Mexico (Jefferson Airplane song)
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| “Mexico” | |||||
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| Single by Jefferson Airplane | |||||
| B-side | Have You Seen the Saucers? | ||||
| Released | May, 1970 | ||||
| Format | 7" Vinyl | ||||
| Recorded | February, 1970 at Pacific High Recording, San Francisco and Wally Heider Studios, San Francisco | ||||
| Label | RCA | ||||
| Producer | Jefferson Airplane | ||||
| Jefferson Airplane singles chronology | |||||
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"Mexico" is a single released in May 1970 by the San Francisco rock band Jefferson Airplane. Written and sung by Grace Slick, it is a rant against then President Richard Nixon and his anti-drug initiative Operation Intercept which he had implemented to cutrail the flow of marijuana into the United States from Mexico.
Phill Sawyer was the recording engineer for the song and recounts his experience here.
The song received little radio air play, leading many conspiracy-minded fans[who?] to believe that it had either been banned by the FCC for promoting illegal drug use or suppressed by the 'Nixxon' (an allusion to Exxon) administration.
Five months after the release of "Mexico" President Nixon did request that songs relating to drug abuse not be broadcast[1], the Nixon administration did attempt to influence broadcast media[2], and songs have been banned for various reasons [3][4], but except for a brief comment by Bill Thompson in the liner notes accompanying the 1974 LP album Early Flight, no evidence has been found that "Mexico" received any special notice.
"Mexico" and its B-Side, "Have You Seen the Saucers" were not released on the next Airplane album, as the demo sessions for the planned 1970 studio album ended up morphing into Paul Kantner's Blows Against the Empire project. The two tracks were later released on the Early Flight compilation in 1974, and "Have You Seen the Saucers" appeared as the opening track of the live album Thirty Seconds Over Winterland, released in 1973.
[edit] Personnel
Mexico
- Grace Slick - Piano / Vocals
- Marty Balin - Vocals
- Paul Kantner - Rhythm Guitar / Vocals
- Jorma Kaukonen - Lead Guitar
- Jack Casady - Bass
- Joey Covington - Drums / Percussion
Have You Seen the Saucers?
- Grace Slick - Piano / Vocals
- Marty Balin - Vocals
- Paul Kantner - Rhythm Guitar / Vocals
- Jorma Kaukonen - Lead Guitar
- Jack Casady - Bass
- Spencer Dryden - Drums / Percussion
- Joey Covington – Conga / Bells
[edit] References
Tamarkin, Jeff. Liner Notes for Jefferson Airplane Loves You, RCA Records, 1992
Thompson, Bill. Liner Notes for Early Flight, RCA Records, 1974
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