Suvarna Garge (Editor)

Today (Jefferson Airplane song)

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Released
  
1967 (1967)

Recorded
  
November 2, 1966

Label
  
RCA Victor

Format
  
LP record

Length
  
3:02

Genre
  
Folk rock, psychedelic rock

"Today" is a folk rock ballad written by Marty Balin and Paul Kantner from the band Jefferson Airplane. It first appeared on their breakthrough album, Surrealistic Pillow, with a live version later appearing on the expanded rerelease of Bless Its Pointed Little Head. Marty Balin said, "I wrote it to try to meet Tony Bennett. He was recording in the next studio. I admired him, so I thought I'd write him a song. I never got to meet him, but the Airplane ended up doing it." Jerry Garcia plays the simple, repetitive but poignant lead guitar riff on the song.

Contents

Personnel

  • Marty Balin - Lead vocals, tambourine
  • Grace Slick - Vocals
  • Jorma Kaukonen - Guitar
  • Paul Kantner - Guitar, vocals
  • Jack Casady - Bass
  • Spencer Dryden - Drums
  • Jerry Garcia - Lead guitar

    • Cover versions

  • Tom Scott covered the song on his 1967 album, Honeysuckle Breeze. The song features a quicker tempo than the Jefferson Airplane version and also features a long saxophone solo. The song also appears in the episode, "Riley Wuz Here" of the animated television series, The Boondocks. Parts of the saxophone solo were sampled in the Pete Rock & CL Smooth song They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.).
  • Black Sheep samples the song on "Similak Child" from their 1991 album, A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing.
  • Balin released a new version on his 1999 solo album, Marty Balin Greatest Hits.
  • RenĂ©e Fleming also covered it on her 2010 album Dark Hope.
  • Norwegian avant-garde musicians Ulver covered it on their 2012 all-cover release "Childhood's End".

    • Dokken on their Broken Bones album in 2012

    References

    Today (Jefferson Airplane song) Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA