30 Amazing Photos of Grace Slick in the 1970s

Grace Slick (born October 30, 1939) is an American painter and musician whose musical career spanned four decades. She was a prominent figure in San Francisco’s psychedelic music scene during the mid-1960s to the early 1970s.

In the early 1970s, Jefferson Airplane, the band that made her famous in the 1960s with hits like “White Rabbit” and “Somebody to Love,” began to fragment. Slick and bandmate Paul Kantner transitioned into a new group, Jefferson Starship, in 1974. Their 1975 album Red Octopus (featuring “Miracles”) became a major hit, bringing Slick back to mainstream success. She continued as the lead vocalist, her powerful contralto voice defining the band’s evolving, more radio-friendly sound.

Grace was a symbol of female rebellion in a male-dominated rock world. Known for her witty, outspoken personality, she didn’t shy away from controversy, often making bold political or social statements on stage and in interviews. Her look shifted through the decade: from psychedelic bohemian in the early 1970s to a more glam and sophisticated style later on, reflecting the musical evolution of her band.

Grace’s wild lifestyle — heavy drinking, drug use, and onstage unpredictability — made her both a legend and a lightning rod. In 1978, she was fired from Jefferson Starship after erratic performances, including an infamous concert in Germany where she insulted the audience while drunk. She later got sober and returned to the band in the early 1980s.

By 1979, Grace Slick was seen as one of rock’s great survivors, a figure who had successfully bridged the psychedelic ’60s and the arena-rock ’70s. She was one of the few female rock vocalists to maintain creative control and star power throughout that decade.