the Licks tour. Jagger was presented with Slick's views in an interview and his response was to say, with a laugh, "That's OK, Grace. You can stay home, and the rest of us will just have a good time."

I think the real challenge in life is to grow old and somehow remain open minded and not become cynical. That's my idea of an impressive "so called" old person. By the way Flilflam I'm in the same boat as you, and I suspect there are many more on this board as well. Let's rock 'til we drop! I'm having fun with it.

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tatters

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stonesrule

She blew it...just like Brian Jones did.

Oh, gimmie a break. Grace is fine. And there was a time when most of us shared her belief about the ridiculousness of 50-year-old rock singers. The only reason we've changed our minds about that is that we are all now ourselves over 50. At least she walked the walk, you know? She stayed retired and found other things to do with her life. She didn't say "You'll never catch me singing 'White Rabbit' when I'm 50" only to still be out there singing it today on endless Vegas tours.

Didn't the punks say the same thing back in the 70's but it was 30 and not 50

What's hard to appreciate now (but might be better able to understand if you find a second hand copy of Lillian Roxon's "Rock Encyclopedia") is how much significance and importance were attached to Grace and the Jefferson Airplane at the end of the 60's.

They were THE San Francisco band in '67, while the Dead were only a footnote by comparison.

No slam on either of the Justins, but Grace and the Airplane were not just pop stars--they were radicals, with an influence on the young and our culture. Grownups considered them threats to every aspect of American society.

When asked about the future in '67, had a great line that went something like, "Our ultimate goal is to get louder!"

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deadegad
I saw a televised interview with her which must be ten years old and she said the same thing but . . .. She said that Rock and Roll was a young persons medium and that 50 year old people do not belong on a Rock and Roll stage, and most imporatantly, 'myself included!'

She included herself in that comment which was not bitter but wistful. She also gave a pass to our beloved Rolling Stones (who have never said something so controversial(LOL))by calling their continued touring 'poignant.'

I saw what was probably the same interview...although I think it was closer to 15 years ago. It was indeed a wistful comment, not bitter at all - and I admire her for sticking to her word.

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stonehearted

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deadegad
I saw a televised interview with her which must be ten years old and she said the same thing but . . .. She said that Rock and Roll was a young persons medium and that 50 year old people do not belong on a Rock and Roll stage, and most imporatantly, 'myself included!'

She included herself in that comment which was not bitter but wistful. She also gave a pass to our beloved Rolling Stones (who have never said something so controversial(LOL))by calling their continued touring 'poignant.'

At another time she distingushed between some bands who were more rock/jazz/ blues oriented in that they played music as opposed to 'dressing up' and putting on a 'show.'

As for the her current look and age? She did suffer from diverticulitis which put her into a coma for awhile. She looked quite a bit more slim and youthful before that.

One thing I would critize her for is at the concert in Germany when while drunk she started to berate the audience with 'who won war?!?!" Over. And Over.

Berating your audience, a german audience who were not alive dring WW2, was wrong. She was drunk, surprise, but still that was very wrong.

She did, really? That's quite a switch from what she was saying in 2002 just ahead of the Licks tour. Jagger was presented with Slick's views in an interview and his response was to say, with a laugh, "That's OK, Grace. You can stay home, and the rest of us will just have a good time."

She has previous on anti-German sentiment. Check out the JA song Never Argue With A German If You're Drunk, off Bark. She obviously didn't listen to her own advice as the concert diatribe was in 78 and the album came out in 71.

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frankotero
I think the real challenge in life is to grow old and somehow remain open minded and not become cynical. That's my idea of an impressive "so called" old person. By the way Flilflam I'm in the same boat as you, and I suspect there are many more on this board as well. Let's rock 'til we drop! I'm having fun with it.

It's jealousy and bitterness that bring out cynicism in old age. If you are well adjusted later in life, you become more appreciative the less you take life and yourself for granted. The years after 60 are said to hold the greatest potential for happiness, whereas the unhappiest period of life is said to be mid-40s.

I'm surprised by this Grace Slick pile-on. Her comments regarding "aging rock stars" are far from obnoxious. In fact, I have read several comments by Mick Jagger in various publications from the sixties in which he states that he cannot imagine singing rock & roll after he reaches 30 years of age. A lot of other musicians from that time (i.e., the sixties) shared that same feeling. Anyone recall the line, "Hope I die before I get old"? I guess these aging rock stars get a pass now because they made their comments when they were young (i.e., before they realized that retirement would mean jumping off the gravy train).

That said, I never understood Jefferson Airplane's popularity. Much less the popularity of Jefferson Starship & Starship. A couple of JA songs are decent (WHITE RABBIT, SOMEBODY TO LOVE) but the rest -- ugh!

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misterfrias
I'm surprised by this Grace Slick pile-on. Her comments regarding "aging rock stars" are far from obnoxious. In fact, I have read several comments by Mick Jagger in various publications from the sixties in which he states that he cannot imagine singing rock & roll after he reaches 30 years of age. A lot of other musicians from that time (i.e., the sixties) shared that same feeling. Anyone recall the line, "Hope I die before I get old"? I guess these aging rock stars get a pass now because they made their comments when they were young (i.e., before they realized that retirement would mean jumping off the gravy train).

That said, I never understood Jefferson Airplane's popularity. Much less the popularity of Jefferson Starship & Starship. A couple of JA songs are decent (WHITE RABBIT, SOMEBODY TO LOVE) but the rest -- ugh!

Anything that remotely offends "our boys" (whether it's real or imagined) always elicits a pile-on from some.

What about world leaders...??



ROCKMAN

I really like her contributions to Marty's song Today from Surrealistic Pillow. Lovely recorder and harmony vocals.

Edit:

Oops! I mean't the recorder on Comin' Back To Me.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013-03-26 11:17 by His Majesty.

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His Majesty
I really like her contributions to Marty's song Today from Surrealistic Pillow. Lovely recorder and harmony vocals.

Isn't that the song Pennebaker messed up at Monterey and showed Grace when Marty was singing the lead?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013-03-24 01:56 by Silver Dagger.

Let's hope "Rockman" doesn't let himself go like this

... No-way!!!! I don't look good in blue ...



ROCKMAN

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Silver Dagger

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His Majesty
I really like her contributions to Marty's song Today from Surrealistic Pillow. Lovely recorder and harmony vocals.

Isn't that the song Pennebaker messed up at Monterey and showed Grace when Marty was singing the lead?

It is.

Beautiful version though, ace use of the rare Baldwin electric harpsichord on that. Grace also played it on Two Heads from After Bathing At Baxters.