"Somebody to Love" (originally titled "Someone to Love") is a rock song that was written by Darby Slick. It was originally recorded by The Great Society, and later by Jefferson Airplane. Rolling Stone magazine ranked Jefferson Airplane's version No. 274 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Video Somebody to Love (Jefferson Airplane song)
Background
Written by The Great Society guitarist Darby Slick after realizing his girlfriend had left him, and first performed by that band, which included his then-sister-in-law Grace Slick on vocals, the song made little impact outside of the club circuit in the Bay Area. The song was released in 1966 as a single with the B-side another Darby Slick composition titled "Free Advice" on the North Beach subsidiary of Autumn Records, and received minimal circulation outside of San Francisco. San Francisco in the mid-'60s was the epicenter of free love, but Darby Slick saw a downside to this ethos, as it could lead to jealousy and disconnect. This song champions loyalty and monogamy, as the singer implores us to find that one true love that will nurture us and get us through the tough times.
Maps Somebody to Love (Jefferson Airplane song)
Rerecording
When Grace Slick departed to join Jefferson Airplane, she took this song with her, bringing it to the Surrealistic Pillow sessions, along with her own composition "White Rabbit". Subsequently, the Airplane's more ferocious rock and roll version became the band's first and biggest success; the single by Jefferson Airplane scored at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. Jefferson Airplane's first hit song, "Somebody To Love" was also one of the first big hits to come out of the US West Coast counterculture scene. Over the next few years, musicians flocked to the San Francisco Bay Area to be part of this scene. The original version of this song that Grace Slick sang with The Great Society is more subdued. With Jefferson Airplane she sounds far more accusatory and menacing when she belts out lines like "Your mind is so full of red" and "Your friends, baby, they treat you like a guest."
"Somebody to Love" was also a track on their influential album released in February 1967, Surrealistic Pillow. The lyrics are in the second person, with each two-line verse setting a scene of alienation and despair, and the chorus repeating the title of the song, with slight variations such as: "... / Don't you need somebody to love? / Wouldn't you love somebody to love? / ..." Like the album on which it appeared, this song was instrumental in publicizing the existence of the Haight-Ashbury counterculture to the rest of the United States.
Chart history
Personnel
- Grace Slick - lead vocals
- Marty Balin - tambourine, backing vocals
- Jorma Kaukonen - lead guitar (Gibson ES-335)
- Paul Kantner - rhythm guitar (Rickenbacker 360/12)
- Jack Casady - bass (Fender Precision Bass)
- Spencer Dryden - drums
Boogie Pimps version
It was the debut single by German electronic music duo Boogie Pimps. It is a remixed version of the song. It was released on 11 January 2004 and reached number three on the UK Singles Chart. The song features uncredited vocals of Danish singer Mariah Webster in place of Grace Slick's vocals.
Music video
The song is also well known for its iconic music video, which was an instant hit in the UK. It features several infants sky diving out of an aeroplane towards a giant woman (Natasha Mealey) lying on a grassy hill country landscape in her underwear, singing the song. One of the babies cries as his parachute malfunctions and he lands on the woman's breast, causing him to bounce and survive the fall. This is proven by the seven babies being apparent before and after the parachute jump, in a star formation, and sitting on her left breast after landing on her waist and breast area. The video ends with the woman taking a giant baby bottle and squirting milk all over the camera.
Other versions
- Japanese rock band The Mops covered it on their 1968 debut album Psychedelic Sounds in Japan.
- Aguaturbia covered the song in 1969 on their self-titled debut LP. Their cover version is titled "Alguien Para Amar".
- The Lambrettas (a British mod-revival band) released "Somebody to Love" as a single on Elton John's Rocket label in 1982.
- Irish band In Tua Nua covered the song in 1985.
- South African Hi-NRG group Café Society covered the song in 1984.
- It was covered by Angry Samoans on their 1986 EP, Yesterday Started Tomorrow (with some lyric changes).
- The Serbian hard rock band Cactus Jack recorded a version on their live cover album DisCover in 2002.
- The song also received cover versions by Mother's Finest.
- Great White covered it in 1992 on their album Psycho City.
- W.A.S.P. in their 1995's album Still Not Black Enough.
- The Ramones (with background vocals by Traci Lords) on their 1993 cover album Acid Eaters.
- Jim Carrey on the soundtrack of the film The Cable Guy.
- In 2003 by Boogie Pimps (No. 3 UK) with the music video featuring Natasha Mealey.
- Salsoul Orchestra on the album Salsoul Orchestra.
- Kasabian covered it on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge.
- Lo-Fi artist Zola Jesus covered it, featuring Dead Luke
- Chaud covered the song on her 2010 EP The Black Market Revealed
- Alice Gold covered the song on BBC Radio 2.
- Russian band Mumiy Troll covered the song in 2010.
- Marcella Detroit, as Marcy Levy, covered the song on the American Pop Soundtrack.
- Barbara and Ernie covered the song on their 1971 folk/funk album "Prelude to..."
- Mandy Morton of Spriguns of Tolgus on her 1983 solo album "Valley of Light"
- Saint Privat released a single cover in 2006, also featured in their album Superflu.
- Agent Orange covered the song on their album "When you Least Expect It".
- In 2015, The Jefferson Airplane version was heavily sampled by House producers, Mr. Belt & Wezol and Freejak, released on Spinnin' Deep.
- In 2015, DeAnna Johnson covered the song on The Voice.
- In 2017, the chorus melody was incorporated into the theme music for the film The Boss Baby by Hans Zimmer and Steve Mazzaro
- Perhaps coincidentally, in 1967 the Beatles released "With a little help from my friends" - which when the lyrics "I need somebody to love" and "I want somebody to love" are sung, the music is the same as is sung in this song for the words "somebody to love".
References
External links
- Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
Source of article : Wikipedia
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