Jefferson Airplane

Jefferson Airplane
Spencer Dryden , Marty Balin and Paul Kantner of Jefferson Airplane performing at the KFCR Fantasy Fair in June 1967
General information
Genre (s)	Rock , psychedelic rock
founding	1965, 1992
resolution	1990, 1996
Website	www.jeffersonairplane.com
Founding members
singing	Signe T. Anderson † (until 1966)
Guitar, vocals	Marty Balin † (until 1989)
Guitar, vocals	Paul Kantner † (until 1984)
Guitar, vocals	Jorma Kaukonen (until 1974)
Drums	Jerry Peloquin (until 1965)
bass	Bob Harvey (until 1965)
Last occupation
Guitar, vocals	Paul Kantner † (since 1992)
Guitar, vocals	Marty Balin † (since 1992)
Guitar, vocals	Slick Aguilar (since 1992)
singing	Diane Mangano (since 1993)
Drums, percussion	Prairie Prince
Keyboard	Chris Smith (since 1998)
former members
Bass, vocals	Jack Casady
violin	Papa John Creach † (since 1971)
Vocals, piano	Grace Slick (1966-1989)
Drums	Skip Spence † (1965-1966)
Drums	Spencer Dryden † (1966-1970)
Drums	Joey Covington † (1970–1972)
Drums	Johnny Barbata (1972-1979)
guitar	Mark Abrahamian (2001-2012)

Jefferson Airplane , later Jefferson Starship , then Starship , since 1992 revived under the name Jefferson Starship - The Next Generation , was an American rock band , also known as The Airplane .

Band history

Jefferson Airplane, 1965 to 1970

The band was founded in 1965 in San Francisco and had their first appearance on August 13, 1965 at The Matrix club founded by Marty Balin with three partners on Filmore Street in San Francisco . She is considered one of the main representatives of psychedelic rock . The regular line-up included Grace Slick (vocals, piano), Marty Balin (guitar, vocals), Paul Kantner (vocals, guitar), Jorma Kaukonen (guitar, vocals), Jack Casady (bass) and Spencer Dryden (drums).

In 1966 the rather folk-oriented debut album Jefferson Airplane Takes Off was released (still with drummer Skip Spence and singer Signe Toly Anderson). In October 1966, Anderson left the band because they were expecting a child and wanted to devote themselves to their family. Her successor was the singer Grace Slick. The second album, Surrealistic Pillow (1967), contained the titles White Rabbit (a psychedelic interpretation of the Alice character from Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll ) and Somebody to Love , which Slick had already composed for her previous band The Great Society and (though with less success). Both pieces would become the band's best known.

This was followed by the albums After Bathing at Baxter’s (1967), Crown of Creation (1968), Bless Its Pointed Little Head (Live, 1969) and Volunteers (1969). The latter expresses the typical mood of the late 1960s: the hippie movement with its longing for the simple life and rural forms of music is represented on it, as is the youth protest against the Vietnam War (in the title song of the album). For this reason, the band also performed at the Woodstock Festival , where they ended the second day of the festival, which had become long due to the rain-related waiting breaks, on the morning of August 17, 1969. Slick announced that the band wanted to play some morning maniac music and only mentioned their pianist Nicky Hopkins by name. This also included the song Volunteers .

At the Altamont Free Concert on December 6, 1969, Jefferson Airplane appeared as one of the opening acts for the Rolling Stones . When Marty Balin tried to intervene in the face of the violent clashes of the Hells Angels , who were in charge of security, he was knocked unconscious on stage. During the subsequent appearance of the Rolling Stones, the situation escalated further and led to the death of a concert-goer by a Hells Angel.

In the spring of 1970 Marty Balin and Spencer Dryden left the band. There were further changes in personnel and the musicians began to work in loose formations outside the band. After their previous label had made words like "fuck" unrecognizable, the band founded their own record company Grunt in 1971. The albums Bark (1971), Long John Silver (1972) and the live album Thirty Seconds Over Winterland (1973) were created, on which the violinist Papa John Creach is a permanent member of the group. In 1974 Grunt Records released Early Flight , a compilation of early songs from 1965 to 1970 that had not previously been released on LP. In 1989 an album with just the band name followed with the original line-up from 1967. In 2004 the DVD Fly Jefferson Airplane was released .

Jefferson Starship / Starship 1971 to date

Starship (2010)

In the meantime, had Kantner and Slick, who had also privately become a couple, with guest musicians, some already on Volunteers had been heard, recorded three LPs: In addition Blows Against the Empire (1970), where the name Jefferson Starship , the first surfaced, Sunfighter (1971) and Baron von Tollbooth and The Chrome Nun (1973). This loose collaboration resulted in a changing line-up, but without Casady and Kaukonen, who had founded the blues band Hot Tuna , as the successor band Jefferson Starship, with whom the core musicians subsequently continued their commercially successful careers.

The LP Dragon Fly was released as a debut in 1974 . The line-up was as follows: Paul Kantner (rhythm guitar & vocals), Grace Slick (piano & vocals), David Freiberg (bass, keyboards & vocals), Pete Sears (bass, keyboards & vocals), Craig Chaquito (lead and rhythm guitar & Vocals), Papa John Creach (violin) and John Barbata (drums, percussion & vocals). Marty Balin sang the hit single Caroline as a guest . For fear of a flop, the names Slick and Kantner were on the right and left of the title. This fear was unfounded, however, because the album sold just as well as the previous Airplane albums. The final breakthrough came with the follow-up album Red Octopus from 1975, on which Marty Balin (vocals) was again part of the standard cast. He joined the band during a guest appearance at one of the Jefferson Starship concerts. He helped the album to number one on the US charts with two million copies sold , something no Airplane album had ever done before.

In 1976 the album Spitfire was released , now without Papa John Creach, which was followed in 1978 by Earth , the last album for the time being with Balin and Slick, who announced their exit from the band before a concert (their alcohol problems were already known during the Airplane days). In 1979 the album Gold followed , on which all previous single releases could be found, plus a bonus single with Hyperdrive on the A-side and the previously unreleased title Light the Sky on Fire on the B-side. In the same year, another Jefferson Starship album was released, in a new style and with partly new line-up: Paul Kantner (rhythm guitar & vocals), Craig Chaquico (lead and rhythm guitar & vocals), David Freiberg (bass, keyboards & Vocals), Pete Sears (bass, keyboards & vocals), Mickey Thomas (vocals) and instead of John Barbata, who was in a serious car accident, Aynsley Dunbar (drums & percussion).

With Freedom at Point Zero, the new formation showed a very rocky side and went in the direction of progressive rock and stadium rock . On the follow-up album Modern Times (1981), which turned back more to pop-rock, Grace Slick was again to be heard as a guest. Its course was maintained on Winds of Change until 1983 . In the meantime Grace Slick was engaged again as a permanent member. Then came Nuclear Furniture (1984), on which Donny Baldwin took over the drums for Aynsley Dunbar. Dissatisfied with the new style, Paul Kantner got out and declared the band ended. After a lawsuit, the remaining members were allowed to produce more records under the Starship name . It was released in 1985, Kneedeep in the Hoopla , an album that featured an extremely mainstream synth-pop sound and included two of their greatest hits, We Built This City and Sara , which topped the US charts. 1987 came out No Protection , u. a. titled Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now , the last big international hit from Jefferson Airplane / Jefferson Starship / Starship.

In 1988 first Pete Sears, then Grace Slick left the band. In 1989 Love Among the Cannibals was released before the band finally split up in 1990. This was followed by the best-of albums Greatest Hits (Ten Years and Change - 1979-1991) from 1991, and 1993 The Best of Starship . Paul Kantner founded a band called Jefferson Starship - The Next Generation in 1992 .

In 1996 Jefferson Airplane were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame .

Drummer Joey Covington died in a car accident on June 4, 2013 in Palm Springs, California . The founding members Signe Toly Anderson and Paul Kantner both died on January 28, 2016 after a long illness. Marty Balin died on September 27, 2018.

Discography

Albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)					Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US
Jefferson Airplane
1966	Jefferson Airplane Takes Off	-	-	-	-	US128 (11 weeks) US
1967	Surrealistic pillow	-	-	-	UK- silver UK	US3 platinum (56 weeks)US	Grammy Hall of Fame ; 146th place in the Rolling Stone 500
1968	After bathing at Baxter's	-	-	-	-	US17 (23 weeks) US
	Crown of Creation	-	-	-	-	US6th gold (25 weeks)US
1969	Bless Its Pointed Little Head	-	-	-	UK39 (1 week) UK	US17 (20 weeks) US	Concert album
	Volunteers	-	-	-	UK34 (7 weeks) UK	US13 gold (44 weeks)US	Number 370 on the Rolling Stone 500 chart entry in UK only in March 1970
1971	The Worst of Jefferson Airplane	-	-	-	-	US12 platinum (40 weeks)US	Best of album
	Blows Against the Empire	-	-	-	UK12 (6 weeks) UK	US20th gold (23 weeks)US	Paul Kantner & The Jefferson Starship
	Barque	-	-	-	UK42 (1 week) UK	US11 gold (21 weeks)US
1972	Long John Silver	-	-	-	UK1 (57 weeks) UK	US20th gold (21 weeks)US
1973	Thirty Seconds over Winterland	-	-	-	-	US52 (16 weeks) US	Concert album
1974	Early flight	-	-	-	-	US110 (8 weeks) US
Jefferson Starship
1974	Dragon Fly	-	-	-	-	US11 gold (37 weeks)US
1975	Red octopus	-	-	-	-	US1 × 2 Double platinum (87 weeks)US
1976	Spitfire	-	-	-	UK30 (2 weeks) UK	US3 platinum (38 weeks)US
1977	Flight Log (1966-1976)	-	-	-	-	US37 gold (15 weeks)US	Compilation with other artists
1978	Earth	-	-	-	-	US5 platinum (34 weeks)US
1979	gold	-	-	-	-	US20th gold (14 weeks)US	Best of album
1980	Freedom at Point Zero	-	-	-	UK22 (11 weeks) UK	US10 gold (28 weeks)US
1981	Modern Times	-	-	-	-	US26th gold (33 weeks)US
1982	Winds of Change	-	-	-	-	US26th gold (31 weeks)US
1984	Nuclear Furniture	-	-	-	-	US28 gold (23 weeks)US
Starship
1985	Knee deep in the hoopla	DE45 (14 weeks) DE	-	CH29 (2 weeks) CH	-	US7th platinum (50 weeks)US	Chart entry in Germany and Switzerland only in January 1986
1987	2400 Fulton St.	-	-	-	-	US138 (9 weeks) US	Compilation (Jefferson Airplane)
	No protection	DE20 (9 weeks) DE	-	CH11 (3 weeks) CH	UK26 (5 weeks) UK	US12 gold (25 weeks)US
1989	Love Among the Cannibals	-	-	-	-	US64 (18 weeks) US
	Jefferson Airplane	-	-	-	-	US85 (7 weeks) US	Reunification in the composition from 1966 to 1974

gray hatching : no chart data available for this year

More studio albums

Jefferson Airplane 1968: RCA 8 (with John Hartford ) 1987: Legends of Rock August 1987 (2 LPs) 2005: Cleared for Take Off 2009: The Woodstock Experience 2010: Return to the Matrix January 2nd, 1968 (2 CDs)

Jefferson Starship 1981: The Robert W. Morgan Special of the Week (Promo LP) 1984: The King Biscuit Flower Hour 1995: Deep Space / Virgin Sky 1997: Miracles 1998: Windows of Heaven 2003: Vinoy Park 2008: Jefferson's Tree of Liberty

Starship 1987: Interview with Roger Scott 1st February 86 (Promo LP) 2013: Loveless Fascination

EPs

• 1967: Jefferson Airplane Takes Off
• 1967: Ballad of You & Me & Pooneil
• 1967: White Rabbit
• 1967: Surrealistic Pillow
• 1968: Watch Her Ride
• 1968: Let's Get Together
• 1968: Crown of Creation
• 1969: The White Rabbit
• 1970: Mexico
• 1996: We Are All One

More concert albums

Jefferson Airplane

• 1967: Jefferson Airplane. Recorded on Saturday 17th June, 1967 at the second night of the Monterey Festival
• 1990: Live at the Monterey Festival (June 17, 1967)
• 1995: White Rabbit - Live
• 1996: Feed Your Head: Live '67 -'69
• 1998: Live at the Fillmore East (May 3-4, 1968)
• 1998: Greatest Hits Live
• 2002: Today - Live
• 2006: At Golden Gate Park (Live May 7, 1969)
• 2007: Last Flight (Live September 22, 1972, 2 CDs)
• 2007: Sweeping Up the Spotlight (Live at the Fillmore East, November 28-29, 1969)
• 2007: At the Family Dog Ballroom (Live September 6, 1969)
• 2007: Feels Like '67 Again - Live CD Winterland Concerts 1967
• 2008: Plastic Fantastic Airplane (live recordings from various concerts) (HHO Multimedia LTD. London)
• 2008: Timeless Classics Live
• 2009: Acoustic Warrior - Live IMAC 99 (2 CDs)
• 2010: Live at the Fillmore Auditorium 25.-27. November 1966 (We Have Ignition) (2 CDs)
• 2010: Live at the Fillmore Auditorium October 15, 1966 (Late Show - Signe's Farewell)
• 2010: Live at the Fillmore Auditorium October 16, 1966 (Early & Late Shows - Grace's Debut)
• 2016: Nothing in Particular (Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, September 15, 1968)

More compilations

as Jefferson Airplane

• 1968: Jefferson Airplane's Golden Album
• 1970: Jefferson Airplane
• 1976: Surrealistic Airplane (2 LPs)
• 1978: The Best of Jefferson Airplane
• 1979: Éxitos de Jefferson Airplane
• 1980: Greatest Hits (US:gold)
• 1980: The Rock Wave (with War and Grateful Dead )
• 1980: Rarities
• 1980: Rock Galaxy (2 LPs)
• 1982: The San Francisco Sounds of Jefferson Airplane
• 1982: VIP
• 1984: Time Machine
• 1988: Jefferson Airplane - The Collection
• 1990: White Rabbit & Other Hits
• 1991: Jefferson Airplane Loves You (box with 3 CDs)
• 1991: Greatest Hits (Ten Years and Change 1979–1991)
• 1992: Loves You
• 1993: The Best of Jefferson Airplane
• 1996: Journey: The Best of Jefferson Airplane
• 1996: Somebody to Love and other Great Hits
• 1997: The Masters
• 1997: The Gold Collection - Classic Performances (2 CDs)
• 1997: Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now - Best
• 1998: Hits (Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship and Starship)
• 2001: The Roar of Jefferson Airplane
• 2001: Greatest Hits (Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship and Starship)
• 2001: Ignition (4 CDs)
• 2003: Platinum & Gold Collection
• 2004: The Best of Jefferson Airplane: Somebody to Love
• 2005: The Essential Jefferson Airplane (2 CDs)
• 2007: The Very Best of Jefferson Airplane (2 CDs)
• 2008: Original Album Classics (box with 5 CDs)
• 2008: Flight Box (box with 3 CDs)
• 2010: The Best Of (UK:silver)
• 2011: Original Album Classics (box with 3 CDs)
• 2015: White Rabbit: The Ultimate Jefferson Airplane Collection (box with 3 CDs)

as Jefferson Starship

• 1992: The Collection
• 1993: At Their Best
• 1993: A Retrospective
• 2008: BB Kings Blues Club Ny 2007 Mick's Picks Volume 4 (3 CDs)
• 2011: performance

as a Starship

• 1991: Greatest Hits (Ten Years and Change 1979–1991)
• 1992: Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now / Sara / We Built This City (single compilation)
• 1993: The Best of Starship
• 1997: We Built This City - The Very Best Of
• 2004: Platinum & Gold Collection (12 mp3 files)

Singles

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)					Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US
Jefferson Airplane
1967	Somebody to Love Surrealistic Pillow	DE20 (2 weeks) DE	-	-	-	US5 gold (15 weeks)US
	White Rabbit Surrealistic Pillow	-	-	-	UK- silver UK	US8th platinum (10 weeks)US
	Ballad of You & Me & Pooneil After Bathing at Baxter's	-	-	-	-	US42 (6 weeks) US
	Watch Her Ride After Bathing at Baxter's	-	-	-	-	US61 (4 weeks) US
1968	Greasy Heart Crown of Creation	-	-	-	-	US98 (3 weeks) US
	Crown of Creation Crown of Creation	-	-	-	-	US64 (6 weeks) US
1969	Volunteers Volunteers	-	-	-	-	US65 (10 weeks) US
1971	Pretty as You Feel Bark	-	-	-	-	US60 (10 weeks) US
Jefferson Starship
1974	Ride the Tiger Dragon Fly	-	-	-	-	US84 (5 weeks) US
1975	Miracles Red Octopus	-	-	-	-	US3 (17 weeks) US
	Play on Love Red Octopus	-	-	-	-	US49 (6 weeks) US
1976	With Your Love Spitfire	-	-	-	-	US12 (17 weeks) US
	St. Charles Spitfire	-	-	-	-	US64 (5 weeks) US
1978	Count on Me Earth	-	-	-	-	US8 (14 weeks) US
	Runaway Earth	-	-	-	-	US12 (16 weeks) US
	Crazy Feelin ' Earth	-	-	-	-	US54 (6 weeks) US
	Light the Sky on Fire Gold	-	-	-	-	US66 (6 weeks) US
1979	Jane Freedom at Point Zero	-	-	-	UK21 (9 weeks) UK	US14 (15 weeks) US
1980	Girl with the Hungry Eyes Freedom at Point Zero	-	-	-	-	US55 (6 weeks) US
1981	Find Your Way Back Modern Times	-	-	-	-	US29 (13 weeks) US
	Stranger Modern Times	-	-	-	-	US48 (11 weeks) US
1982	Be my lady	-	-	-	-	US28 (16 weeks) US
1983	Winds of Change Winds of Change	-	-	-	-	US38 (11 weeks) US
1984	No Way Out Nuclear Furniture	-	-	-	-	US23 (16 weeks) US
	Lay it on the line Nuclear Furniture	-	-	-	-	US66 (6 weeks) US
Starship
1985	We Built This City Knee Deep in the Hoopla	DE10 (13 weeks) DE	AT21 (6 weeks) AT	CH8 (10 weeks) CH	UK12 gold (15 weeks)UK	US1 gold (24 weeks)US
	Sara Knee Deep in the Hoopla	DE15 (12 weeks) DE	AT15 (10 weeks) AT	CH9 (7 weeks) CH	UK66 (3 weeks) UK	US1 (20 weeks) US
1986	Tomorrow Doesn't Matter Tonight Knee Deep in the Hoopla	-	-	-	-	US26 (13 weeks) US
	Before I Go Knee Deep in the Hoopla	-	-	-	-	US68 (7 weeks) US
1987	Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now No Protection	DE3 (20 weeks) DE	AT3 (16 weeks) AT	CH4 (18 weeks) CH	UK1 gold (19 weeks)UK	US1 gold (22 weeks)US
	It's Not Over ('Til It's Over) No Protection	DE57 (6 weeks) DE	-	-	-	US9 (16 weeks) US
	Beat Patrol No Protection	-	-	-	-	US46 (10 weeks) US
1988	Wild Again Love Among the Cannibals	-	-	-	-	US73 (8 weeks) US	from the movie Cocktail
1989	It's Not Enough Love Among the Cannibals	-	-	-	-	US12 (16 weeks) US
	2400 Fulton St.	-	-	-	-	US75 (8 weeks) US
1991	Good Heart Greatest Hits (Ten Years and Change 1979-1991)	-	-	-	-	US81 (4 weeks) US

gray hatching : no chart data available for this year

More singles

as Jefferson Airplane 1966: My Best Friend 1966: Bringing Me Down 1967: It's No Secret 1968: If You Feel Like China Breaking 1968: Conejo blanco 1969: Plastic Fantastic Lover (Live) 1969: White Rabbit 1970: Mexico 1970: She Has Funny Cars 1972: Long John Silver 1972: Twilight Double Leader 1987: 2400 Fulton Street - An Anthology (12inch Promo) 1989: Planes 1989: Summer of Love 1990: True Love

as Jefferson Starship 1971: A Child Is Coming (with Paul Kantner ) 1974: Caroline 1976: Crawdaddy Radio Revue (12inch, interview with Robert Klein and Grace Slick, 1976 for Crawdaddy Radio) 1979: Rock Music 1981: Stairway to Cleveland (12inch Promo) 1981: Save Your Love as a Starship 1987: Set the Night to Music 1987: Wings of a Lie 1989: I'll Be There (Promo) 2003: We Built This City 2002 (remix by DJ Tom, Sam-Pling and Stephan)

Video albums

• 1989: Radio City Music Hall Concert
• 2004: Fly Jefferson Airplane

Awards for music sales

Golden record  Canada 1977: for the album Spitfire 1985: for the single We Built This City 1987: for the single Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now 1987: for the album No Protection  Sweden 1987: for the single Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now

Platinum record  Canada 1980: for the album Freedom at Point Zero 1986: for the album Knee Deep in the Hoopla

Note: Awards in countries from the chart tables or chart boxes can be found in these.

Country / Region	silver	gold	platinum	Sales	swell
Awards for music sales (country / region, awards, sales, sources)
Canada (MC)	-	4 × gold4th	2 × platinum2	400,000	musiccanada.com
Sweden (IFPI)	-	gold1	-	25,000	sverigetopplistan.se
United States (RIAA)	-	17 × gold17th	8 × platinum8th	19,000,000	riaa.com
United Kingdom (BPI)	3 × silver3	2 × gold2	-	1,220,000	bpi.co.uk
All in all	3 × silver3	24 × gold24	10 × platinum10

swell

1. ↑ Marty Balin obituary in: The Guardian , September 30, 2018, accessed October 1, 2018
2. ↑ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Jefferson Airplane in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
3. ↑ Jefferson Airplane drummer Joey Covington dies in car accident, aged 67 at nme.com
4. ↑ Signe Anderson, Jefferson Airplane's original singer, dies at 74… on the same day founding member Paul Kantner died , accessed on March 1, 2014 (English)
5. ↑ Marty Balin, musician and Jefferson Airplane co-founder, dies aged 76 in: The Guardian , September 29, 2018, accessed September 29, 2018
6. ↑ ^{a b} Chart sources: Singles Albums Billboard 200: Jefferson Airplane Jefferson Starship . Starship
7. ↑ US albums: Joel Whitburn : Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2006 . Billboard Books, New York 2006, ISBN 0-89820-172-1 .
8. ↑ ^{a b} Music Sales Awards: UK US
9. ↑ Split release with the best titles by Jefferson Airplane , Jefferson Starship and Starship in the period 1967–1987, digitally remastered by Zounds .

Web links

Commons : Jefferson Airplane  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Official homepage of Jefferson Airplane
• Official homepage of Jefferson Starship
• Jefferson Airplane at Allmusic (English)
• Jefferson Starship at Allmusic (English)
• Starship at Allmusic (English)
• Jefferson Airplane at Discogs (English)
• Jefferson Starship at Discogs (English)
• Starship at Discogs (English)
• Jefferson Airplane at laut.de
• Journal of Trionic Physics ( Memento from July 3, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (fansite, English)