“It just doesn’t match”: Grace Slick on why rock stars should retire at 50
The world of rock and roll is invariably tied to youth. From the early days of the genre, the greatest moments in rock were being perpetrated by rebellious young people, challenging the status quo of the world around them. Never was this more true than within the psychedelic rock scene and hippie counterculture of the late 1960s. For the first time, rock was being used as a form of social protest, mainly against the prevalence of conservative attitudes in the United States, and the ongoing conflict in Vietnam. Within this scene, there were few figures more rebellious than Grace Slick and Jefferson Airplane.
After joining the ranks of San Francisco’s premier psych rock outfit, Jefferson Airplane, in 1966, Slick quickly established herself as the archetypal hippie queen. Not only was Slick among the greatest vocalists of that period, she also embodied the spirit of youthful rebellion and the hippie generation. From attempting to sneak LSD into the White House with Abbie Hoffman, to battling with the Hell’s Angels at Altamont Free Concert in 1969, Slick defined the attitude of American youth during the 1960s.
Tragically, though, youth is fleeting. Just as the summer of love would not last forever, Slick would eventually have to come to terms with the ageing process. Sure, she could have joined the growing number of people who attempt to recapture their youth by touring and performing well into old age, but that would not have suited the strict principles of the vocalist. No, Slick retired at the age of 50, and she has since stated that all other rock stars should do the same.
During a 1998 interview with VH1, the Jefferson Airplane and Starship singer derisively stated, “All rock-and-rollers over the age of 50 look stupid and should retire”. In fairness, it is difficult to disagree with Slick here – watching Pete Townshend perform ‘My Generation’ as a 78-year-old is a frankly ridiculous and depressing affair. Later, in an interview with WENN, she expanded upon these views, saying, “There’s something about old people singing rock ’n’ roll lyrics that bothers me – it just doesn’t match”.
For Slick, one band in particular inspired this epiphany in her. “I saw a film of Fleetwood Mac doing something,” she recalled, “and I was okay as long as I didn’t look at them. I couldn’t look at them,” adding, “They sounded great, and if I looked away and imagined young people singing I was okay with it”. Conversely, the singer is seemingly okay with The Rolling Stones continuing to perform into their 70s, saying, “the way they acted, the way they sang, the musicianship, just worked really well”.
Obviously, Slick’s attitudes towards old-age rock and roll are likely influenced by the disappointment of her later career. During the 1980s, performing with Starship, she produced some of her most commercially successful tracks, including ‘We Built This City’ and ‘Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now’. While they might have given Slick some success, these tracks were quite the departure from Airplane tracks like ‘White Rabbit’ or ‘Volunteers’, feeling distinctly more sanitised and middle-of-the-road. Slick is clearly embarrassed about the work she created with Starship, once revealing, “I went 10 years past where I should have gone. I should have stopped at about 38, 39”.
Following her retirement from music, Slick has largely devoted herself to painting and drawing, and generally living a quiet life away from the excesses of rock and roll. However, she has performed twice with Jefferson Starship following her retirement, once in 1995 and once in 2001. For the most part, though, Slick has kept to her promise of retiring at 50, while many of her 1960s contemporaries have resigned themselves to reunion tours and getting wheeled out onto an arena stage night after night.