Lather (song)
"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.
"Lather" | |
---|---|
Song by Jefferson Airplane | |
from the album Crown of Creation | |
Released | September 1968 |
Recorded | February–June 1968 |
Length | 2:57 |
Label | RCA Records |
Songwriter(s) | Grace Slick |
Producer(s) | Al Schmitt |
The band performed the song during their 1968 appearance on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.[2]
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."[3]
Cover versions
- Tom Constanten performs a solo piano instrumental cover of this song on his album Morning Dew.
- Small Potatoes performed as part of a medley "Lather Danish Misfortune Mad Mouth" on their album Waltz of the Wallflowers (A Dysfunctional Duet).
References
- Slick, Grace (December 1999). Somebody to love? : a rock-and-roll memoir. Warner Books. p. 119. ISBN 978-0-446-60783-4.
- Jefferson Airplane perform "Lather" on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour on YouTube
- "Spencer Dryden tribute: 1938-2005". JeffersonAirplane.com. Archived from the original on May 11, 2008. Retrieved May 11, 2008.
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