After David Crosby's death one of my siblings found an interesting video that he shared with us. It was from 1969, a Dick Cavett episode right after Woodstock when the Jefferson Airplane played and then stayed for interview and David Crosby and Stephen Stills joined them. It was a wonderful trip back in time to watch it.
After watching it, it made me wonder if Grace Slick was still alive. So of course I googled around and found that she is very much still alive and is 83 years old. I read a bit more about her and found something that surprised me so much I just had to share it here. Back in the late 1960s she and Abbie Hoffman went to Washington D.C. to meet with the then President Richard Nixon. Here's what the New York Times wrote about it back then:
"WASHINGTON, April 24— Abbie Hoffman, the Yippie leader who was a defendant in the Chicago Seven trial was turned away from the White House today when he tried to attend a tea given by Tricia Nixon.
He was accompanying Grace Slick of the Jefferson Airplane, a rock group. Miss Slick had been invited to the event, which was given for alumnae of Finch College.
Mr. Hoffman, conserva tively dressed and without his beard, said he was Miss Slick's “bodyguard and es cort,” but a White House Policeman would not permit him to enter the grounds, saying, “This is strictly for females.
Mr. Hoffman brought out a black flag emblazoned with a multicolored marijuana leaf and hung it on the White House gate. It was quickly removed by a White House policeman. The singer and Mr. Hoffman ran across the street and were driven away by a member of the Jefferson Airplane."
The one thing that the article doesn't mention is that they supposedly had a plan to dose the President with LSD. There were several links that I did not go to, but I was so surprised to see such headlines. We'll never know if it was true, I suppose, but it doesn't really surprise me given the times back then.
So, one more take away from making this discovery is that I added a new handshake to my collection.
I now have Grace Slick and so many musicians from those days, thanks to
my weekend of chauffeuring Abbie Hoffman around for the Kerouac
Conference in Boulder, Colorado in 1982.
That was fun watching, how young and how innocent they all were and claiming Woodstock was probably "the strangest thing in the whole world" when at the time, and possibly still, outside the US and the western world, only a very small portion of the rest of the whole world knew about it.
ReplyDeleteSabine-- Yes, so young and innocent back in the day. It never occurred to me that Woodstock was not a world-known event. It's so true. It was big here, but way off the radar in the rest of the world. I love it!
DeleteI didn't know about Grace and Abbie going to the White House, but I like the story. Gotta smile about how it played out. Give Tricky Dicky LSD? Oh those crazy kids!
ReplyDeleteAllyBean-- I didn't know about that little adventure either. So interesting discovering these things so many years later.
DeleteI'd never heard that story! Crazy times. Abbie Hoffman was a piece of work. As for Grace Slick, there could never have been a Jefferson Airplane without her.
ReplyDeleteSteve-- I'm not sure how I missed that story back in the day. I was so engaged with the anti-war movement back then. Grace Slick was definitely an essential part of Jefferson Airplane. Seeing a pic of her with Abbie Hoffman really surprised me.
DeleteThat's interesting, Robin. You led a much more exciting life than I did! :)
ReplyDeleteI was sad that Crosby mentioned air pollution and we still haven't found the solutions to those problems!
EllenD-- I was the volunteer coordinator at Naropa Institute in Boulder, Co in 1982 when they were planning the Kerouac Conference. I set up scheduled speakers with local people who would help them get around. I chose to get Abbie Hoffman and his partner to the events and to the airport.
DeleteWhat a weekend that must have been!
ReplyDeleteColette-- It was a truly an unforgettable time. I will always be grateful that I was in Boulder, Co when Naropa Institute was planning the Kerouac Conference.
DeleteI lived on Masonic just up from the Jefferson Airplane house-
ReplyDeletewhen i walked by I walked on the other side of the street- the house looked menacing and scary. They were too high ! I love the clip, Crosby articulate and right on target. Those days....
Linda Sue-- I love knowing that you lived on Masonic just up the street from the Jefferson Airplane house. I bet they were very high... all the time! Yes, Crosby was definitely right on target and it's been more than 50 years since he spoke those words.
DeleteThose were the days, my friend, as the song says. Imagine you driving Abbie Hoffman around! What a strange small world we live in.
ReplyDeleteGranny Sue-- Yes, those were the days. We had so much hope. It was really a wonderful experience to drive Abbie Hoffman and his partner Johanna Lawrenson around during their few days in Boulder.
DeleteThose were most definitely the days. Amazingly, some of them I can even remember.
ReplyDeleteCatalyst-- Yes, those were most definitely the days. I can remember a few of them too!
DeleteWonderful addition to your handshake collection!
ReplyDeleteIn the year following the euphoria of Woodstock, I'm remembering there was, among other events, the Altamont Speedway murder, the Kent State murders, invasion of Cambodia, the deaths of Jimi Hendrix and then Janis Joplin, both of whom were mentioned light-heartedly in the discussion with Dick Cavett. I remember participating in the anti-war events and waiting for R to return from Vietnam, attending concerts in San Francisco, listening to Joni Mitchell and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, and, of course, Bob Dylan. I was 19 in August 1969, sustained by the music of the times. Many of our lives took a dark turn in the years that followed. I'm grateful to be alive.
am-- I remember how the shootings at Kent State changed the ambiance of the times. The '60s attempt at awakening drew to a violent and horrific close. It's never been the same. Still the music from that era captured the beauty and hopes of the times. I was 17 in August 1969 and so full of dreams. I am grateful to be alive.
ReplyDeleteI had heard that story about the intended LSD. Supposedly they had it affixed to the underside of their fingernails and would "flick" it free over the drinks. Don't know how true that was or if it was one more made-up story to discredit the guests. Fortunately, Nixon did enuf to discredit himself.
ReplyDeletePaul-- Wow, that's an interesting story about the LSD dosing idea. I wish Grace Slick would talk about this sometime. Highly unlikely.
DeleteI must have missed reading about your handshake collection, Robin, and admittedly it seems unusual to me. So, how do you manage such a unique collection? Thanks for the link to how Paul McCartney wrote E Rigby.
ReplyDeleteBeatrice-- Interesting question about how I manage such a unique collection. I don't really have an answer. I don't keep a list, although now I wish I had.
DeleteI was saddened to hear of his death, I still remember Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young sadly though I don't have any albums now, I'll have to rectify that
ReplyDeleteBilly-- We still have some of CSN&Y's old music. Crosby had his own album, If Only I Could Remember My Name released in 1971. We have that too. He was really quite a good musician and song-writer.
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