How “Somebody to Love” Actually Went Against the Social Movement That Jefferson Airplane Led in the 1960s

With their psychedelic flavor of rock ‘n’ roll and their San Francisco homebase, Jefferson Airplane was an easy shoo-in to be the figureheads of the counterculture movement of the late 1960s. Songs like “White Rabbit” and “Somebody To Love” became synonymous with the Summer of Love and the entire culture emanating from the corner of Haight-Ashbury, thanks to their driving energy and, in the case of the former track, references to mind-bending experiences and trips.

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However, “Somebody To Love” seemed to earn its association with the counterculture movement by sheer proximity. The song’s original intention wasn’t to celebrate the “free love” movement that the late 1960s nurtured. In fact, songwriter Darby Slick, brother-in-law to Jefferson Airplane frontwoman Grace Slick, was writing about the exact opposite when he came up with “Somebody To Love”.

Darby’s intentions were clearer in the first version of his song, which he performed alongside Grace in their band, The Great Society. When Grace left the band to join Jefferson Airplane, she brought “Somebody To Love” along with her, and the psychedelic rockers brought new energy, power, and, in turn, meaning to the iconic track.

“Somebody to Love” Directly Contradicted the Free Love Movement

The late 1960s counterculture movement on the West Coast saw a rise in polygamy, sexual exploration, and experimentation. Society was noticeably shifting away from traditional relationship values of monogamy and post-marital-only sex. But not everyone was willing to dive headfirst into polyamory, and that included songwriter Darby Slick.

According to Rob Chapman’s Psychedelia and Other Colours, Slick was coming down off an LSD trip in the early hours of the morning when he came up with “Somebody To Love”. He had been waiting to hear from his girlfriend all night, but she never called. Slick was feeling irritated, lonely, and frustrated, which he translated into the lyrics of the future Jefferson Airplane hit. “When the truth is found to be lies, and all the joy within you dies / Don’t you want somebody to love? / Don’t you need somebody to love?”

The rest of the song expounds on these feelings of alienation and loneliness, asking the listener, ‘Wouldn’t it be better if you had a committed relationship to fall back on? Isn’t that better than wandering around, searching for something fleeting and superficial?’ Within the greater context of the Summer of Love, this idea seemed downright square. Nevertheless, the public latched onto the track.

Specifically, the public fell in love with Jefferson Airplane’s version, which came out the following year. The harder, more aggressive rendition of Slick’s song peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became synonymous with the West Coast sound of the late 60s.

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