The final illustration of sexual themes in early rock and roll music that I will reference is Jefferson Airplane’s “Plastic Fantastic Lover”, written by Marty Balin in 1967. Now with a song title like that, what images come to your mind?

“Plastic Fantastic Lover” – Jefferson Airplane [Link to Song]

This song isn’t about what you think it is (OK, I’ll say it – a sex toy). It was written by Marty Balin as an ode to his new stereo system, which was a novelty item at the time. News reporter Matthew Gilbert of the Boston Globe announces:

“Marty Balin’s lyrics are a bit purple — “The electrical dust is starting to rust / Her trapezoid thermometer taste” — but that’s what you want in a 1960s psychedelic take on TV as a soul-sucking partner. Some speculate that “Plastic Fantastic Lover” is about a stereo system, or a sex toy; and those valid interpretations add to the meanings and scope of the song” (Gilbert, 2012).