Classic Pop Icons

Jefferson Airplane’s 1969 rocker “Volunteers” is “Song of the Week” on Classic Pop Icons. “Volunteers” was released on single in September 1969, backed with “We Can Be Together.” It was also the title track for the band’s fifth studio album which was released two months later.

The idea for “Volunteers” came about in a rather mundane context. Marty Balin has said that he saw “Volunteers for America” written on the side of a garbage truck outside his house. What Balin presumably saw was an ad for the Volunteers for America nonprofit organisation which provides programmes to support the vulnerable and needy in American society. The organisation was founded in 1896 by Ballington Booth and his wife Maud Booth. Ballington’s father was General William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army.

“Volunteers” was written at the height of the Vietnam conflict and it serves as a rallying call to get actively involved in helping to overhaul what many saw as a misguided approach to foreign policy. In a 2010 interview with the Music Illuminati website, co-author, Paul Kantner, said:

This notion of getting involved was exemplified by the Woodstock Festival, which took place just days before “Volunteers” was released on single. Jefferson Airplane appeared at the festival and featured a powerful performance of the song in their set.

“Volunteers” – Jefferson Airplane (Live at Woodstock)

Fresh from their festival performance, the band also played the song on the so-called Woodstock edition of the Dick Cavett television show, which also featured David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Joni Mitchell.

Central to the song’s success is the combination of the great guitar riff, Balin and Grace Slick’s passionate vocals, and the instantly memorable “Got a revolution, got to revolution” hook between each line of the verses. It doesn’t matter that the song’s overall lyrical content is a little flimsy, because that hook captures the listener and conveys the intended message.

“Volunteers” – Jefferson Airplane

Recording date/location

“Volunteers” was recorded in April 1969 at Wally Heider Studios, San Francisco.

Musicians

The following musicians appeared on “Volunteers”:

• Grace Slick – vocals, piano
• Marty Balin – vocals, percussion
• Paul Kantner – vocals, rhythm guitar
• Jorma Kaukonen – lead guitar, vocals
• Jack Casady – bass
• Spencer Dryden – drums, percussion
• Nicky Hopkins – piano.

Nicky Hopkins was an English session musician who had worked with some of the leading acts of the era, including The Kinks, The Who and The Rolling Stones.

“Volunteers” was the final Jefferson Airplane album with the classic line-up as lead vocalist Marty Balin and drummer Spencer Dryden both left the group.

Marty Balin, Jorma Kaukonen, Paul Kantner, Spencer Dryden, Grace Slick, Jack Casady

Chart performance

“Volunteers” peaked at a disappointing number 65 on the Billboard Hot 100 on December 14, 1969. This was the band’s seventh single in a row to miss the Top 40 after the back-to-back Top 10 successes of “Somebody to Love” and “White Rabbit” in 1967.

The album “Volunteers” did better, peaking at number 13 on the Billboard album chart.

There will be a new Song of the Week on November 28.

“Volunteers” features on the “Volunteers” album which can be found on the 2-CD 2009 release “Jefferson Airplane Woodstock Experience,” along with the band’s complete live performance at the Woodstock Festival.

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