| "Lather" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Song by Jefferson Airplane from the album Crown of Creation | ||||
| Released | September, 1968 | |||
| Recorded | February-June 1968 | |||
| Genre | Psychedelic rock, acid rock, folk rock | |||
| Length | 2:57 | |||
| Label | RCA | |||
| Writer | Grace Slick | |||
| Producer | Al Schmitt | |||
| Crown of Creation track listing | ||||
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Lather is a song by the American rock band Jefferson Airplane. It is the opening track on the 1968 album Crown of Creation and was the B-Side for the single of the same name.
The song's lyrics tell of a man named Lather, who has just turned 30 years old and is coming to the realization that the world expects him to grow up. The song was written for Jefferson Airplane drummer Spencer Dryden's 30th birthday. However, the lines
"But Lather still finds it a nice thing to do,
To lie about nude in the sand,
Drawing pictures of mountains that look like bumps,
And thrashing the air with his hands."
actually refer to the occasion when bassist Jack Casady was arrested nude on a beach in Santa Cruz, California, while on drugs.
The composer, Grace Slick, was actually poking fun at Dryden, her lover at the time, because he was the first person in the band to reach the milestone age of thirty. Thirty years old was considered to be a "boring" age by contemporaries, as a person had grown up and could no longer have fun. The song is also notable for its very distinct arrangement.
The band performed the song in their 1968 appearance on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. It is seen as a music video for the song as it features psychedelic effects.[1]