 papa john creach (born john henry creach; may 28, 1917 &ndash; february 22, 1994) was an american blues violinist who played for jefferson airplane (1970â1975), hot tuna, jefferson starship, jefferson starship - the next generation, the san francisco all-stars (1979â1984), the dinosaurs (1982â1989), and steve taylor. creach recorded a number of solo albums and was a frequent guest at grateful dead and charlie daniels band concerts. he was a regular guest at the early annual volunteer jams, hosted by charlie daniels, which exposed him to a new audience receptive to "fiddle" players.vounteer jam compilations iii and iv ==life and career== creach was born at beaver falls, pennsylvania. he began playing violin in chicago bars when his family moved there in 1935, and later joined a local cabaret band, the chocolate music bars, and toured the midwest with them. moving to los angeles in 1945, he played in the chi chi club, spent time working on an ocean liner, appeared in several films, and performed as a duo with nina russell. in 1967, creach met and befriended drummer joey covington. when covington joined the jefferson airplane in 1970, he introduced them to creach, who was invited to join hot tuna. although regarded as a session musician, he would remain with the band for the next four years, before leaving in 1974 to join jefferson starship and record on their first album, dragon fly. creach toured with jefferson starship and played on the band's hit album red octopus in 1975. around 1976 creach left to pursue a solo career. despite this, he was a guest musician on the spring 1978 jefferson starship tour. a year later, creach renewed his working relationship with covington as a member of the [[san francisco all-stars]
1917_births 1994_deaths American_fiddlers American_rock_violinists Hot_Tuna_members Jefferson_Airplane_members Jefferson_Starship_members Musicians_from_Pittsburgh,_Pennsylvania