Editing Jefferson Airplane (section)

===1966–1967: Commercial breakthrough===
[[File:KFRC Fantasy Fair Dryden Balin Kantner.png|thumb|Jefferson Airplane performing in June 1967 at the [[Fantasy Fair and Magic Mountain Music Festival]]]]
The following night, Anderson's successor, [[Grace Slick]] made her first appearance.{{sfn|Tamarkin|2003|p=114}} Slick had seen the Airplane at the Matrix in 1965, and her previous group, the Great Society, had often supported them in concert.{{sfn|Tamarkin|2003|pp=95,106}}

Slick's recruitment proved pivotal to the Airplane's commercial breakthrough—she possessed a powerful and supple [[contralto]] voice that complemented Balin's and was well-suited to the group's amplified psychedelic music. A former model, her good looks and stage presence greatly enhanced the group's live impact. "[[White Rabbit (song)|White Rabbit]]" was written by Slick while she was still with The Great Society. The first album she recorded with Jefferson Airplane was ''Surrealistic Pillow'',{{sfn|Tamarkin|2003|p=113}} its 1967 breakout album.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://kxic.iheart.com/content/2017-05-11-hear-the-powerful-isolated-vocals-from-jefferson-airplanes-hits/|author=Basner, Dave|title=Hear The Powerful Isolated Vocals From Jefferson Airplane's Hits|publisher=[[KXIC]] Sports 800|language=en-US|url-status=dead|date=May 11, 2017|access-date=September 10, 2022|archivedate=September 10, 2022|archiveurl=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220910160912/https://kxic.iheart.com/content/2017-05-11-hear-the-powerful-isolated-vocals-from-jefferson-airplanes-hits/}}</ref> Slick provided two songs from her previous group: her own "White Rabbit" and "[[Somebody to Love (Jefferson Airplane song)|Somebody to Love]]", written by her brother-in-law [[Darby Slick]]. Both songs became breakout successes for Jefferson Airplane and have ever since been associated with that band.{{sfn|Tamarkin|2003|p=113}}

The Great Society had recorded an early version of "Somebody to Love" (under the title "Someone to Love") as the B-side of their only single, "Free Advice", produced by Sylvester Stewart (soon to become famous as [[Sly Stone]]). It reportedly took more than 50 takes to achieve a satisfactory rendition. The Great Society split up in late 1966 and played its last show on September 11. Soon after, Slick was asked to join Jefferson Airplane by Casady (whose musicianship was a major influence on her decision) and her Great Society contract was bought out for $750.{{sfn|Tamarkin|2003|p=113}}

In December 1966, Jefferson Airplane was featured in a ''[[Newsweek]]'' article about the booming San Francisco music scene, one of the first in a welter of similar media reports that prompted a massive influx of young people to the city and contributed to the commercialization of hippie culture.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Hertzberg |first=Hendrik |date=August 13, 2013 |title=Newsweek's Glory Days (Mine, Too) |url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/hendrik-hertzberg/newsweeks-glory-days-mine-too |access-date=November 11, 2024 |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |language=en-US |issn=0028-792X |archive-date=November 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241111150010/https://www.newyorker.com/news/hendrik-hertzberg/newsweeks-glory-days-mine-too |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Jefferson Airplane photo 1967.JPG|thumb|left|Publicity photo of Jefferson Airplane, 1967. From left: Jack Casady, Jorma Kaukonen, Marty Balin (seen in window frame), Spencer Dryden, Paul Kantner, Grace Slick.]]
Around the beginning of 1967, [[Bill Graham (promoter)|Bill Graham]] took over from Thompson as manager. In January the group made its first visit to the East Coast. On January 14, alongside the [[Grateful Dead]] and [[Quicksilver Messenger Service]], Jefferson Airplane headlined the "[[Human Be-In]]", the famous all-day "happening" in [[Golden Gate Park]], one of the key events leading up to the "[[Summer of Love]]".

During this period the band gained its first international recognition when rising British pop star [[Donovan]], who saw them during his stint on the U.S. West Coast in early 1966, mentioned the Airplane in his song "The Fat Angel", which subsequently appeared on his ''[[Sunshine Superman (album)|Sunshine Superman]]'' LP.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/beyond-white-rabbit-why-jefferson-airplane-were-one-of-psychedelic-rocks-greatest-bands/ |date=July 20, 2022 |title=Beyond "White Rabbit": Why Jefferson Airplane were one of psychedelic rock's greatest bands |first=Andrew |last=Sacher |access-date=December 2, 2024 |website=brooklynvegan.com |language=en-US |archive-date=June 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230610185554/https://www.brooklynvegan.com/beyond-white-rabbit-why-jefferson-airplane-were-one-of-psychedelic-rocks-greatest-bands/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The group's second LP record|LP, ''[[Surrealistic Pillow]]'', recorded in Los Angeles with producer Rick Jarrard in 13 days at a cost of $8,000, launched the Airplane to international fame. Released in February 1967, the LP entered the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] album chart on March 25 and remained there for over a year, peaking at No. 3. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a [[music recording sales certification|gold disc]].<ref name="The Book of Golden Discs">{{cite book| first= Joseph| last= Murrells| year= 1978| title= The Book of Golden Discs| edition= 2nd| publisher= Barrie and Jenkins Ltd| location= London| page= [https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/224 224]| isbn= 0-214-20512-6| url-access= registration| url= https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/224}}</ref> The name "Surrealistic Pillow" was suggested by the album's informal producer, [[Jerry Garcia]], when he mentioned that, as a whole, the album sounded "as surrealistic as a pillow is soft." Although RCA did not acknowledge Garcia's contributions to the album with a production credit, he is listed in the album's credits as "spiritual advisor."{{sfn|Tamarkin|2003|pp=116-117}}

In addition to the group's two best-known tracks, "White Rabbit" and "Somebody to Love", the album featured "My Best Friend" by former drummer Skip Spence, Balin's driving blues-rock songs "Plastic Fantastic Lover" and "3/5 of a Mile in 10 Seconds", and the atmospheric Balin-Kantner ballad "[[Today (Jefferson Airplane song)|Today]]". A reminder of their earlier folk incarnation was Kaukonen's solo acoustic guitar ''tour de force'' "[[Embryonic Journey (instrumental)|Embryonic Journey]]" (his first composition), which referenced contemporary acoustic guitar masters such as [[John Fahey (musician)|John Fahey]] and helped to establish the popular genre exemplified by acoustic guitarist [[Leo Kottke]].{{citation needed|date=September 2022}}

The first single from the album, "My Best Friend", failed to chart, but the next two rocketed the group to prominence. Both "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit" became major U.S. hits, the former reaching No. 5 and the latter No. 8 on the Billboard singles chart. By late 1967 the Airplane were national and international stars and had become one of the hottest groups in America. Grace Slick biographer Barbara Rowes called the album "a declaration of independence from the establishment [-] What Airplane originated was a [[romanticism]] for the electronic age. Unlike the highly homogenized harmonies of the [[The Beach Boys|Beach Boys]], Airplane never strived for a synthesis of its divergent sensibilities. Through [-] each song, there remain strains of the individual styles of the musicians [creating] unusual breadth and original interplay within each structure".<ref>{{cite book |first=Barbara |last=Rowes |title=Grace Slick |page=74 |publisher=Doubleday |date=1980 |isbn=0-385-13390-1}}</ref>
[[File:Jefferson Airplane - Cash Box 1967.jpg|thumb|Jefferson Airplane on the cover of ''[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cash Box]]'', 29 July 1967.  Clockwise from top right: Paul Kantner, Marty Balin, Jack Casady, Grace Slick, Spencer Dryden, Jorma Kaukonen]]
This phase of the Airplane's career peaked with their famous performance at the [[Monterey Pop Festival|Monterey International Pop Festival]] in June 1967.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Tannenbaum |first=Rob |date=May 26, 2017 |title=The Oral History of Monterey Pop, Where Jimi Torched His Ax & Janis Became a Star: Art Garfunkel, Steve Miller, Lou Adler & More |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/features/monterey-pop-oral-history-jimi-hendrix-janis-joplin-7809491/ |access-date=November 11, 2024 |magazine=Billboard |language=en-US |archive-date=November 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241111173053/https://www.billboard.com/music/features/monterey-pop-oral-history-jimi-hendrix-janis-joplin-7809491/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Monterey showcased leading bands from several major music "scenes" including New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and the United Kingdom, and the resulting TV and film coverage gave national (and international) exposure to groups that had previously had only regional fame.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Allen |first=Jim |date=June 16, 2017 |title=How the Monterey Pop Festival Changed Music Forever |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/monterey-pop-festival/ |access-date=November 11, 2024 |website=Ultimate Classic Rock |language=en-US |archive-date=November 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241111172826/https://ultimateclassicrock.com/monterey-pop-festival/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Two songs from the Airplane's set were subsequently included in the [[D. A. Pennebaker]] film documentary of the event.{{sfn|Tamarkin|2003|p=141}}

In August 1967, the Airplane performed in [[Montreal]], Quebec, Canada, at two free outdoor concerts, along with fellow Bay Area band the [[Grateful Dead]]. The first concert was held in downtown Montreal at [[Place Ville Marie]], and the second was at the Youth Pavilion of [[Expo 67]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://expo67.ncf.ca/expo_67_youth_pavilion_extra_2.html |title=August 6, 1967: Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead performed at the Youth Pavilion at Expo 67 |website=Expo 67 in Montreal |first=John |last=Whelan |access-date=October 27, 2017 |language=en-US |archive-date=October 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201005175024/http://expo67.ncf.ca/expo_67_youth_pavilion_extra_2.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Airplane also benefited greatly from appearances on national network TV shows such as ''[[The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson]]'' on NBC and ''[[The Ed Sullivan Show]]'' on CBS. The Airplane's famous appearance on ''[[The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour]]'' performing "White Rabbit" and "Somebody to Love" was videotaped in color and augmented by developments in video techniques. It has been frequently re-screened and is notable for its pioneering use of the [[Chroma key]] process to simulate the Airplane's psychedelic light show.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=September 29, 2021 |title='White Rabbit' Enters 'The Matrix': From Vague Pitch to 'Stunning' Result and 'Significant' Payday |first=Steve |last=Knopper |url=https://www.billboard.com/pro/matrix-trailer-white-rabbit-synch-jefferson-airplane-manager-member/ |access-date=November 12, 2024 |magazine=Billboard |language=en-US |archive-date=November 12, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241112235233/https://www.billboard.com/pro/matrix-trailer-white-rabbit-synch-jefferson-airplane-manager-member/ |url-status=live }}</ref>