Who is the real queen of rock and roll? There is no official answer, of course, but the first names that usually come to mind in response to this question are Tina Turner , Stevie Nicks , Janis Joplin …and obviously, Grace Slick . Slick wasn't just an iconic singer; her songwriting skills also helped Jefferson Airplane become one of the most significant bands of the 1960s. Case in point? Without Slick, there would have been no song called "White Rabbit.".
Released as a single from the 1967 album Jefferson Airplane Surrealistic Pillow , the song "White Rabbit" became Jefferson Airplane's second top ten hit, peaking at number 8 on the Billboard chart Hot 100 in July of that year. But the song wasn't originally intended to be a Jefferson Airplane hit—in fact, Slick wrote it about an hour before joining the group, inspired by the psychedelic scene.» Alice in Wonderland » Lewis Carroll and Spanish music. .
«"In all the fairy tales that are read to little girls, there is a Prince Charming who comes and rescues them," Slick said in an interview The Guardian in 2021. - But in Alice in Wonderland« "That didn't happen. Alice was alone, and she found herself in a very strange place, but she kept going and followed her curiosity—that's the White Rabbit. Many women could learn a lesson from this story about how to advance their own interests.".
«"The 1960s reminded me of Wonderland," Slick continued. "Like Alice, I encountered all sorts of strange characters, but I felt comfortable. I wrote 'White Rabbit' on a red piano that cost me about $50. It was missing eight or ten keys, but that was okay because I could hear notes in my head that weren't there. I used that piano to write a few different songs. When I started making money, I bought a better piano.".
As Slick explained, "The line 'feed your mind' is about both reading and psychedelics. I was talking about feeding your mind by paying attention: read books, pay attention." The singer continued, acknowledging that "the song is a little dark. It doesn't say everything is going to be perfect. The Red Queen screams 'off with her head!' and 'the White Knight speaks backwards.' Lewis Carroll was thinking about how things work and who rules us.".
The song "White Rabbit" was not only important to Slick at the time, but remained important to her throughout her life, both symbolically and financially.
Grace Slick, Marty Balin. Photo by Ron Pownall, Getty Images.
«"I was born in the Year of the Rabbit, and all sorts of things have happened to me that involve a white rabbit," Slick said. "It's almost like witchcraft. My house caught fire… the only thing that survived was a ceramic white rabbit. I still have ceramic white rabbits in my house, and people send me white rabbits today.".
«"White Rabbit has been collecting royalties for over 50 years. And I can still pay my bills with this song. Now that's a good song!" she joked.
Slick isn't the only one who considers "White Rabbit" a "good song." Besides topping the charts when it was released, the song has achieved legendary status in pop culture. It was ranked number 455 on the list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" by Rolling Stone , was included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's list of "500 Songs That Shaped Rock 'n' Roll" and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998. What's more, many people still listen to it after all these years: as of this writing, it has been streamed over 300 million times on Spotify. .
On the topic: "The most hated song in human history" has been listened to hundreds of millions of times.
This article was originally published by Parade on May 30, 2026, in the Entertainment section. Add Parade to your list of recommended sources by clicking here.