Mexico (Jefferson Airplane song)
"Mexico" is a single released in May 1970 by the San Francisco rock band Jefferson Airplane, produced by the band at Pacific High Recording Studios with Phill Sawyer as the recording engineer. Written and sung by Grace Slick, it is a rant against then-President Richard Nixon and his anti-drug initiative, Operation Intercept, that he had implemented to curtail the flow of marijuana into the United States from Mexico.
The song received little radio air play, being banned in some states, but did reach #102 on the Billboard charts, barely missing the Hot 100.
The version on the "2400 Fulton Street" LP and CD is a completely different mix from the single.
Five months after the release of "Mexico", President Nixon did request that songs relating to drug abuse not be broadcast.
Live versions of "Mexico" and its B-Side, "Have You Seen the Saucers" were to be released on the next Airplane album, but Marty Balin left the band before Bark had finished production forcing a change in some of the planned material. A live version of "Have You Seen the Saucers" appeared as the opening track of the live album Thirty Seconds Over Winterland, and the two studio tracks were finally released on an album when the Early Flight compilation was released.
Personnel
- 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 – congas and bells on "Have You Seen the Saucers"
