# In 1985, Grace Slick made the biggest “mistake” of her career thanks to Elton John. Now, it has been streamed 780,000,000 times

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/in-1985-grace-slick-made-the-biggest-mistake-of-her-career-thanks-to-elton-john-now-it-has-been-streamed-780000000-times/
- Published: 2026-10-30T14:39:42+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-30T15:37:10+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-1985-song-grace-slick-regrets-making-a-mistake/
- Topics: Music

## Key points

- Grace Slick called ‘We Built This City’ a mistake.
- The 1985 hit reached number one in the US.
- It has about 780 million Spotify streams.

## Summary

Jefferson Starship’s 1985 hit ‘We Built This City’ became Grace Slick’s biggest commercial success, despite her considering it a poor song. The story describes how she agreed to record it while trying to make amends with the band after being fired, and how a track she disliked helped revive their fortunes.

Slick objected to Bernie Taupin’s lyrics, arguing that Los Angeles was built on oil, oranges and the film business, but the producer predicted the song would be a hit. It reached number one in the US, sold more than a million copies and has accumulated about 780 million Spotify streams. Elton John’s power-pop sound is cited as an influence on the band’s direction.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.