Lather (song)

Last updated
"Lather"
Single by Jefferson Airplane
from the album Crown of Creation
A-side "Crown of Creation"
ReleasedSeptember 1968
RecordedFebruary–June 1968
Length2:55
Label RCA Records
Songwriter(s) Grace Slick
Producer(s) Al Schmitt

"Lather", a song by Grace Slick, performed by US rock band Jefferson Airplane, is the opening track on the 1968 album Crown of Creation and was the B-side for the single of the same name. Slick says she wrote the song for the drummer of the group Spencer Dryden, who was at the time twenty-nine years old and her boyfriend. [1] The lyrics tell of a boy who stays as young as possible until one day when he is shattered by having finally to grow up. [2]

Ultimate Classic Rock critic Michael Gallucci rated it Jefferson Airplane's 10th best song, calling it "Grace Slick's gentle poke at people who reach the ripe old age of 30." [3] Gallucci described the music as "a blend of medieval and psychedelic styles, with acoustic instruments brushing up against freak-out sound effects. [3]

The band performed the song during their 1968 appearance on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour . [4]

Upon Dryden's death in 2005, Slick and other band members wrote tributes to Dryden that appeared on the group's website. Slick's ends with the first lines of the song: "Lather was 30 years old today, they took away all of his toys." [5]

Cover versions

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References

  1. Slick, Grace (December 1999). Somebody to love? : a rock-and-roll memoir. Warner Books. p. 119. ISBN   978-0-446-60783-4.
  2. Tamarakin, Jeff (2003). Got a Revolution: The Turbulent Flight of Jefferson Airplane. Simon and Schuster. p. 164. ISBN   0-671-03403-0.
  3. 1 2 Gallucci, Michael (January 28, 2016). "Top 10 Jefferson Airplane songs". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 2025-01-11.
  4. Jefferson Airplane perform "Lather" on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour on YouTube
  5. "Spencer Dryden tribute: 1938-2005". JeffersonAirplane.com. Archived from the original on May 11, 2008. Retrieved May 11, 2008.
  6. Planer, Lindsay. "Morning Dew". Allmusic. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
  7. Lankford Jr., Ronnie D. "Waltz of the Wallflowers (A Dysfunctional Duet)". Allmusic. Retrieved 2025-01-12.