Rock Flashback: A Baby Named god

In 1971, Grace Slick and Paul Kantner put their daughter's picture on the cover of their album "Sunfighter."

In 1992, Todd Rundgren and his wife welcomed a son, whom they named Rebop. Rebop Rundgren has a nice ring to it, and it’s just another in a long list of unusual names given to rock-star children. One of the most famous naming incidents dates back to January 1971.

Following the birth of their daughter, Grace Slick and Paul Kantner of Jefferson Airplane were widely reported to have named the child god, but with a small “g” because, in Slick’s words, “we want her to be humble.” Slick later claimed to be “messing with” the nurse at the hospital, but when she repeated her assertion that the child would be named god, the nurse took it for gospel — and promptly called up a San Francisco newspaper columnist with the tidbit.

That’s the story Slick told in her autobiography — the name was a spontaneous joke. But an item that appeared in Rolling Stone while Slick was pregnant suggested that she had decided to name the baby god long before it arrived. She told the magazine, “No last name, no capital G, and he can change his name when he feels like it.”

The little girl was actually named China. As a baby, she was pictured on the cover of the Slick/Kantner album Sunfighter, which includes a song called “China.” Here it is, with pictures.

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