Jefferson Airplane biography

Jefferson Airplane's second live album, Thirty Seconds Over Winterland, was released in April 1973. Its cover art depicts a squadron of flying toasters, a design that the band later alleged was plagiarized for the famous "After Dark" computer screensaver design. In 1974, a collection of previous unreleased material and the single "Mexico" and "Have You Seen The Saucers" was released as Early Flight, the last official Jefferson Airplane album until the self-titled reunion album of 1989.

thumb In 1974, four years after Blows Against The Empire (the Jefferson Starship-prototype album with Paul Kantner and Grace Slick), Jefferson Starship was formally launched with the release of the album Dragon Fly and its single "Ride The Tiger". Balin sang on one song, "Caroline," and in addition to Kantner and Slick the band consisted of David Freiberg (keyboards, bass), Craig Chaquico (lead guitar), Pete Sears (bass, keyboards), John Barbata (drums) and Papa John Creach (electric violin). Jefferson Starship continued in one form or the other into the 80s, but never achieved the critical acclaim of its predecessor band.

After the acrimonious events that resulted in Jefferson Starship's 1984 breakup, Paul Kantner reunited with Balin and Jack Casady in 1985 to form the KBC Band. They released their only album, KBC Band (which included Kantner's hit, "America"), in 1987 on Arista Records. The KBC Band also featured keyboardist Tim Gorman, who had played with The Who, and guitarist Slick Aguilar, who had played with David Crosby's band.

With Kantner reunited with Balin and Casady, the KBC Band opened the door to a full-blown Jefferson Airplane reunion. On March 4, 1988, during a Hot Tuna San Francisco gig at the Fillmore (with Paul Kantner, as well as Papa John Creach joining in) Grace Slick made a cameo appearance. This led to a formal reunion of the original Jefferson Airplane, featuring nearly all the main members, including founder Marty Balin, but without Spencer Dryden. A self-titled album was released by Columbia Records to modest sales but the accompanying tour was a success. In 1996, Jefferson Airplane was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with Balin, Casady, Dryden, Kantner & Kaukonen attending & performing at the ceremony. Grace Slick was absent, as she was unable to travel due to medical reasons.

thumb Also in 2004, a film was released on DVD entitled Fly Jefferson Airplane (directed by Bob Sarles). It covers the years 1965-1972 and includes recent interviews with band members and thirteen complete songs (almost all are vintage performances). The one recent performance is a solo "Embryonic Journey" by Jorma Kaukonen (from a 1996 New York City reunion for the Airplane's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame).

Discography

Jefferson Airplane Takes Off (1966)
Surrealistic Pillow (1967)
After Bathing at Baxter's (1967)
Crown of Creation (1968)
Volunteers (1969)
Bark (1971)
Long John Silver (1972)
Jefferson Airplane (1989)

References

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