Jefferson Airplane: The Official Website » Grace Slick Others Grace Slick, to the public mind, is synonymous with Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship in the way that Mick Jagger is synonymous with the Rolling Stones. Ironically, Grace was not an original member of the band, nor was she with Starship at the very end. But Grace’s importance to every phase of the band cannot be underestimated. White Rabbit, which she wrote, helped define not only Jefferson Airplane but also the acid rock era. Her unconventional vocals on Somebody to Love gave the Airplane its biggest hit. As one of the first female rock stars (as opposed to pop singers), Grace helped redefine women’s role in modern music as more than just a sex symbol backed by a band. Of course, with her statuesque beauty and icy blue eyes, Grace had the sex symbol bit down pat as well. Grace Barnett Wing was born October 30, 1939, in Highland Park, a suburb of Chicago, IL. Her father, Ivan, was an investment banker, and her mother, Virginia Barnett Wing, had been an actress and singer in the early ’30s. Her lineage goes back to Norway, where the family name was Vinje.

Grace attended Finch College, a prestigious finishing school for girls, in New York (1957-58), before transferring to the University of Miami (1958-59), where she majored in art. She tried her hand at various odd jobs and even auditioned as a singer at a black record label. But although she modeled for I. Magnin’s department store from 1960-63, Grace later said she had no ambitions beyond being a housewife. On August 26, 1961, she married Gerald “Jerry” Slick, a film student and later a successful cinematographer. She later described the marriage as passionless and the result of “cultural imposition.” But it was during this marriage that she wrote her first song — a piece for one of Jerry’s film projects. In August 1965, Grace read an article in the San Francisco Chronicle about a new band called Jefferson Airplane. A week later, she and Jerry checked out the band at the Matrix. Deciding that being in a rock band looked like a lot of fun and paid better than modeling, Grace and Jerry soon formed their own band, the Great Society.

Jerry played drums, and his brother Darby Slick joined on guitar. With the lineup completed by David Minor (guitar/vocals), the Great Society made its debut at the Coffee Gallery in San Francisco’s North Beach section on October 15, 1965. Despite her rather late entry into rock ‘n’ roll, Grace proved herself a talented singer. She attempted to imitate the sound of an electric guitar and developed a unique and forceful singing style. She also discovered a knack for writing songs — White Rabbit was one of her first compositions. Grace has always said that White Rabbit was intended as a slap toward parents who read their children stories such as Alice in Wonderland (in which Alice uses several drug-like substances in order to change herself) and then wondered why their children grew up to do drugs. For Grace and others in the ’60s, drugs were an inevitable part of mind-expanding and social experimentation. With its enigmatic lyrics, White Rabbit became one of the first songs to sneak drug references past censors on the radio.

Even Marty Balin, Grace’s eventual rival in the Airplane, regarded the song as a “masterpiece.” In 1966, one Sylvester Stewart (the future Sly of Sly and the Family Stone) walked out as the band’s producer of a demo after it took the band 50 takes to get one song right. However, Grace’s talent carried the band, and they found themselves opening for Jefferson Airplane and other successful, local bands. Columbia Records even offered the Great Society a recording contract (and would release two albums by the band after Grace found fame), but, by the time the contract arrived in the mail, the Great Society was no more. In September 1966, the Airplane put bassist Jack Casady up to asking Grace if she might be interested in joining them. For Grace, it was a no-brainer; the Airplane had already released an album and seemed on the verge of a major breakthrough. After discussing the matter with her husband (one of the last times, it seems, that Grace would take his opinion into consideration), she accepted the Airplane’s offer.

Bill Thompson, then the Airplane’s road manager, would buy out Grace’s contract from her manager for the paltry sum of $750. Following Signe Anderson’s final gigs with the Airplane in mid-October, Grace became the band’s new female singer. She would later recall that she was “scared shitless” — she barely knew the words, but it didn’t matter, for the Airplane played far louder than she expected. After such an inauspicious debut, Grace barely had time to get comfortable with the Airplane before the band went to Los Angeles to record its second album, Surrealistic Pillow. She did contribute two stand-out cuts from the Great Society — White Rabbit and Darby Slick’s Somebody to Love. Though the Airplane recognized those songs as special, even they had little inkling as to how popular they would become. Nine months after she joined the band, Grace found herself a star as the lead singer of the band’s two top ten hits. Grace Slick quickly emerged as an icon of the psychedelic scene that followed. She always downplayed her own significance in the press, suggesting that she got the most attention because she was the only woman in the band.

But such comments disregard Grace’s obvious talents and extroverted personality. She would literally say and do anything. While appearing on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in 1968, she wore blackface and raised her fist in a Black Panther salute. During one rainy outdoors concert, she performed topless rather than getting her blouse wet. On another occasion, she drunkenly referred to a wealthy audience as “filthy jewels” (a comment misheard by some as “filthy Jews”). In her autobiography, Grace said she learned “how to let it out and damn the censorship” from Mick Jagger. Unfortunately, much of her behavior was also attributed to her increasing addiction to alcohol. By early 1967, Grace’s marriage to Jerry was all but over, though they didn’t divorce until 1971. She had a brief dalliance with Jack Casady, then began a two-year affair with Airplane drummer Spencer Dryden. Grace felt an immediate connection with Spencer, since they were both initially “outsiders.” Once Grace became famous, however, Spencer would use their relationship to get his way within the band. With the Airplane, Grace apparently regarded herself as an equal among equals who could write anything she damn well pleased.

Her songs were psychedelic interpretations of literary classics (Rejoyce, 1967), attacked middle class repression (Greasy Heart, 1968), and assaulted human arrogance (Eskimo Blue Day — noted for the line, “the human name doesn’t mean shit to a tree” — 1969). On the occasion of Spencer’s 30th birthday, she wrote Lather (1968), a song expressing the anxieties of growing older — a theme she would revisit on several occasions. By 1969, her relationship with Spencer had ended, and she soon became involved with Paul Kantner. Though they never married, Grace decided that she wanted to have Paul’s child. Their daughter, China, was born on January 25, 1971. (In typical Grace fashion, she initially told the press that she was going to name the child “god.”) One of Grace’s oddest and most famous incidents occurred shortly before her pregnancy. In April 1970, the former Finch College student was invited to a reception hosted by President Richard Nixon’s daughter, Tricia, at the White House.

The organizers of the affair apparently had little idea who Grace was, or of her opinion of Nixon. (Her song, Mexico, a scathing critique of Nixon’s anti-drug policy, had only just been released as a single.) Upon arrival, however, Grace was barred from entering when she brought a “bodyguard” — ’60s radical Abbie Hoffman! Grace later said that, had they been allowed in, they had planned to spike Nixon’s tea with LSD. But as the Airplane began to disintegrate in the early ’70s, Grace coped with it and the pressures of motherhood by drinking. On May 13, 1971, a mere four months after becoming a mother, Grace was involved in a near-fatal drunk driving accident. After an all-night recording session, she and Jorma drag-raced their sports cars near the Golden Gate Bridge. Grace lost control and crashed into a retaining wall. Miraculously, she escaped with only serious concussions. Grace’s behavior became more extreme, and the remote Paul proved ill-equipped to deal with her outbursts. She often called him a “Nazi”.

In August 1972, in Akron, Ohio, she and Paul were both arrested during an altercation with police following a concert. According to Grace, she had wandered on stage without her glasses during an argument between the police and the band’s road manager. Seeking to steady herself, she grabbed onto a policeman’s uniform. He responded by macing her. Paul rushed to Grace’s defense and was shoved to the floor by police. n early 1974, Grace released her first solo album, Manhole. During that same period, Grace agreed to form a new band with Paul, Jefferson Starship. Her contributions to the first album, Dragon Fly, included Hyperdrive, a sobering reflection of life at age 35: “I didn’t know there were corners in time till I was told to stand in one.” A year later, Jefferson Starship broke big with Marty Balin’s romantic hit, Miracles. To Marty’s consternation, Grace continued to command the public’s attention, albeit in the form of controversial behavior. In 1978, Grace was dragged off the stage of a local San Francisco game show after abusing contestants.

In the meantime, Grace had found a new love in the form of lighting director Skip Johnson. They began having an affair during the Starship’s first tour. Finally, Grace ended her relationship with Paul and, on November 29, 1976, she married Skip in Hawaii. Neither Paul nor Marty attended. Over the years, Grace has been the subject of two biographies. The first, written by Barbara Rowes, was published in 1980. The second, Grace’s own Somebody to Love? A Rock and Roll Memoir, co-authored with Andrea Cagan, appeared in September 1998. In the years since her retirement, Grace has turned to another creative endeavor — painting. Her works include portraits of old friends such as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Jerry Garcia. As of November 2000, she had sold about 60 paintings, priced from $1,100 to $8,700. Although her work has hardly garnered the respect of critics (so what else is new?), others laud her paintings for evoking feeling, something hard for any artist to do.

For Grace, whose shoulder-length hair is now completely white (she had been dyeing it since her mid-20s), it’s a chance to create something that doesn’t involve her appearance. Text copyright 1998 Greg Gildersleeve. Jefferson Airplane - Somebody To Love - YouTube Jefferson Airplane - Somebody To Love Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Uploaded on Jun 15, 2010 Jefferson Airplane was a psychedelic rock group formed in San Francisco. It was the first of several Bay Area psychedelic groups of the 1960s to become internationally known. The band was founded by singer Marty Balin and guitarist Paul Kantner in 1965. With the addition of Signe Anderson, their male-female singing style showed their folk music roots plus Balin's love of R&B singing styles.

In fact their dual lead vocals were a hallmark of their sound throughout the Airplane's career, as confirmed (to international acclaim) after Grace Slick replaced Signe Anderson as the female singer. The other members of the band were guitarist Jorma Kaukonen, bassist Jack Casady and drummer Alexander "Skip" Spence. After the release of their first studio album, Takes Off (only released in the USA), Anderson and Spence left the band. They were replaced by Grace Slick and Spencer Dryden, respectively. Grace Slick brought with her an amazing voice, attitude and two songs from her former band The Great Society. Both songs, "Somebody To Love" and "White Rabbit", received much airplay and helped make the band's second album Surrealistic Pillow a big seller, and also to pretty much define San Francisco's "Summer of Love" zeitgeist, just as the psychedelic era was coming into full bloom. Surrealistic Pillow is an interesting mixture of largely folk-rock vocals, acoustic guitar and songs that reflected the changes emerging in youth culture as the world was beginning to become aware of the Haight-Ashbury scene.

Influenced by the new sounds of Jimi Hendrix and Cream, their next album After Bathing at Baxter's swung radically toward a heavier electric and much more experimental sound, largely provided by guitarist Jorma Kaukonen and bass guitar player Jack Casady. On the next couple of albums, Crown of Creation and Volunteers, Kantner and Slick's influence came to the foreground and these albums included political, anthemic songs strongly critical of mainstream social values. This collaboration continued after the 'unofficial' breakup of Jefferson Airplane, as exemplified in such albums as Long John Silver and Baron Von Tollbooth and the Chrome Nun, released after the classic (unofficial) 'break up album' (titled Blows Against the Empire). Jefferson Airplane never "officially" broke up, but, beginning in 1974, the group "mutated" into other configurations in Hot Tuna and Jefferson Starship (which later morphed into an almost entirely different band called "Starship") in the 1970's and 1980's, before reuniting for an album and tour in 1989 (without drummer Spencer Dryden).

Rock historians have suggested that Grace Slick helped to break the mold of the typical female musician. Previously, women were only prominent in girl groups and seen primarily as teen idols. However, Slick's powerful and recognizable vocals began to reshape this image and helped pave the way for other female rock and rollers, such as Janis Joplin. Jefferson Airplane was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. Signe Toly Anderson, original Jefferson Airplane singer, dies - SFGate Signe Toly Anderson, original Jefferson Airplane singer, dies By Aidin Vaziri Updated 4:12 pm, Monday, February 1, 2016 Paul Kantner, founding member, guitarist and singer for Jefferson Airplane and Starship, died Thursday of multiple organ failure and septic shock. He had suffered a heart attack earlier in the week, according to San Francisco Chronicle. He was 74.

The mus Media: Wibbitz Signe Toly Anderson, the original female lead singer of the Jefferson Airplane, died at her home in Beaverton, Ore., on Thursday — the day the band’s co-founder Paul Kantner died from multiple organ failure and septic shock in San Francisco. She was 74. Her death was confirmed by her daughter, Onateska Ladybug Sherwood , who said Ms. Anderson had been suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. “I imagine that she and Paul woke up in heaven and said, ‘Hey what are you doing here? Let’s start a band,’” Marty Balin , one of the Jefferson Airplane’s co-founders, said in a statement. A vocalist who had developed her chops singing folk music in Portland, Ore., Ms. Anderson moved to San Francisco and joined the band shortly after it formed in 1965, providing vocals for its debut album, “Jefferson Airplane Takes Off,” most notably on the tracks “Chauffeur Blues” and “Let’s Get Together,” a song that would later become a hit for the Youngbloods. Photo: Sony/Legacy The original lineup of Jefferson Airplane, featuring singer Signe Toly Anderson.

The original lineup of Jefferson Airplane, featuring singer Signe Toly Anderson. Photo: Sony/Legacy Image 2 of 36 Signe Anderson sang with the Jefferson Airplane in 1965-66 before leaving the band to raise her child. Signe Anderson sang with the Jefferson Airplane in 1965-66 before leaving the band to raise her child. Image 3 of 36 Paul Kantner of the Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship in October 1980. Paul Kantner of the Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship in October 1980. Photo: Clem Albers, The Chronicle Image 4 of 36 Paul Kantner at a free concert in Golden Gate Park in June 1985. Paul Kantner at a free concert in Golden Gate Park in June 1985. Photo: Frederic Larson, The Chronicle Image 5 of 36 Paul Kantner of the Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship (Marty Balin singing) in 1985. Paul Kantner of the Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship (Marty Balin singing) in 1985.

Photo: Eric Luse, The Chronicle Image 6 of 36 Paul Kantner playing at the bandshell in Golden Gate Park. one of many free concerts to celebrate 20th anniversary of the Summer of Love in June 1987. UPI photo. Paul Kantner playing at the bandshell in Golden Gate Park. one of many free concerts to celebrate 20th anniversary of the Summer of Love in June 1987. UPI photo. Image 7 of 36 Jefferson Airplane in 1968. Standing left to right: Paul Kantner, Grace Slick, Marty Balin, Spencer Dryden, Jorma Kaukonen. Seated: Jack Casady. Jefferson Airplane in 1968. Standing left to right: Paul Kantner, Grace Slick, Marty Balin, Spencer Dryden, Jorma Kaukonen. Seated: Jack Casady. Photo: Chronicle File Paul Kantner and Grace Slick and daughter China of the Jefferson Airplane in October 1971. Paul Kantner and Grace Slick and daughter China of the Jefferson Airplane in October 1971.

Image 14 of 36 Bill Graham (right), owner of Filmores East & West, chats with Paul Kantner (left) and Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane and Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead. Bill Graham (right), owner of Filmores East & West, chats with Paul Kantner (left) and Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane and Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead. Photo: John Olson / John Olson / The LIFE Picture Collection Image 15 of 36 Concert in Golden Gate Park with Grateful Dead and Jefferson Starship on Sept. 28, 1975. Lots of shots of spectators, fans and Deadheads Jefferson Starship Guitarist Craig Chaquico and Paul Kantner Concert in Golden Gate Park with Grateful Dead and Jefferson Starship on Sept. 28, 1975. Lots of shots of spectators, fans and Deadheads Jefferson Starship Guitarist Craig Chaquico and Paul Kantner Photo: Terry Schmitt, The Chronicle Image 16 of 36 Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead and Paul Kantner in 1982. Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead and Paul Kantner in 1982.

Photo: Steve Ringman, The Chronicle Image 17 of 36 Guitarist Paul Kantner in San Francisco, Ca., on Wednesday Jan. 11, 2012. Paul Kantner of the original Jefferson Airplane marked the San Francisco group's 40th anniversary with a run of shows at the Rrazz Room. Guitarist Paul Kantner in San Francisco, Ca., on Wednesday Jan. 11, 2012. Paul Kantner of the original Jefferson Airplane marked the San Francisco group's 40th anniversary with a run of shows at the Rrazz Room. Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle Image 18 of 36 Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Famer Paul Kantner, of Jefferson Airplane. The group was behind songs such as ìWhite Rabbitî and ìSomebody to Love. Kantner was the principal songwriter. Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Famer Paul Kantner, of Jefferson Airplane. The group was behind songs such as ìWhite Rabbitî and ìSomebody to Love. Kantner was the principal songwriter.

Photo: Contributed Photo Image 19 of 36 Before Hot Tuna was formed, Tom G. O'Neal captured this performance by Jack Casady, Paul Kantner and Jorma Kaukonen playing as Jefferson Airplane in 1968. Before Hot Tuna was formed, Tom G. O'Neal captured this performance by Jack Casady, Paul Kantner and Jorma Kaukonen playing as Jefferson Airplane in 1968. Photo: Tom G. O'Neal, TGO Photo Image 20 of 36 A file photo of Paul Kantner of Jefferson Starship. A file photo of Paul Kantner of Jefferson Starship. Photo: Contributed Photo Paul Kantner in 1975. Image 22 of 36 Promotional studio portrait of American rock group Jefferson Starship in the 1970s. (Left to right): Aynsley Dunbar, Pete Sears, David Freiberg, Mickey Thomas, Craig Chaquico and Paul Kantner.. Promotional studio portrait of American rock group Jefferson Starship in the 1970s.

(Left to right): Aynsley Dunbar, Pete Sears, David Freiberg, Mickey Thomas, Craig Chaquico and Paul Kantner.. Photo: Hulton Archive Image 23 of 36 American rock group Jefferson Airplane performs on stage at the Central Park bandshell, New York City, August 1969. (Left to right): Guitarist Paul Kantner, drummer Spencer Dryden, singer Grace Slick, guitarist Jorma Kaukonen, bassist Jack Casady, singer Marty Balin.. less American rock group Jefferson Airplane performs on stage at the Central Park bandshell, New York City, August 1969. (Left to right): Guitarist Paul Kantner, drummer Spencer Dryden, singer Grace Slick, guitarist ... more Photo: RCA Records Robin Williams and Paul Kantner Robin Williams and Paul Kantner Photo: John O'Hara, The Chronicle Image 25 of 36 Jefferson Starship's Grace Slick, Craig Chaquico and Paul Kantner had their own interpretations of Black and White in April 1982.

Jefferson Starship's Grace Slick, Craig Chaquico and Paul Kantner had their own interpretations of Black and White in April 1982. Photo: John O'Hara, The Chronicle Image 26 of 36 Charlotte Maillard and Paul Kantner of Jefferson Starship at the Black & White Ball in 1987. Charlotte Maillard and Paul Kantner of Jefferson Starship at the Black & White Ball in 1987. Photo: Deanne Fitzmaurice Image 27 of 36 Veterans and icons of the Bay Area music scene (Left to right): Joe McDonald, Michael Carabello and Paul Kantner gather outside Cafe Trieste in San Francisco to talk about their special experiences. Veterans and icons of the Bay Area music scene (Left to right): Joe McDonald, Michael Carabello and Paul Kantner gather outside Cafe Trieste in San Francisco to talk about their special experiences. Photo: Lance Iversen, The Chronicle Image 28 of 36 Paul Kantner outside Cafe Trieste in San Francisco. Paul Kantner outside Cafe Trieste in San Francisco.

Photo: Lance Iversen, The Chronicle Image 29 of 36 Standing Ovations 2009 "Rockin' the Mint." Paul Kantner (Jefferson Starship) Standing Ovations 2009 "Rockin' the Mint." Paul Kantner (Jefferson Starship) Photo: Drew Altizer, Special To The Chronicle Image 30 of 36 This Jan. 17, 1996, file photo shows members of the 1960's band "The Jefferson Airplane," from left, Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady, Paul Kantner, Marty Balin, and Spencer Dryden posing backstage after the band's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in New York. Paul Kantner, an original member of the seminal 1960s rock band Jefferson Airplane and the eventual leader of successor group Jefferson Starship, has died at age 74. less This Jan.

17, 1996, file photo shows members of the 1960's band "The Jefferson Airplane," from left, Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady, Paul Kantner, Marty Balin, and Spencer Dryden posing backstage after the band's ... more Photo: JOE TABACCA, Associated Press Image 31 of 36 Original Jefferson Airplane member Paul Kantner sang in Mill Valley with the "Jefferson Airplane Volunteers." Original Jefferson Airplane member Paul Kantner sang in Mill Valley with the "Jefferson Airplane Volunteers." Image 32 of 36 Paul Kantner, of Jefferson Airplane/Starship poses for a portrait at Cafe Trieste, a favorite hangout him, on Friday Sept. 5, 2008 in San Francisco. Paul Kantner, of Jefferson Airplane/Starship poses for a portrait at Cafe Trieste, a favorite hangout him, on Friday Sept. 5, 2008 in San Francisco. Photo: Mike Kepka, The Chronicle Image 33 of 36 (Left to Right) Paul Kantner, Diana Mangano, Marty Balin, keyboard.

Chris Smith and Mark "Slick" Aguilar are behind Balin. (Left to Right) Paul Kantner, Diana Mangano, Marty Balin, keyboard. Chris Smith and Mark "Slick" Aguilar are behind Balin. Photo: Chronicle Image 34 of 36 Paul Kantner, of Jefferson Airplane/Starship poses for a portrait at Cafe Trieste, a favorite hangout him, on Friday Sept. 5, 2008 in San Francisco. Paul Kantner, of Jefferson Airplane/Starship poses for a portrait at Cafe Trieste, a favorite hangout him, on Friday Sept. 5, 2008 in San Francisco. Photo: Mike Kepka, The Chronicle Image 35 of 36 Paul Kantner of the Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship in October 1980. Paul Kantner of the Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship in October 1980. Photo: Clem Albers, The Chronicle Image 36 of 36 Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship, Starship one band, three names and a smoking hot lead singer.

High Octane Observations On Marriage, Divorce, Blended Families, Fatherhood, Masculinity, And Intellectual Roadkill RetroRewind – One Band, three names, and a smokin’ hot lead singer. Has there been a more awesome album cover, ever? Seriously? Few musical acts can lay claim to writing part of the sound-track of three decades. The Beatles may have changed the face of music but they only made it a decade. While the Rolling Stones have been at it longer they really haven’t done anything worth mention since Tattoo You in ’81. From their beginnings in the Haight Asbury district of San Francisco they made their mark in the psychedelic sound of the late 60’s and played all three major rock festivals at that time. (Monterrey ‘67, Woodstock ’69, and Altamont ‘69) Shortly after the band formed in ’65 their original lead singer gave birth and tapped out making way for the songstress whose unique sound would lead the way for the band meteoric success. The former model and contralto with a wicked name; Grace Slick would go onto define the group for years to come.

Jefferson Airplane would catapult into enormous commercial success and eventually deliver two songs that would make it on Rolling Stone’s “Top 500 Songs of All Time” with Somebody to Love and White Rabbit. They don't make 'em like that anymore. As the 70’s ushered in, drugs, alcohol, and changing points of view caused Jefferson Airplane to split and not long after the word “Airplane” would be traded in for “Starship”. As the new decade had a softer sound the band showed its astonishing versatility. With original members Grace Slick and Marty Balin the group continued pumping out chart topping songs with Miracles and With Your Love. But as often common members leave and legal battles ensue with the sole remaining member of the original Jefferson Airplane departed the reincarnation Starship was formed. Originally minus Grace Slick, she eventually returned to help make Starship became the prototypical band of the 80’s with #1 hits Sara and We Built This City. This week’s RetroRewind is a band whose sound was defined by and defined the culture it found itself in.

From thinly veiled drug references in the 60’s to stiring love songs in the 70’s and power anthems in the 80’s Jefferson Airplane/Starship is truly a band for the ages. Formally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 the band is a symbol of what music is supposed to be about. I’ve chosen one song from each decade to spotlight. After listening to all three you immediately notice the drastic difference in sound from the 60’s to 70’s to 80’s. Enjoy this week’s RetroRewind, in honor of one of the most enduring groups in music history. Go here for more information on the history of Jefferson Airplane . I don’t know what they were smoking, but I think I want some. Jefferson Airplane – White Rabbit – ’67 This song gives me goosebumps. Jefferson Starship – Miracles – ’75 The ubiquitous 80’s sound.

Starship – We Built this City – ’85 Jefferson Airplane | Biography & History | AllMusic google+ Artist Biography by William Ruhlmann Jefferson Airplane was the first of the San Francisco psychedelic rock groups of the 1960s to achieve national recognition. Although the Grateful Dead ultimately proved more long-lived and popular, Jefferson Airplane defined the San Francisco sound in the 1960s, with the acid rock guitar playing of Jorma Kaukonen and the soaring twin vocals of Grace Slick and Marty Balin , scoring hit singles and looking out from the covers of national magazines. They epitomized the drug-taking hippie ethos as well as the left-wing, antiwar political movement of their time, and their history was one of controversy along with hit records. Their personal interactions mirrored those times; the group was a collective with shifting alliances, in which leaders emerged and retreated. But for all the turmoil, Jefferson Airplane was remarkably productive between 1965 and 1972.

They toured regularly, being the only band to play at all the major '60s rock festivals -- Monterey, Woodstock, even Altamont -- and they released seven studio albums, five of which went gold, plus two live LPs and a million-selling hits collection that chronicled their eight chart singles. Rather than formally breaking up, they mutated into other configurations, Hot Tuna and Jefferson Starship , and went on to further success in the 1970s and '80s, before reuniting for an album and tour in 1989. The initial idea for the group that became Jefferson Airplane came from 23-year-old Marty Balin (born Martyn Jerel Buchwald in Cincinnati, OH, January 30, 1942), a San Francisco-raised singer who had recorded unsuccessfully for Challenge Records in 1962 and been a member of a folk group called the Town Criers in 1963-1964.

With the Beatles -led British Invasion of 1964, Balin saw the merging of folk with rock in early 1965 and decided to form a group to play the hybrid style as well as open a club for the group to play in. He interested three investors in converting a pizza restaurant on Fillmore Street into a 100-seat venue called the Matrix, and he began picking potential bandmembers from among the musicians at a folk club called the Drinking Gourd. His first recruit was rhythm guitarist/singer Paul Kantner (born Paul Lorin Kantner in San Francisco, CA, March 17, 1941; died in San Francisco, CA, January 28, 2016), who in turn recommended lead guitarist/singer Jorma Kaukonen (born Jorma Ludwik Kaukonen in Washington, D.C., December 23, 1940).

Balin , who possessed a keening tenor, wanted a complementary powerful female voice for the group and found it in Signe Toly (born Signe Ann Toly in Seattle, WA, September 15, 1941; died in Beaverton, OR, January 28, 2016). The six-piece band was completed by bass player Bob Harvey and drummer Jerry Peloquin . The group's unusual name was suggested by Kaukonen , who had once jokingly been dubbed " Blind Thomas Jefferson Airplane " by a friend in reference to the blues singer Blind Lemon Jefferson . Jefferson Airplane made their debut at the Matrix on August 13, 1965, and began performing at the club regularly. They attracted favorable press attention, which -- at a time when folk-rock performers like Sonny & Cher , We Five , Bob Dylan , the Byrds , the Beau Brummels , and the Turtles were all over the charts -- led to record company interest. By September, Jefferson Airplane was being wooed by several labels. At the same time, the band was already undergoing changes.

Peloquin was fired and replaced by Skip Spence (born Alexander Lee Spence, Jr. in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, on April 18, 1946; died in Santa Cruz, CA, April 16, 1999). Spence considered himself a guitarist, not a drummer, but he had some drumming experience. Also in September, Signe Toly married Jerry Anderson, who handled lights at the Matrix, becoming known as Signe Anderson . In October, Harvey was fired and replaced by Jack Casady (born John William Casady in Washington, D.C., April 13, 1944), a friend of Kaukonen 's. On November 15, 1965, this lineup -- Balin , Kantner , Anderson , Kaukonen , Spence , and Casady -- signed to RCA Victor Records. They had their first recording session in Los Angeles on December 16, and RCA released their debut single, Balin 's composition "It's No Secret," in February 1966; it did not chart.

Meanwhile, Jefferson Airplane began to appear at more prestigious venues in San Francisco and even to tour outside the Bay Area. In May 1966, Anderson gave birth to a daughter, and caring for the child while performing with the band became a challenge. Meanwhile, Spence became increasingly unreliable as his appetite for drugs increased, and he was replaced in June by session drummer Spencer Dryden (born Spencer Dryden Wheeler in New York, April 7, 1938; died in Petaluma, CA, January 11, 2005). Spence went on to form the band Moby Grape . Following a second non-charting single, Balin and Kantner 's "Come Up the Years," in July, Jefferson Airplane released their debut LP, Jefferson Airplane Takes Off , on August 15, 1966, just over a year after the band's debut. The album had modest sales, peaking at only number 128 during 11 weeks on the Billboard chart.

(A third single, Balin and Kantner 's "Bringing Me Down," was released from the album, but did not chart.) At this point, Anderson 's commitment to her family caused her departure from the group. Jefferson Airplane was able to find a strong replacement for her in Grace Slick (born Grace Barnett Wing in or near Chicago, IL, October 30, 1939), the lead singer for the San Francisco rock band the Great Society , which happened to be in the process of breaking up at the same time. Slick joined Jefferson Airplane in mid-October 1966, and by the end of the month was with them in the recording studio. She brought with her two songs from the Great Society repertoire: the rock tune "Somebody to Love," written by her brother-in-law Darby Slick , the Great Society 's guitarist, and her own composition, the ballad "White Rabbit," set to a bolero tempo, which used imagery from Alice in Wonderland to discuss the impact of psychedelic drugs. Both songs were recorded for Jefferson Airplane 's second album, Surrealistic Pillow .

RCA did not release either of them as the advance single from the album, opting instead for the departed Spence 's "My Best Friend" in January 1967; it became the group's fourth single to miss the charts. Surrealistic Pillow followed in February. It debuted in the charts the last week of March, and its progress was speeded by the release of "Somebody to Love," the first Jefferson Airplane single to feature Grace Slick as lead vocalist. By early May, both the album and single were in the Top 40 of their respective charts; a month later, both were in the Top Ten. With that, RCA released "White Rabbit" as a single, and it too reached the Top Ten. Surrealistic Pillow became Jefferson Airplane 's first gold album in July. Meanwhile, the band, which, naturally, had attracted national media attention (much of it focusing on Slick 's photogenic looks), began recording a new album and continued to tour.

On June 17, 1967, they performed at the Monterey International Pop Festival, which was celebrated for introducing many of the new San Francisco rock bands (as well as the Jimi Hendrix Experience ) and launching the "Summer of Love" that the season was touted to be in 1967. Jefferson Airplane 's performance was filmed and recorded. Two songs from their show, "High Flying Bird" and "Today," were featured in the documentary film Monterey Pop, released in 1968. The concert recording was heavily bootlegged and over the years has turned up on numerous gray-market releases as well. The nature of Jefferson Airplane 's commercial breakthrough, and the nature of the band itself, restricted their commercial appeal thereafter. AM Top 40 radio, in particular, became wary of a group that had scored a hit with a song widely derided for its drug references, and Jefferson Airplane never again enjoyed the kind of widespread radio support they would have needed to score more Top Ten hits. At the same time, the group did not think of itself as a hitmaking machine, and its recordings were becoming more adventurous.

Kantner 's "The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil," the band's new single released in August, featured him as lead singer with Slick and Balin harmonizing. It reached number 42 on the strength of the band's prominence, but they never again crossed the halfway mark in the Hot 100. At the same time, the rise of FM radio, attracted to longer cuts and the kind of experimental work the group was starting to do, gave them a new way of exposing their music. Nevertheless, their third album, After Bathing at Baxter's , its songs arranged into lengthy suites, was not as successful as Surrealistic Pillow when it appeared on November 27, 1967, reaching the Top 20 but failing to go gold. Also notable was the diminished participation of Marty Balin , who co-wrote only one song, and now was being marginalized in the group he had founded. After Kantner 's "Watch Her Ride," released as a single from After Bathing at Baxter's , stalled at number 61, RCA released a new Jefferson Airplane single written and sung by Slick in the spring of 1968.

But radio was even more resistant, and "Greasy Heart" stopped at number 98. It was included in the band's fourth album, Crown of Creation , released in August. The title track got to number 64 as a single, and the LP, which featured more concise, less experimental tracks than After Bathing at Baxter's , marked a resurgence in the group's commercial success, reaching the Top Ten and eventually going gold. Jefferson Airplane 's live appeal was chronicled on the concert album Bless Its Pointed Little Head , released in February 1969. In August, the group appeared at the Woodstock festival, and it was featured on the million-selling triple-LP soundtrack album to the resulting film in 1970, though it did not appear onscreen in the version initially released. The band's fifth studio album, Volunteers , appeared in October 1969 as its title song became a minor singles chart entry. Volunteers stopped short of the Top Ten, but it went gold in three months.

On December 6, 1969, the band played at the Rolling Stones ' disastrous Altamont free concert in California, its performance (complete with Balin 's beating at the hands of Hell's Angels) captured in the 1970 documentary film Gimme Shelter. Jefferson Airplane released one more single, the non-charting marijuana anthem "Mexico," in 1970 in its familiar configuration, but the turn of the 1970s brought great changes in the group. Already, Kaukonen and Casady , with assorted sidemen, had begun to play separately as Hot Tuna while maintaining their membership in Jefferson Airplane ; they had recorded shows the previous September for a self-titled debut album issued in May 1970. Spencer Dryden was fired early in the year and replaced by drummer Joey Covington (born Joseph Michno in East Conemaugh, PA, June 27, 1945; died in Palm Springs, CA, June 4, 2013). At shows performed in October 1970, violinist Papa John Creach , who had been performing with Hot Tuna , first played with Jefferson Airplane .

Creach (born John Henry Creach in Beaver Falls, PA, May 18, 1917; died February 22, 1994) was a journeyman musician decades older than any of the other members of Jefferson Airplane , and his recruitment was evidence of the ways in which the band's approach was changing. An even more radical change was the departure of Marty Balin , who left the band at the end of the fall tour in November. (His resignation was formally announced in April 1971.) Jefferson Airplane did not have a new album ready for release in 1970, and RCA filled the gap with a compilation, sarcastically dubbed The Worst of Jefferson Airplane and released in November. The album went gold quickly and was later certified platinum. Issued on its heels was Paul Kantner 's debut solo album, Blows Against the Empire , featuring most of the members of Jefferson Airplane as well as various other musical friends.

Due to that long list of sidemen and the album's science fiction theme about a group of hippies hijacking a spaceship, Kantner co-billed the disc to " Jefferson Starship ." As yet, there was no such entity, but Kantner would use the name for a real band later. Having completed their recording commitment to RCA, Jefferson Airplane shopped for a new label, but was wooed back when RCA offered them their own imprint, Grunt Records. Grunt bowed with the release of the sixth Jefferson Airplane studio album, Bark , in August 1971. The album stopped just short of the Top Ten and quickly went gold. Covington , Casady , and Kaukonen 's "Pretty as You Feel," later issued as a single, gave the band its final placing in the Hot 100 at number 60 early in 1972. Grunt issued albums by bandmembers including Creach and Hot Tuna , as well as discs by friends, but Jefferson Airplane remained its most successful act. In the early '70s, the members of Jefferson Airplane became increasingly preoccupied by their side projects.

Hot Tuna , having issued a second live album, First Pull Up, Then Pull Down , in the spring of 1971, put out their first studio effort, Burgers , in February 1972. Kantner and Slick , who had become a couple and had a child, China Kantner (who went on to be an MTV VJ in her teens), issued a duo album, Sunfighter , in December 1971. In April 1972, Covington left the band and was replaced by veteran drummer John Barbata (born in Passaic, NJ, April 1, 1945), formerly a member of the Turtles and a backup musician for Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young . The group then recorded its seventh studio album, Long John Silver , which was issued in the summer of 1972. It reached the Top 20 and went gold within six months.

For the accompanying tour, they added singer/multi-instrumentalist David Freiberg (born in Boston, MA, August 24, 1938), formerly a member of the San Francisco rock band Quicksilver Messenger Service , to provide the male lead vocals formerly sung by Balin . The tour concluded at the Winterland ballroom in San Francisco on September 22, 1972, in effect marking the end of Jefferson Airplane , although no formal announcement was ever made. Kaukonen and Casady went back to performing as Hot Tuna . Kantner , Slick , and Freiberg recorded a trio album, Baron von Tollbooth & the Chrome Nun , issued in the spring of 1973 and featuring the rest of Jefferson Airplane as side musicians. Slick 's debut solo album, Manhole , issued in early 1974, also featured many of the same performers. Kantner and Slick then organized a new band along the same lines as Jefferson Airplane , but without Kaukonen and Casady , and called it Jefferson Starship .

Meanwhile, a second Jefferson Airplane live album drawn from the 1972 tour, Thirty Seconds Over Winterland , was issued in the spring of 1973. Early Flight , a collection of stray tracks, appeared in the spring of 1974. Grunt issued the compilation Flight Log (1966-1976) at the start of 1977, filling the two LPs with tracks by Jefferson Airplane , Jefferson Starship , and various other spinoff acts. 2400 Fulton Street: An Anthology , named after the address of a house owned by the band in the 1960s, was a two-disc set released in 1987. All of these albums sold well enough to reach the charts. The various members of Jefferson Airplane went through various solo efforts and group affiliations in the 1970s and '80s, plus considerable litigation with an old manager and each other.

This was all cleared up by the late '80s, however, and in 1989 Kantner , Slick , Kaukonen , and Casady (who, with manager Bill Thompson , still owned the rights to use the name Jefferson Airplane ) brought in Balin (who had sold out his share in the group in 1971) and reunited as Jefferson Airplane for a tour and album. The tour, which ran from August 18 to October 7, was well received; the album, Jefferson Airplane , released by Epic Records, was only a modest success. After that, the band again became inactive. Slick retired. Kaukonen and Casady resumed performing as Hot Tuna . Kantner eventually resurrected the Jefferson Starship name, sometimes including Balin and even occasionally Slick , and playing Jefferson Airplane songs. RCA continued to release archival recordings, its most interesting issues being the 1992 box set Jefferson Airplane Loves You and the 1998 concert recording Live at the Fillmore East .

On January 28, 2016, Kantner died of multiple organ failure in San Francisco at the age of 74 -- the same day, and at the same age, that original Airplane singer Signe Anderson died at her home in Beaverton, Oregon. Jefferson Airplane | Rolling Stone artists > J > Jefferson Airplane > Bio Jefferson Airplane Bio Best known as the hippie revolutionaries who produced Sixties pop nuggets like "White Rabbit" and "Somebody to Love," Jefferson Airplane survived myriad personnel shifts, including the 1984 departure of founder/guiding light Paul Kantner, several name changes. Over its subsequent years, the band morphed from psychedelic rockers to an MOR pop powerhouse and back again. At the start, the Jefferson Airplane epitomized the burgeoning Haight-Ashbury culture and provided its soundtrack. The band began in 1965 when singer Marty Balin (b. Martyn Jerel Buchwald, Jan. 30, 1942, Cincinnati, OH), formerly with the acoustic group the Town Criers, met guitarist Paul Kantner (b. Mar.

17, 1941, San Francisco, CA) at the Drinking Gourd, a San Francisco club. They were first a folk-rock group, rounded out by lead guitarist Jorma Kaukonen, drummer Skip Spence, singer Signe Anderson, and bassist Bob Harvey , who was soon replaced by Jack Casady. Their first major show was on August 13, christening the Matrix Club, which later became a major outlet for new Bay Area bands. RCA signed the group and Jefferson Airplane Takes Off (Number 128, 1966) went gold. Anderson left to have a baby and was replaced by Grace Slick (b. Grace Barnett Wing, Oct. 30, 1939, Chicago, IL), a former model and member of the Great Society, a group formed in 1965. The Great Society, which included her husband at the time, Jerry Slick, and brother-in-law Darby, had completed two albums for Columbia that weren't released until after Slick became a star with the Airplane. Spence left the Airplane to form Moby Grape and was replaced by a former jazz drummer, Spencer Dryden (b. Apr.

7, 1944, New York, NY), completing the Airplane's most inventive lineup. Slick's vocals were stronger and more expressive than Anderson's; she later claimed that she tried to imitate the yowl of the lead guitar. She brought two Great Society songs to the Airplane's second album, Surrealistic Pillow — "Somebody to Love" (Number Five, 1967), co-written by Darby Slick, and her own "White Rabbit" (Number Eight, 1967), which was banned in some areas as a pro-drug song. The album (Number Three, 1967), sold half a million copies. After Bathing at Baxter's (Number 17, 1967) included a nine-minute psychedelic jam-collage, "Spayre Change," and occasioned the group's first battle with RCA over obscene language: The word "shit" was deleted from the lyric sheet.

Baxter's had no hit singles and didn't sell well, but the Airplane recouped with the gold Crown of Creation (Number Six, 1968), which included Slick's "Lather" and David Crosby's "Triad," a song about a ménage à trois that had been rejected by Crosby's current group, the Byrds. The band's ego conflicts already were beginning, however, as Slick stole media attention from Balin (the band's founder), and the songwriting became increasingly divergent. Live, Slick and Balin traded vocals in battles that became increasingly feverish, and the volatile sound of the band in concert was captured on Bless Its Pointed Little Head (Number 17, 1969). By the time the sextet recorded 1969's Volunteers, the Airplane's contract allowed it total "artistic control," which meant that the "Up against the wall, motherfuckers" chorus of "We Can Be Together" appeared intact. The Airplane performed at the Woodstock and Altamont festivals but then had its second major shakeup.

Dryden left in 1970 to join the New Riders of the Purple Sage (he was replaced by Joey Covington), and the band stopped touring when Slick became pregnant by Kantner. Anxious to perform, Kaukonen and Casady formed Hot Tuna [see entry] (originally Hot Shit), which later seceded from the Airplane, although, like most band members, they would return. In the meantime, Kantner and the housebound Slick recorded Blows Against the Empire (Number 20, 1970). Billed as Paul Kantner and Jefferson Starship (the debut of the name), the album featured Jerry Garcia, David Crosby, Graham Nash, and other friends. It became the first musical work nominated for the science-fiction writers' Hugo Award. At the same time, a greatest-hits package entitled The Worst of the Jefferson Airplane (Number 12, 1970) was released. On January 25, 1971, Slick and Kantner's daughter, China, was born; that spring, Balin, who had nothing to do with Blows and contributed only one cowritten composition to Volunteers, left.

He formed a short-lived band, Bodacious D.F. In August the Airplane formed its own label, Grunt, distributed by RCA. The band's reunited effort, Bark (Number 11, 1971), saw them with Covington and all of Hot Tuna, including violinist Papa John Creach, who had first performed with Hot Tuna at a Winterland show in 1970. The band had grown apart, though, and Hot Tuna and Kantner-Slick were each writing for their own offshoot projects. In December 1971 Slick and Kantner released Sunfighter (Number 89, 1971) under both their names, with baby China as cover girl. (China grew up to become an MTV VJ and an actor.) In July 1972 this version of the Airplane recorded its last studio album, Long John Silver (Number 20), with some drumming from ex-Turtle John Barbata. In August 1972 at a free concert in New York's Central Park, the band introduced ex–Quicksilver Messenger Service bassist, keyboardist, and vocalist David Freiberg to the ranks.

The Airplane unofficially retired at that point. By that September, Casady and Kaukonen had decided to go full-time with Hot Tuna, though they appeared on the live album Thirty Seconds Over Winterland (Number 52, 1973), which came out in April 1973. Slick, Kantner, and Freiberg recorded Baron Von Tollbooth and the Chrome Nun (Number 120, 1973), one of the band's least popular efforts. Slick's equally disappointing solo debut, Manhole (Number 127), appeared in January 1974. By then, she had developed a serious drinking problem, and the band was hoping that the Tuna players would return. They did not. Finally, in February 1974 Slick and Kantner officially formed the Jefferson Starship (no strict relation to the group on Blows), with Freiberg, Creach, Barbata, and 19-year-old lead guitarist Craig Chaquico. Chaquico had played with the Grunt band Steelwind with his high school English teacher Jack Traylor, and on Slick and Kantner's collaborative albums beginning with Sunfighter.

The new group also included Peter Kangaroo (Jorma's brother), though in June he was replaced by Pete Sears, a British sessionman who had played on Rod Stewart's records and had been a member of Copperhead. On Dragon Fly (Number 11, 1974), Balin made a guest appearance on his and Kantner's song "Caroline." The album went gold. Balin tentatively rejoined the band in January 1975, and the group's next big breakthrough came with Red Octopus, its first Number One album, hitting that position several times during the year and selling 4 million copies. Balin's ballad "Miracles" was a Number Three single. The band was more popular than ever, but in Slick's opinion the music had become bland and corporate, and her rivalry with Balin had not diminished. The group's followup album, 1976's Spitfire, went Number Three and platinum, its first album to do so. But after the successful Earth (Number Five, 1978; also platinum), both Slick and Balin left.

By then, Slick and Kantner's romance had ended; in November 1976, she married the band's 24-year-old lighting director, Skip Johnson. Her alcoholism forced her to quit the band in the middle of a European tour, leading to a crowd riot in Germany when she did not appear. Her solo albums were neither great critical nor great commercial successes, although throughout the years, her distinctive singing style never changed. In 1980 Balin produced a rock opera entitled Rock Justice in San Francisco. He did a solo album of MOR love songs and in 1981 had a hit single with "Hearts." With its two lead singers gone, the group's future again seemed in question, but in 1979 Mickey Thomas, best known as lead vocalist on the Elvin Bishop hit "Fooled Around and Fell in Love," joined, and Barbata was replaced by Aynsley Dunbar, a former Frank Zappa and David Bowie sideman who had just left Journey.

The new lineup's Freedom at Point Zero (Number Ten, 1979) went gold on the strength of its Number 14 hit, "Jane." The group's momentum ground to a halt in 1980 after Kantner suffered a brain hemorrhage that, despite its severity, left no permanent damage. The next year came Modern Times (Number 26, 1981), which featured Slick on one track; she rejoined the band in February 1981, and the Jefferson Starship again ascended with a string of Top 40 hits: "Be My Lady" (Number 28, 1982), "Winds of Change" (Number 38, 1983), and "No Way Out" (Number 23, 1984). Professing his disdain for the group's more commercial direction, Kantner left in 1984, taking with him the "Jefferson" part of its name. Then known simply as Starship, the group enjoyed even greater commercial success.

From the platinum Number Seven Knee Deep in the Hoopla came "We Built This City" (Number One, 1985), "Sara" (Number One, 1986), and "Tomorrow Doesn't Matter Tonight" (Number 26, 1986). No Protection (Number 12, 1987) included the group's third Number One hit, 1987's "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now," and "It's Not Over ('Til It's Over)" (Number Nine, 1987), which was later adopted as the theme song of Major League Baseball. The group's last Top 40 single, "It's Not Enough," appeared in 1989. The core trio of Thomas, Chaquico, and Baldwin, abetted by Brett Bloomfield and Mark Morgan, attempted to keep the ship aloft, but in 1990 the group called it quits. Thomas formed yet another band, Starship With Mickey Thomas, whose only links to the original dynasty were himself and latecomer Bloomfield.

In the meantime, in 1989, Kantner, Slick, Balin, Casady, and Kaukonen revived the early Jefferson Airplane lineup and released Jefferson Airplane (Number 85, 1989). Before that, Kantner, Balin, and Casady had formed the KBC Band; its self-titled LP went to Number 75 in 1986. With Starship now disbanded, Kantner reclaimed the Jefferson Starship moniker and put together a new lineup in 1991, which included Airplane/Starship stalwarts Casady and Creach as well as Tim Gorman (who had worked with the Who and the Jefferson Airplane), ex-Tube Prairie Prince, former KBC member Slick Aguilar, and lead singer Darby Gould, whom Kantner discovered fronting her band World Entertainment War. Gould was joined by vocalist Diana Mangano. The next year, Balin joined. This group, dubbed by Kantner Jefferson Starship - The Next Generation, toured in the early Nineties to positive reviews.

With Slick (who had by then retired from performing) guesting on several songs, the band recorded the live Deep Space/Virgin Sky, which consisted of new material as well as "covers" of classic Airplane and Starship tracks. The album Windows of Heaven first came out in Germany in 1998 but was remixed for its American release in 1999. In 2000 Balin, Kantner, and Casady started touring as Jefferson Airplane's Volunteers and were promptly sued by Jefferson Airplane manager and shareholder of Jefferson Airplane Inc., Bill Thompson, for using the name without permission. Adding to the confusion, Mickey Thomas has been touring as Starship Featuring Mickey Thomas since 1992. The Kantner/Freiberg/Aguilar version of Jefferson Starship continued touring in the 2000s, with yet another female vocalist, Cathy Richardson, and other revolving-door members and famous guests including early Grateful Dead keyboardist Tom Constanten.

In 2008 the group released Jefferson's Tree of Liberty, an album of mostly protest folk cover songs including Woody Guthrie's "Pastures of Plenty," Phil Ochs' "I Ain't Marchin' Anymore" and Bob Dylan's "Chimes of Freedom." Slick has remained true to her vow not to perform anymore and now dedicates herself to painting. Invoking health reasons, she declined to appear with Jefferson Airplane when it performed at its induction into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in January 1996 (though she guested on ex–4 Non Blondes singer Linda Perry's album In Flight later that same year). In 1998 she published her autobiography, Somebody to Love? Skip Spence, Jefferson Airplane's original drummer died of lung cancer on April 16, 1999. Six years later, his successor and former Slick boyfriend Spencer Dryden succumbed to colon cancer on January 10, 2005. Portions of this biography appeared in The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Simon & Schuster, 2001). Mark Kemp contributed to this article.

Jefferson Airplane's first female singer dies at 74 | Las Vegas Review-Journal Jefferson Airplane's first female singer dies at 74 Jefferson Airplane's first female singer dies at 74 NDN-VIDEO-40233093895.mov Signe Toly Anderson interview (YouTube) By Alex Stedman Variety LOS ANGELES — Signe Anderson, the first female vocalist of Jefferson Airplane, died Thursday, the same day the band's Paul Kantner also died . She was 74. A cause of death has yet to be revealed, but former band mate Jack Casady said Anderson had recently been entered into hospice care. Kantner died of multiple organ failure and septic shock. Anderson was born Signe Toly in Seattle and raised in Portland. She joined Jefferson Airplane in 1965, marrying Merry Prankster Jerry Anderson shortly after.

The vocalist sang on the band's debut LP in 1965, "Jefferson Airplane Takes Off," which featured her lead vocals on Chet Powers' "Let's Get Together" and "Chauffeur Blues." Anderson decided to leave the band in 1966 after giving birth to her first child. She stuck with Jefferson Airplane as it searched for a replacement, which would become Grace Slick of Great Society. Anderson gave her last performance with Jefferson Airplane on Oct. 15, 1966. Slick took the stage with the band the following night. After news came out of her death, tributes from Anderson's former band mates poured out on social media. "One sweet lady has passed on," Marty Balin wrote on his Facebook. "I imagine that she and Paul woke up in heaven and said 'Hey what are you doing here? Let's start a band' and no sooner then said Spencer was there joining in!" Balin was referring to Jefferson Airplane's late drummer, Spencer Dryen. "Signe was one of the strongest people I have ever met," guitarist Jorma Kaukonen wrote on his blog. "She was our den mother in the early days of the Airplane...

a voice of reason on more occasions than one... an important member of our dysfunctional little family. I always looked forward to seeing her when we played the Aladdin in Portland. She never complained and was always a joy." "I was just informed of the passing of Signe Anderson, the same day as we lost Paul," bassist Casady wrote on Facebook. "Signe was our, Jefferson Airplane's, first female singer. I had been in touch with Signe this past week as she had moved from her home to hospice care. She was a real sweetheart with a terrific contralto voice coming from a solid folk background. Listen to how she made the three part harmonies of JA Takes Off (first album) sound so thick...her wonderful tone between Paul's and Marty's. A sad day... for those of us still here."

Question: Which woman was the singer with Jefferson Airplane?
Answer: Grace Slick