Jefferson Starship
Encyclopedia
Jefferson Starship is an American rock band formed in the early 1970s. The group is a spin-off from the iconic 1960s psychedelic/folk group Jefferson Airplane
. The band has undergone several major changes in personnel and genres through the years while retaining the same Jefferson Starship name. The current Jefferson Starship, led by co-founder Paul Kantner
, more closely resembles its original mix of psychedelic and electric folk music than the pop-driven tunes it was widely known for in the early to mid-1980s. It is not to be confused with Starship, a spin-off of the group featuring former co-lead singer Mickey Thomas
that also periodically tours. The latter group is most frequently identified with the 1980s pop tunes of the Jefferson Starship.
recorded Blows Against the Empire
. This was a concept album featuring an ad hoc group of musicians and credited on the LP as "Jefferson Starship", marking the first use of that name.
This 'prototype' version of Jefferson Starship included David Crosby
and Graham Nash
and Grateful Dead
members Jerry Garcia
, Bill Kreutzmann
, and Mickey Hart
, as well as some of the remaining members of Jefferson Airplane, lead singer Grace Slick
, drummer Joey Covington
and bassist Jack Casady
. This agglomeration was informally known as the Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra
, a moniker later used on a Kantner album in the early 1980s.
In Blows Against the Empire, Kantner (and Slick) sang about a group of people escaping Earth in a hijacked starship. In 1971, the album was nominated for the prestigious science fiction prize, the Hugo Award
, a rare honor for a musical recording. Rolling Stone calls it "a sci-fi song suite that now suffers from concept-album creakiness but at its time boasted an experimental edge". It was while that album was being made that Kantner sealed his love affair with Grace Slick; their daughter China Kantner
(who made a name for herself as an MTV veejay in the 1980s) was born shortly thereafter.
Kantner and Slick with the Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra released two follow-up albums: Sunfighter
, an environmentalism-tinged album released in 1971 to celebrate China's birth, and 1973's Baron von Tollbooth & The Chrome Nun
, titled after the nicknames David Crosby had given to the couple. The artist credit on Baron von Tollbooth gave ex-bassist-keyboard player-vocalist David Freiberg
equal billing with Kantner and Slick. Freiberg had known and played with Kantner on the folk circuit in the early 1960s and also appeared on Blows Against the Empire, and he had joined Jefferson Airplane in time to appear on their live LP Thirty Seconds over Winterland. Early in 1974, Slick released Manhole, her first solo album. It was on the Manhole album that Kantner and Slick next worked with Pete Sears
(who had first played on Papa John Creach
's first solo album
), who was co-producing a Kathi McDonald album in the same studio. Sears wrote and recorded the song, "Better Lying Down" with Slick, and played bass on the song "Epic #38". It was during this session at Wally Heider studios in San Francisco, that Paul first asked Pete to play with a new band he was forming that was later christened Jefferson Starship. Sears had worked on three of Rod Stewart
's early British recordings, and had to go back to England to play on Smiler
, Stewart's last album made in London, so Jorma Kaukonen
's brother Peter Kaukonen first played with the band early in 1974 before Sears returned to the States and replaced him in Jefferson Starship in June 1974.
Kantner is credited with discovering teenage guitarist Craig Chaquico
during this time, who first appeared on Sunfighter and played with Kantner, Slick and their bands and then with Starship through 1990. He later embarked on a successful solo career as a smooth jazz
artist.
, the musicians on Baron von Tollbooth & the Chrome Nun
formed the core of a new lineup that was formally reborn as "Jefferson Starship" in 1974. Kantner, Slick, and Freiberg were charter members. The line-up also included late-Airplane holdovers drummer John Barbata
and fiddler Papa John Creach
(who also played with Hot Tuna), Jorma Kaukonen's brother Peter, who, after the group's 1974 spring tour, was replaced by Pete Sears
(who, like Freiberg, played bass and keyboards) and twenty-year-old guitarist Craig Chaquico
. Marty Balin
contributed the haunting ballad "Caroline" to their first album Dragon Fly, but did not join the band again until January 1975. Balin stayed with the group for nearly the remainder of the decade. This line-up proved to be the band's most commercially successful so far. Balin's ballad Miracles
helped 1975's Red Octopus
reach multiple-platinum status and No.1 in the Billboard charts. Creach left the band in August 1975 to pursue a solo career.
The next album, Spitfire
, was released in June 1976 and while it went platinum and climbed to #3, the band considered the album's sales to be relatively disappointing compared to its predecessor and requested an audit from RCA Records
, distributor of their Grunt label. RCA subsequently put a reported $500,000 into the next Jefferson Starship project. Earth
was released in March 1978 and followed by tours of the U.S. and Europe.
Balin's reluctance to tour had kept the band off the road for over a year, and Slick's alcoholism increasingly became a problem, which led to two consecutive nights of disastrous concerts in Germany in June 1978. On the first night, fans ransacked the stage when Slick and the band failed to appear. On the second night, Slick, in a drunken stupor, shocked the audience by swearing and making sexual references throughout most of her songs. She also reminded the audience that their country had lost World War II, repeatedly asking "Who won the war?", and implied that all residents of Germany were responsible for the wartime atrocities. After the debacle, Kantner asked for Slick's resignation from the band.
Towards the end of 1978, Jefferson Starship (now without Grace Slick) recorded "Light the Sky on Fire" for The Star Wars Holiday Special
and their forthcoming greatest hits album Gold. Gold, highlighting their work from 1974's Dragon Fly through to 1978's Earth, was released early the following year. "Light the Sky on Fire" (backed with Sears' and Slick's "Hyperdrive", from Dragon Fly) was included as a bonus single in the original packaging of album. (When Gold was issued on CD, both tracks were included on the album.) The album originally had a shortened single version of the hit Miracles
; early pressings of the CD repeated this, but later editions had the full-length version from the album Red Octopus.
In October 1978 Balin too left the group, leaving Kantner and company to find a new lead singer in Mickey Thomas (who had sung lead on Elvin Bishop
's "Fooled Around and Fell in Love"). Thomas joined the group in April 1979. Barbata had been seriously injured in a car accident in October 1978 and was replaced by Aynsley Dunbar
, who had previously played with Journey
.
After the 1979 release of Freedom at Point Zero
(which spawned the hit single "Jane"), the new lineup toured, augmented by saxophonist Steve Schuster. (Schuster, along with horn player David Farey, had played on Jefferson Starship's 1978 tour, and he had also appeared on Freedom At Point Zero).
In early 1981 Grace Slick returned to the band, rejoining in time to sing on one song, written by Pete and Jeannette Sears, "Stranger", on the group's next album, Modern Times
(1981). Modern Times also included the humorous "Stairway to Cleveland", in which the band defended the numerous changes it had undergone in its musical style, personnel, and even name. Slick remained in the band for Jefferson Starship's next two albums, Winds of Change
(1982) and Nuclear Furniture
(1984). One noted personnel change in the group between the two albums was Dunbar leaving in August 1982, replaced by Donny Baldwin
, who had performed with Thomas in the Elvin Bishop Group. Around this time, the band began enthusiastically embracing the rock-video age, making elaborate videos typical of the era's superstar bands. Grace Slick would appear frequently on MTV
and such music-oriented television shows as Solid Gold, giving the band a high visibility in the MTV era. Although the Jefferson Starship albums of this era were only modestly successful, the band remained a gold-selling (and thus commercially credible) act and a popular concert draw. During this year, band groupie
Patricia Lang helped establish a large "groupie following" with over one million fans using BBS services, which at the time was very progressive. It is believed to be one of the first uses of online services for gathering a large fan base support.
(who had played on the sessions for Nuclear Furniture and briefly joined the band on the road for the followup tour) and that was the instrument Freiberg was supposed to be playing. He left the band and the next album was finished with the five remaining members. In 1984, Gabriel Katona (who had previously played in Rare Earth
and Player
) joined the band to play keyboards and saxophone on the road with them through the end of 1986.
The next album, Knee Deep in the Hoopla
was released in October 1985 and scored two No.1 hits. The first was "We Built This City
", written by Bernie Taupin
, Martin Page
, Dennis Lambert, and Peter Wolf
and was engineered by Grammy-winning producer Bill Bottrell
and arranged by Bottrell and Jasun Martz
; the second was "Sara". The album itself reached #7, went platinum, and spawned two more singles: "Tomorrow Doesn't Matter Tonight" (#26), and "Before I Go" (#68). The band had not had a No.1 hit record since the original Jefferson Starship released Red Octopus
in 1975.
In early 1987, "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now
" was featured in the film Mannequin
and hit #1, although only Slick and Thomas (plus Craig Chaquico's guitar solo) appeared on it. At that time, the song made Slick the oldest female vocalist to sing on a number-one Billboard Hot 100
hit, at the age of 47, (She held this record until Cher
broke it at the age of 52, in 1999 with "Believe
".) The following year, the band's song "Wild Again" (which reached No.73 on the Billboard singles chart) was used in the movie Cocktail.
By the time No Protection was released, bassist and keyboardist Pete Sears
had left the band. Sears went on to play keyboards with former Jefferson Airplane members Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady in Hot Tuna
for ten years. Starship's No Protection was not released until well after "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" (its most popular single) had peaked on the charts, and went gold; in addition to "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" (#1), it featured the singles "It's Not Over ('Til It's Over)" (#9), and "Beat Patrol" (#46). The last song on the album, "Set The Night To Music", would later become a huge hit when re-recorded as a duet between Roberta Flack
and Maxi Priest
. For the No Protection tour, Brett Bloomfield was brought in to replace Sears and Mark Morgan was their new stage keyboardist.
Grace Slick left Starship in 1988, going on to join the reformed Jefferson Airplane
, for one album in 1989, before announcing that she was retiring from music. As Kantner, Sears and Freiberg had left the band, all the new and remaining members were more than a decade younger than she was. To this day Slick maintains that old(er) people "don't belong on a rock and roll stage".
With Slick's departure, Thomas became sole lead singer. The revamped lineup released Love Among the Cannibals
in August 1989. On September 24 of that year while the band was in Scranton, Pennsylvania
for a show, Donny Baldwin seriously injured Mickey Thomas in a fight. Thomas was forced to undergo reconstructive facial surgery and Baldwin was fired.
Early the following year, RCA assembled a greatest hits album, Greatest Hits (Ten Years and Change 1979-1991)
, which featured two new tracks, one with Thomas & Chaquico (recorded before Craig had left) and the other featuring only Thomas and session players. For a brief period it was thought that Thomas would continue forward as Starship, but manager Bill Thompson then decided it was over and told RCA that the band was done making records. Thomas revived Starship in 1992 as "Mickey Thomas' Starship" before settling on Starship featuring Mickey Thomas with different personnel and has toured steadily ever since.
In November 2010, Mickey Thomas announced on his website that a new Starship album, Loveless Fascination, would be released in the summer or fall of 2011.
), a group that would, at times, include various former Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship members, to tour and perform. After the first couple of years, the band dropped the use of "The Next Generation", and began to perform as Jefferson Starship. The revived band grew out of Paul Kantner’s decision, following the "Unplugged
" trend, to hit the road in 1991 with an acoustic ensemble called Paul Kantner’s Wooden Ships
, a trio that included Slick Aguilar
and Tim Gorman
from the KBC Band
, a previous group centered on former Jefferson Airplane/Starship members.
The success of this project prompted Kantner to reinvent his electric band, and Jefferson Starship took off once again. In addition to Aguilar and Gorman, Kantner recruited former collaborators Jack Casady
and blues violinist Papa John Creach
; former Tubes drummer Prairie Prince
; and former World Entertainment War vocalist Darby Gould
.
In 1993 Marty Balin
rejoined Jefferson Starship, ending a 15-year hiatus from the group. Papa John died in February 1994, weeks after touring Europe. Concurrently a young vocalist, Diana Mangano, joined the group as Gould's replacement after a brief spell by original Jefferson Airplane singer Signe Toly Anderson
.
In 1995 Starship released Deep Space / Virgin Sky
, a live album recorded at the House of Blues in West Hollywood, California on January 21, 1995. The album featured eight new and seven classic tunes. Grace Slick joined the band for five songs, "Lawman", "Wooden Ships", "Somebody To Love" and "White Rabbit" and "Volunteers". In 1999 Jefferson Starship released the studio album Windows of Heaven, which featured Slick on background vocals on one song, "I'm On Fire".
Balin continued as a full-time member of the reunited band until 2003 and still occasionally joins them in concert. Casady remained a member until 2000 and has also (since 1983) played with Jorma Kaukonen in a reunited Hot Tuna. Gorman left in 1995 and was replaced by Gary Cambra (from The Tubes
), Barry Flast and then T Lavitz
, who stayed with the band for the recording of Windows of Heaven
but was replaced by former Supremes keyboardist Chris Smith before the album's release. In 2005, twenty years after leaving, David Freiberg
rejoined the group. Jefferson Starship played three songs on NBC's The Today Show on June 30, 2007.
Mangano was replaced by vocalist Cathy Richardson
in early 2008, and Prince was replaced by the reinstated Baldwin.
In March and May 2008, tracks were recorded for the new studio album released on September 2, 2008, Jefferson's Tree of Liberty
.
In addition to the current members, Grace Slick made contributions to the bonus track on the album, and Marty Balin and Jack Casady appear on a recording originally made for Windows of Heaven.
In July and August 2008, they played a two-part UK tour, including three nights at the 100 Club
in London and an appearance at the Rhythm Festival
.
In 2009 they toured as part of the Heroes of Woodstock tour
with Jeff Pevar
(Jazz Is Dead
, Crosby, Pevar & Raymond) on bass. Other musicians included in this tour were Canned Heat
, Ten Years After
, Country Joe McDonald
, Tom Constanten
, Big Brother and the Holding Company
, Melanie
, John Sebastian
, Mountain
, Quicksilver Messenger Service
and Levon Helm Band, although not all artists appeared at every show.
As of 2010, Jefferson Starship continues to tour with a lineup of Paul Kantner (vocals, guitar), David Freiberg (vocals, guitar), Cathy Richardson
(vocals), Slick Aguilar (lead guitar), Chris Smith (keyboards) and Donny Baldwin (drums). The band sometimes features guest musicians such as Balin, Gould, Gorman.
On June 5, 2011 Jefferson Starship (Kanter, Freiberg, Richardson and Smith) performed with the Contemporary Youth Orchestra
at Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica in Cleveland, OH. The show was broadcasted live on HDNet
for the HDNet Concert Series.
Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1965. A pioneer of the psychedelic rock movement, Jefferson Airplane was the first band from the San Francisco scene to achieve mainstream commercial and critical success....
. The band has undergone several major changes in personnel and genres through the years while retaining the same Jefferson Starship name. The current Jefferson Starship, led by co-founder Paul Kantner
Paul Kantner
Paul Lorin Kantner is an American rock musician, known for co-founding the psychedelic rock band Jefferson Airplane and its spin-off band Jefferson Starship.- Overview :...
, more closely resembles its original mix of psychedelic and electric folk music than the pop-driven tunes it was widely known for in the early to mid-1980s. It is not to be confused with Starship, a spin-off of the group featuring former co-lead singer Mickey Thomas
Mickey Thomas
John Michael Thomas aka Mickey Thomas is an American singer.-Early career:Thomas was inspired to pursue a career in music after travelling to Atlanta with long time childhood friends Charles Connell and Tommy Verran to see a Beatles performance in 1965. Thomas, Connell, and Verran wound up in...
that also periodically tours. The latter group is most frequently identified with the 1980s pop tunes of the Jefferson Starship.
Paul Kantner/Jefferson Starship
During the transitional period of the early 1970s, when the Jefferson Airplane was in the process of disbanding, singer-guitarist Paul KantnerPaul Kantner
Paul Lorin Kantner is an American rock musician, known for co-founding the psychedelic rock band Jefferson Airplane and its spin-off band Jefferson Starship.- Overview :...
recorded Blows Against the Empire
Blows Against the Empire
Blows Against the Empire is a concept album by Paul Kantner and Grace Slick, released under the name Paul Kantner and Jefferson Starship, the first album to use the "Starship" name, although the personnel line-up was not the same as would appear on the first actual Jefferson Starship...
. This was a concept album featuring an ad hoc group of musicians and credited on the LP as "Jefferson Starship", marking the first use of that name.
This 'prototype' version of Jefferson Starship included David Crosby
David Crosby
David Van Cortlandt Crosby is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of three bands: The Byrds, Crosby, Stills & Nash , and CPR...
and Graham Nash
Graham Nash
Graham William Nash, OBE is an English singer-songwriter known for his light tenor vocals and for his songwriting contributions with the British pop group The Hollies, and with the folk-rock band Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Nash is a photography collector and a published photographer...
and Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
members Jerry Garcia
Jerry Garcia
Jerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
, Bill Kreutzmann
Bill Kreutzmann
Bill Kreutzmann is an American drummer who played with the rock band the Grateful Dead for their entire thirty-year career...
, and Mickey Hart
Mickey Hart
Mickey Hart is an American percussionist and musicologist. He is best known as one of the two drummers of the rock band the Grateful Dead. He was a member of the Grateful Dead from September 1967 to February 1971, and from October 1974 to August 1995...
, as well as some of the remaining members of Jefferson Airplane, lead singer Grace Slick
Grace Slick
Grace Slick is an American singer and songwriter, who was one of the lead singers of the rock groups The Great Society, Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship, and Starship, and was a solo artist, for nearly three decades, from the mid-1960s to the mid-1990s...
, drummer Joey Covington
Joey Covington
Joseph "Joey" Edward Covington is a US drummer, best known for his involvements with Hot Tuna and Jefferson Airplane.-Brief biography:...
and bassist Jack Casady
Jack Casady
Jack Casady , is an American musician considered one of the foremost bass guitarists of the rock music era and best known as a member of Jefferson Airplane. First playing as a lead guitarist with the Washington D.C...
. This agglomeration was informally known as the Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra
Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra
The Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra is a nickname given to artists who recorded together in the early 1970s. They were predominantly members of Jefferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and Crosby, Stills and Nash. Their first album together was Blows Against the...
, a moniker later used on a Kantner album in the early 1980s.
In Blows Against the Empire, Kantner (and Slick) sang about a group of people escaping Earth in a hijacked starship. In 1971, the album was nominated for the prestigious science fiction prize, the Hugo Award
Hugo Award
The Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
, a rare honor for a musical recording. Rolling Stone calls it "a sci-fi song suite that now suffers from concept-album creakiness but at its time boasted an experimental edge". It was while that album was being made that Kantner sealed his love affair with Grace Slick; their daughter China Kantner
China Kantner
China Wing Kantner , is an American actress of television, theatre and the cinema. She is also a former MTV VJ.-Biography:...
(who made a name for herself as an MTV veejay in the 1980s) was born shortly thereafter.
Kantner and Slick with the Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra released two follow-up albums: Sunfighter
Sunfighter
-Personnel:*Paul Kantner – vocals, rhythm guitar*Grace Slick – vocals, piano*Jack Traylor – guitar on "Earth Mother", vocals on "Earth Mother"*Jerry Garcia – guitar on "When I Was a Boy I Watched the Wolves", "Million", and "Holding Together"...
, an environmentalism-tinged album released in 1971 to celebrate China's birth, and 1973's Baron von Tollbooth & The Chrome Nun
Baron von Tollbooth & the Chrome Nun
-Personnel:*Paul Kantner – vocals on all tracks except "Across the Board" and "Fishman", rhythm guitar on all tracks except "Across the Board" and "Fishman", glass harmonica on "Harp Tree Lament" and "White Boy"...
, titled after the nicknames David Crosby had given to the couple. The artist credit on Baron von Tollbooth gave ex-bassist-keyboard player-vocalist David Freiberg
David Freiberg
David Freiberg is an American musician. He was vocalist and/or bass guitar player with Quicksilver Messenger Service, Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship.-Career:...
equal billing with Kantner and Slick. Freiberg had known and played with Kantner on the folk circuit in the early 1960s and also appeared on Blows Against the Empire, and he had joined Jefferson Airplane in time to appear on their live LP Thirty Seconds over Winterland. Early in 1974, Slick released Manhole, her first solo album. It was on the Manhole album that Kantner and Slick next worked with Pete Sears
Pete Sears
Peter 'Pete' Sears is an English rock musician. In a career spanning more than four decades he has been a member of many bands and has moved through a variety of musical genres, from early R&B, psychedelic improvisational rock of the 1960s, folk, country music, arena rock in the 1970s, and blues...
(who had first played on Papa John Creach
Papa John Creach
Papa John Creach played for Jefferson Airplane , Hot Tuna, Jefferson Starship, Jefferson Starship - The Next Generation, the San Francisco All-Stars , The Dinosaurs , and Steve Taylor...
's first solo album
Papa John Creach (album)
Papa John Creach is Papa John Creach's first solo album. All the members of Jefferson Airplane also make appearances on the album along with members of the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Santana, and Tower of Power.-Side One:...
), who was co-producing a Kathi McDonald album in the same studio. Sears wrote and recorded the song, "Better Lying Down" with Slick, and played bass on the song "Epic #38". It was during this session at Wally Heider studios in San Francisco, that Paul first asked Pete to play with a new band he was forming that was later christened Jefferson Starship. Sears had worked on three of Rod Stewart
Rod Stewart
Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
's early British recordings, and had to go back to England to play on Smiler
Smiler (album)
Smiler is Rod Stewart's fifth album, and final album for Mercury Records, released in 1974 . It became the first album by Rod Stewart as a solo artist to become critically panned. Although it reached number 1 in the UK album chart, it stalled at number 13 in the US...
, Stewart's last album made in London, so Jorma Kaukonen
Jorma Kaukonen
Jorma Ludwik Kaukonen Jr. is an American blues, folk, and rock guitarist, best known for his work with Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna.-Biography:...
's brother Peter Kaukonen first played with the band early in 1974 before Sears returned to the States and replaced him in Jefferson Starship in June 1974.
Kantner is credited with discovering teenage guitarist Craig Chaquico
Craig Chaquico
Craig Chaquico is an American guitarist of Portuguese and Native American descent. He has had over thirty years of success in a variety of genres: in the 1970s with the post-Summer of Love Jefferson Starship, in that band's 1980s incarnation, Starship, and in the 1990s and 2000s as a...
during this time, who first appeared on Sunfighter and played with Kantner, Slick and their bands and then with Starship through 1990. He later embarked on a successful solo career as a smooth jazz
Smooth jazz
Smooth jazz is a genre of music that grew out of jazz fusion and is influenced by R&B, funk, rock, and pop music styles ....
artist.
Jefferson Starship
By 1973, with Kaukonen and Casady now devoting their full attention to Hot TunaHot Tuna
Hot Tuna is an American blues-rock band formed by bassist Jack Casady and guitarist Jorma Kaukonen as a spin-off of Jefferson Airplane. It plays acoustic and electric versions of original and traditional blues songs.- Jefferson Airplane side project :...
, the musicians on Baron von Tollbooth & the Chrome Nun
Baron von Tollbooth & the Chrome Nun
-Personnel:*Paul Kantner – vocals on all tracks except "Across the Board" and "Fishman", rhythm guitar on all tracks except "Across the Board" and "Fishman", glass harmonica on "Harp Tree Lament" and "White Boy"...
formed the core of a new lineup that was formally reborn as "Jefferson Starship" in 1974. Kantner, Slick, and Freiberg were charter members. The line-up also included late-Airplane holdovers drummer John Barbata
John Barbata
John Barbata is an American drummer, born in Passaic, New Jersey, active especially in pop and pop/rock bands in the 1960s and 1970s, both as a band member and as a session drummer.-Biography:...
and fiddler Papa John Creach
Papa John Creach
Papa John Creach played for Jefferson Airplane , Hot Tuna, Jefferson Starship, Jefferson Starship - The Next Generation, the San Francisco All-Stars , The Dinosaurs , and Steve Taylor...
(who also played with Hot Tuna), Jorma Kaukonen's brother Peter, who, after the group's 1974 spring tour, was replaced by Pete Sears
Pete Sears
Peter 'Pete' Sears is an English rock musician. In a career spanning more than four decades he has been a member of many bands and has moved through a variety of musical genres, from early R&B, psychedelic improvisational rock of the 1960s, folk, country music, arena rock in the 1970s, and blues...
(who, like Freiberg, played bass and keyboards) and twenty-year-old guitarist Craig Chaquico
Craig Chaquico
Craig Chaquico is an American guitarist of Portuguese and Native American descent. He has had over thirty years of success in a variety of genres: in the 1970s with the post-Summer of Love Jefferson Starship, in that band's 1980s incarnation, Starship, and in the 1990s and 2000s as a...
. Marty Balin
Marty Balin
Marty Balin is an American musician. He is best known as the founder and one of the lead singers of the psychedelic rock band Jefferson Airplane.-Early life:Martyn Buchwald was born in Cincinnati, Ohio...
contributed the haunting ballad "Caroline" to their first album Dragon Fly, but did not join the band again until January 1975. Balin stayed with the group for nearly the remainder of the decade. This line-up proved to be the band's most commercially successful so far. Balin's ballad Miracles
Miracles (Jefferson Starship song)
"Miracles" is a song written by Marty Balin and originally recorded by Jefferson Starship, appearing on their 1975 album Red Octopus."Miracles" peaked at #3 for three weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the highest-charting single the band ever recorded under the name "Jefferson Starship,"...
helped 1975's Red Octopus
Red Octopus
Red Octopus is a 1975 album by Jefferson Starship. It was the best-selling album by any incarnation of Jefferson Airplane and its spin-off groups, and the single "Miracles" hit #3 on the Billboard charts, being the biggest hit single the band had until that point...
reach multiple-platinum status and No.1 in the Billboard charts. Creach left the band in August 1975 to pursue a solo career.
The next album, Spitfire
Spitfire (Jefferson Starship album)
Spitfire is Jefferson Starship's 1976 follow-up to the chart-topping Red Octopus . This album quickly scaled the charts, spending six consecutive weeks at number three in Billboard and going platinum.-Track listing:-Personnel:...
, was released in June 1976 and while it went platinum and climbed to #3, the band considered the album's sales to be relatively disappointing compared to its predecessor and requested an audit from RCA Records
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
, distributor of their Grunt label. RCA subsequently put a reported $500,000 into the next Jefferson Starship project. Earth
Earth (Jefferson Starship album)
-Personnel:*Grace Slick – vocals, piano on "Show Yourself"*Paul Kantner – rhythm guitar, vocals*Marty Balin – vocals*Pete Sears – bass on "Skateboard", "Runaway", and "All Nite Long", electric piano on "Love Too Good", organ on "Love Too Good", "Count on Me", "Take Your Time", "Crazy Feelin",...
was released in March 1978 and followed by tours of the U.S. and Europe.
Balin's reluctance to tour had kept the band off the road for over a year, and Slick's alcoholism increasingly became a problem, which led to two consecutive nights of disastrous concerts in Germany in June 1978. On the first night, fans ransacked the stage when Slick and the band failed to appear. On the second night, Slick, in a drunken stupor, shocked the audience by swearing and making sexual references throughout most of her songs. She also reminded the audience that their country had lost World War II, repeatedly asking "Who won the war?", and implied that all residents of Germany were responsible for the wartime atrocities. After the debacle, Kantner asked for Slick's resignation from the band.
Towards the end of 1978, Jefferson Starship (now without Grace Slick) recorded "Light the Sky on Fire" for The Star Wars Holiday Special
The Star Wars Holiday Special
The Star Wars Holiday Special is a 1978 American television special set in the Star Wars galaxy. It was one of the first official Star Wars spin-offs, and was directed by Steve Binder. The show was broadcast in its entirety only once, in the United States and Canada, November 17, 1978, on the U.S...
and their forthcoming greatest hits album Gold. Gold, highlighting their work from 1974's Dragon Fly through to 1978's Earth, was released early the following year. "Light the Sky on Fire" (backed with Sears' and Slick's "Hyperdrive", from Dragon Fly) was included as a bonus single in the original packaging of album. (When Gold was issued on CD, both tracks were included on the album.) The album originally had a shortened single version of the hit Miracles
Miracles (Jefferson Starship song)
"Miracles" is a song written by Marty Balin and originally recorded by Jefferson Starship, appearing on their 1975 album Red Octopus."Miracles" peaked at #3 for three weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the highest-charting single the band ever recorded under the name "Jefferson Starship,"...
; early pressings of the CD repeated this, but later editions had the full-length version from the album Red Octopus.
In October 1978 Balin too left the group, leaving Kantner and company to find a new lead singer in Mickey Thomas (who had sung lead on Elvin Bishop
Elvin Bishop
Elvin Bishop is an American blues and rock and roll musician and guitarist.-Career:Bishop was born in Glendale, California, and grew up on a farm near Elliott, Iowa. His family moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, when he was ten years old...
's "Fooled Around and Fell in Love"). Thomas joined the group in April 1979. Barbata had been seriously injured in a car accident in October 1978 and was replaced by Aynsley Dunbar
Aynsley Dunbar
Aynsley Thomas Dunbar is an English drummer. He has worked with some of the top names in rock, including Eric Burdon, John Mayall, Frank Zappa, Ian Hunter, Lou Reed, Jefferson Starship, Jeff Beck, David Bowie, Whitesnake, Sammy Hagar, UFO, and Journey...
, who had previously played with Journey
Journey (band)
Journey is an American rock band formed in 1973 in San Francisco by former members of Santana. The band has gone through several phases; its strongest commercial success occurred between the 1978 and 1987, after which it temporarily disbanded...
.
After the 1979 release of Freedom at Point Zero
Freedom at Point Zero
-Personnel:*Paul Kantner – vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards on "Things to Come"*Pete Sears – bass on "Things to Come", "Awakening", "Girl with the Hungry Eyes", "Rock Music", and "Freedom at Point Zero", keyboards on "Jane", "Lightning Rose", "Awakening", and "Just the Same", organ on "Fading Lady...
(which spawned the hit single "Jane"), the new lineup toured, augmented by saxophonist Steve Schuster. (Schuster, along with horn player David Farey, had played on Jefferson Starship's 1978 tour, and he had also appeared on Freedom At Point Zero).
In early 1981 Grace Slick returned to the band, rejoining in time to sing on one song, written by Pete and Jeannette Sears, "Stranger", on the group's next album, Modern Times
Modern Times (Jefferson Starship album)
- Personnel :* Craig Chaquico – lead guitar, rhythm guitar, synthesizer on "Find Your Way Back", "Mary", and "Free", steel drums on "Mary"* Aynsley Dunbar – drums, percussion, marimba on "Mary", synthesizer on "Free"...
(1981). Modern Times also included the humorous "Stairway to Cleveland", in which the band defended the numerous changes it had undergone in its musical style, personnel, and even name. Slick remained in the band for Jefferson Starship's next two albums, Winds of Change
Winds of Change (Jefferson Starship album)
Winds of Change is a 1982 album by Jefferson Starship. It was the first studio album produced after Grace Slick rejoined the band as a full member. Aynsley Dunbar plays drums on the album, but was replaced by Donny Baldwin for the supporting tour...
(1982) and Nuclear Furniture
Nuclear Furniture
-Personnel:*Donny Baldwin – drums, percussion, vocals*Craig Chaquico – lead guitar, rhythm guitar*David Freiberg – vocals, keyboards*Paul Kantner – vocals, electric rhythm guitar, acoustic rhythm guitar, banjo*Pete Sears – bass, keyboards*Grace Slick – vocals...
(1984). One noted personnel change in the group between the two albums was Dunbar leaving in August 1982, replaced by Donny Baldwin
Donny Baldwin
Donny Baldwin is an American drummer best known as a member of Jefferson Starship and its continuation Starship.Donny began his career as a drummer for Elvin Bishop during the 1970s where he worked with future Jefferson Starship bandmate Mickey Thomas...
, who had performed with Thomas in the Elvin Bishop Group. Around this time, the band began enthusiastically embracing the rock-video age, making elaborate videos typical of the era's superstar bands. Grace Slick would appear frequently on MTV
Music television
Music television is a type of television programming which focuses predominantly on playing music videos from bands, usually on dedicated television channels broadcasting on satellite or cable. Music TVs may host their own shows charts, award prizes. Examples are VIVA, Scuzz, MTV, JBTV, MuchMusic,...
and such music-oriented television shows as Solid Gold, giving the band a high visibility in the MTV era. Although the Jefferson Starship albums of this era were only modestly successful, the band remained a gold-selling (and thus commercially credible) act and a popular concert draw. During this year, band groupie
Groupie
A groupie is a person who seeks emotional and sexual intimacy with a musician or other celebrity. "Groupie" is derived from group in reference to a musical group, but the word is also used in a more general sense, especially in casual conversation....
Patricia Lang helped establish a large "groupie following" with over one million fans using BBS services, which at the time was very progressive. It is believed to be one of the first uses of online services for gathering a large fan base support.
Starship
In June 1984, Paul Kantner, the last remaining founding member of Jefferson Airplane, left Jefferson Starship, and then took legal action over the Jefferson Starship name against his former bandmates. Kantner settled out of court and signed an agreement that neither party would use the names "Jefferson" or "Airplane" unless all members of Jefferson Airplane, Inc. (Bill Thompson, Paul Kantner, Grace Slick, Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady) agreed. The band briefly changed its name to Starship Jefferson while legal proceedings occurred, but ultimately the name was reduced to Starship. Freiberg stayed with the band after the lawsuit and attended the first studio sessions for the next album. He became frustrated with the sessions because all the keyboard work in the studio was being done by Peter WolfPeter Wolf (producer)
Peter F. Wolf is a composer, producer, songwriter and arranger. He was awarded the highest honor for artists from his birth country of Austria, the Österreichisches Ehrenzeichen für Wissenschaft und Kunst .- Early years :Wolf studied classical piano at Vienna’s Conservatory of Music...
(who had played on the sessions for Nuclear Furniture and briefly joined the band on the road for the followup tour) and that was the instrument Freiberg was supposed to be playing. He left the band and the next album was finished with the five remaining members. In 1984, Gabriel Katona (who had previously played in Rare Earth
Rare Earth (band)
Rare Earth is an American rock band affiliated with Motown's Rare Earth record label , who prospered in 1970-1972. Although not the first white band signed to Motown, Rare Earth was the first big hit-making act signed by Motown that consisted only of white members...
and Player
Player (band)
Player is an American rock band that made their mark during the late 1970s. The group scored a few US Hot 100 hits, three of which went into the Top 40 -two of those single releases went Top 10, including the #1 hit "Baby Come Back". That song was written by group members Peter Beckett and J.C....
) joined the band to play keyboards and saxophone on the road with them through the end of 1986.
The next album, Knee Deep in the Hoopla
Knee Deep in the Hoopla
-Personnel:*Donny Baldwin – drums, electronic drums, vocals*Grace Slick – vocals*Mickey Thomas – vocals*Craig Chaquico – guitars*Pete Sears – bass, synth bass-Additional Personnel:*Peter Wolf – keyboards, electronics...
was released in October 1985 and scored two No.1 hits. The first was "We Built This City
We Built This City
"We Built This City" is the title of a song written by Bernie Taupin, Martin Page, Dennis Lambert, and Peter Wolf, and originally recorded by the American pop rock group Starship and released as its debut single on August 1, 1985....
", written by Bernie Taupin
Bernie Taupin
Bernard John "Bernie" Taupin is an English lyricist, poet, and singer, best known for his long-term collaboration with Elton John, writing the lyrics for the majority of the star's songs, making his lyrics some of the best known in pop-rock's history.In 1967, Taupin answered an advertisement in...
, Martin Page
Martin Page
Martin Page is a musician, singer, bass player, session musician, and noted pop songwriter.Martin George Page was born at Southampton, Hampshire, England, September 23, 1959 to Alan Richard Page and Ruth Pamela Page...
, Dennis Lambert, and Peter Wolf
Peter Wolf (producer)
Peter F. Wolf is a composer, producer, songwriter and arranger. He was awarded the highest honor for artists from his birth country of Austria, the Österreichisches Ehrenzeichen für Wissenschaft und Kunst .- Early years :Wolf studied classical piano at Vienna’s Conservatory of Music...
and was engineered by Grammy-winning producer Bill Bottrell
Bill Bottrell
Bill Bottrell is an American record producer, songwriter and musician, probably best known for his Grammy Award-winning collaborations with Michael Jackson, E.L.O. and Sheryl Crow.- Biography :...
and arranged by Bottrell and Jasun Martz
Jasun Martz
Jasun Martz is an American record producer, composer, musician, fine artist, creative director and sculptor who has worked on several international hit records. He has recorded with Michael Jackson, toured with Frank Zappa and helped arrange the hit "We Built This City" by Starship.Martz has lived...
; the second was "Sara". The album itself reached #7, went platinum, and spawned two more singles: "Tomorrow Doesn't Matter Tonight" (#26), and "Before I Go" (#68). The band had not had a No.1 hit record since the original Jefferson Starship released Red Octopus
Red Octopus
Red Octopus is a 1975 album by Jefferson Starship. It was the best-selling album by any incarnation of Jefferson Airplane and its spin-off groups, and the single "Miracles" hit #3 on the Billboard charts, being the biggest hit single the band had until that point...
in 1975.
In early 1987, "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now
Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now
"Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" is a #1 hit song co-written by Albert Hammond and Diane Warren, recorded by Starship. Featured as the theme to the romantic comedy film Mannequin, it hit #1 in the Billboard Hot 100 on April 4, 1987 and reached #1 on the UK Singles Chart for four weeks the following...
" was featured in the film Mannequin
Mannequin (1987 film)
Mannequin is a 1987 romantic comedy film, starring Andrew McCarthy, Kim Cattrall, Meshach Taylor, James Spader, G. W. Bailey, and Estelle Getty...
and hit #1, although only Slick and Thomas (plus Craig Chaquico's guitar solo) appeared on it. At that time, the song made Slick the oldest female vocalist to sing on a number-one Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
hit, at the age of 47, (She held this record until Cher
Cher
Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
broke it at the age of 52, in 1999 with "Believe
Believe (Cher song)
"Believe" is a song by American recording artist Cher. It was released on November 24, 1998 as the lead single from her twenty-third studio album of the same name. It was written by Brian Higgins, Stuart McLennen, Paul Barry, Steven Torch, Matthew Gray, and Timothy Powell and produced by Mark...
".) The following year, the band's song "Wild Again" (which reached No.73 on the Billboard singles chart) was used in the movie Cocktail.
By the time No Protection was released, bassist and keyboardist Pete Sears
Pete Sears
Peter 'Pete' Sears is an English rock musician. In a career spanning more than four decades he has been a member of many bands and has moved through a variety of musical genres, from early R&B, psychedelic improvisational rock of the 1960s, folk, country music, arena rock in the 1970s, and blues...
had left the band. Sears went on to play keyboards with former Jefferson Airplane members Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady in Hot Tuna
Hot Tuna
Hot Tuna is an American blues-rock band formed by bassist Jack Casady and guitarist Jorma Kaukonen as a spin-off of Jefferson Airplane. It plays acoustic and electric versions of original and traditional blues songs.- Jefferson Airplane side project :...
for ten years. Starship's No Protection was not released until well after "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" (its most popular single) had peaked on the charts, and went gold; in addition to "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" (#1), it featured the singles "It's Not Over ('Til It's Over)" (#9), and "Beat Patrol" (#46). The last song on the album, "Set The Night To Music", would later become a huge hit when re-recorded as a duet between Roberta Flack
Roberta Flack
Roberta Flack is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who is notable for jazz, soul, R&B, and folk music...
and Maxi Priest
Maxi Priest
Max Alfred "Maxi" Priest is a British reggae vocalist of Jamaican descent. He is best known for singing reggae music with a R&B influence, otherwise known as reggae fusion, and became one of the first international successes who regularly dabbled in the genre as well as being one of the most...
. For the No Protection tour, Brett Bloomfield was brought in to replace Sears and Mark Morgan was their new stage keyboardist.
Grace Slick left Starship in 1988, going on to join the reformed Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1965. A pioneer of the psychedelic rock movement, Jefferson Airplane was the first band from the San Francisco scene to achieve mainstream commercial and critical success....
, for one album in 1989, before announcing that she was retiring from music. As Kantner, Sears and Freiberg had left the band, all the new and remaining members were more than a decade younger than she was. To this day Slick maintains that old(er) people "don't belong on a rock and roll stage".
With Slick's departure, Thomas became sole lead singer. The revamped lineup released Love Among the Cannibals
Love Among the Cannibals
-Singles / Music Videos:*"Wild Again" *"It's Not Enough" *"I Didn't Mean to Stay All Night" *"I'll Be There" -Personnel:*Mickey Thomas – vocals*Craig Chaquico – guitars...
in August 1989. On September 24 of that year while the band was in Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton is a city in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania, United States. It is the county seat of Lackawanna County and the largest principal city in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area. Scranton had a population of 76,089 in 2010, according to the U.S...
for a show, Donny Baldwin seriously injured Mickey Thomas in a fight. Thomas was forced to undergo reconstructive facial surgery and Baldwin was fired.
Breakup
After Thomas' medical recovery, the band continued to tour in support of Cannibals. A replacement drummer, Kenny Stayripolous, was found and two female backup singers, Christina Marie Saxton and Melisa Kary, were recruited after Grace's departure. After the Cannibals tour wound up in 1990, Chaquico, the last remaining original Jefferson Starship member, handed in his notice. Thomas attributes the comparative lack of commercial success of the last album to the interruption of the tour, among other factors. Cannibals remains his personal favorite Starship album.Early the following year, RCA assembled a greatest hits album, Greatest Hits (Ten Years and Change 1979-1991)
Greatest Hits (Ten Years and Change 1979-1991)
-Personnel:*Previous material from Freedom at Point Zero, Modern Times, Nuclear Furniture, Knee Deep in the Hoopla, No Protection, and Love Among the CannibalsDon't Lose Any Sleep*Mickey Thomas – vocals*Craig Chaquico – guitarsGood Heart...
, which featured two new tracks, one with Thomas & Chaquico (recorded before Craig had left) and the other featuring only Thomas and session players. For a brief period it was thought that Thomas would continue forward as Starship, but manager Bill Thompson then decided it was over and told RCA that the band was done making records. Thomas revived Starship in 1992 as "Mickey Thomas' Starship" before settling on Starship featuring Mickey Thomas with different personnel and has toured steadily ever since.
In November 2010, Mickey Thomas announced on his website that a new Starship album, Loveless Fascination, would be released in the summer or fall of 2011.
The Next Generation
In 1992, Kantner established Jefferson Starship – The Next Generation (a nod to the television series Star Trek: The Next GenerationStar Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
), a group that would, at times, include various former Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship members, to tour and perform. After the first couple of years, the band dropped the use of "The Next Generation", and began to perform as Jefferson Starship. The revived band grew out of Paul Kantner’s decision, following the "Unplugged
Acoustic music
Acoustic music comprises music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means...
" trend, to hit the road in 1991 with an acoustic ensemble called Paul Kantner’s Wooden Ships
Wooden Ships
"Wooden Ships" is a rock song written and composed by David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Paul Kantner in the late 1960s. The song was written and composed in Florida on Crosby's boat...
, a trio that included Slick Aguilar
Slick Aguilar
Mark "Slick" Aguilar is an American guitarist. He has worked with a number of notable musicians but is probably best known as a member of Jefferson Starship. His son Mark Aguilar is an upcoming rapper from New Jersey....
and Tim Gorman
Tim Gorman
Tim Gorman is a rock keyboardist born and based in San Francisco. He has worked as a session musician from the 1980s until the present, his most notable collaborations being with Duane Eddy, Paul Kantner and The Who....
from the KBC Band
KBC Band
The KBC Band was formed in 1985 by former Jefferson Airplane members Paul Kantner , Marty Balin and Jack Casady . Other members included Keith Crossan , Tim Gorman , Mark "Slick" Aguilar and Darrell Verdusco...
, a previous group centered on former Jefferson Airplane/Starship members.
The success of this project prompted Kantner to reinvent his electric band, and Jefferson Starship took off once again. In addition to Aguilar and Gorman, Kantner recruited former collaborators Jack Casady
Jack Casady
Jack Casady , is an American musician considered one of the foremost bass guitarists of the rock music era and best known as a member of Jefferson Airplane. First playing as a lead guitarist with the Washington D.C...
and blues violinist Papa John Creach
Papa John Creach
Papa John Creach played for Jefferson Airplane , Hot Tuna, Jefferson Starship, Jefferson Starship - The Next Generation, the San Francisco All-Stars , The Dinosaurs , and Steve Taylor...
; former Tubes drummer Prairie Prince
Prairie Prince
Prairie Prince is a rock drummer. He was a member of The Tubes and a founding member of Journey...
; and former World Entertainment War vocalist Darby Gould
Darby Gould
Darby Marie Gould is an American vocalist best known for her work with Jefferson Starship and World Entertainment War. Over the years she has developed a loyal following based on her passionate, soulful vocals and intense stage presence....
.
In 1993 Marty Balin
Marty Balin
Marty Balin is an American musician. He is best known as the founder and one of the lead singers of the psychedelic rock band Jefferson Airplane.-Early life:Martyn Buchwald was born in Cincinnati, Ohio...
rejoined Jefferson Starship, ending a 15-year hiatus from the group. Papa John died in February 1994, weeks after touring Europe. Concurrently a young vocalist, Diana Mangano, joined the group as Gould's replacement after a brief spell by original Jefferson Airplane singer Signe Toly Anderson
Signe Toly Anderson
Signe Toly Anderson is an American singer who was one of the founding members of the American rock band Jefferson Airplane.-Early life and joining Jefferson Airplane:...
.
Deep Space / Virgin Sky
-Expanded Track Listing :-Personnel:*Jack Casady – basses*Marty Balin – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion*Paul Kantner – lead vocals, 12-string guitar*Prairie Prince – drums*Slick Aguilar – lead guitar*Tim Gorman – keyboards, vocals...
, a live album recorded at the House of Blues in West Hollywood, California on January 21, 1995. The album featured eight new and seven classic tunes. Grace Slick joined the band for five songs, "Lawman", "Wooden Ships", "Somebody To Love" and "White Rabbit" and "Volunteers". In 1999 Jefferson Starship released the studio album Windows of Heaven, which featured Slick on background vocals on one song, "I'm On Fire".
Balin continued as a full-time member of the reunited band until 2003 and still occasionally joins them in concert. Casady remained a member until 2000 and has also (since 1983) played with Jorma Kaukonen in a reunited Hot Tuna. Gorman left in 1995 and was replaced by Gary Cambra (from The Tubes
The Tubes
The Tubes are a San Francisco-based rock band, whose 1975 debut album included the hit single, "White Punks on Dope". During its first fifteen years or so, the band's live performances combined quasi-pornography with wild satires of media, consumerism, and politics...
), Barry Flast and then T Lavitz
T Lavitz
Terry "T" Lavitz was an American jazz-rock/fusion keyboardist, composer and producer. He is best known for his work with the Dixie Dregs and Jazz Is Dead.-Biography:Born on April 16, 1956, Lavitz grew up in New Jersey...
, who stayed with the band for the recording of Windows of Heaven
Windows of Heaven (album)
Windows of Heaven is Jefferson Starship's first studio album since reforming in 1992. It was first released in Germany, but the band told fans to wait for a new American remixed version. The single "Let Me Fly" was released along with the American release, but did not chart on the Billboard charts...
but was replaced by former Supremes keyboardist Chris Smith before the album's release. In 2005, twenty years after leaving, David Freiberg
David Freiberg
David Freiberg is an American musician. He was vocalist and/or bass guitar player with Quicksilver Messenger Service, Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship.-Career:...
rejoined the group. Jefferson Starship played three songs on NBC's The Today Show on June 30, 2007.
Mangano was replaced by vocalist Cathy Richardson
Cathy Richardson
Catherine E. Richardson , who goes professionally by Cathy Richardson, is a singer and songwriter from Chicago, Illinois....
in early 2008, and Prince was replaced by the reinstated Baldwin.
In March and May 2008, tracks were recorded for the new studio album released on September 2, 2008, Jefferson's Tree of Liberty
Jefferson's Tree of Liberty
Jefferson's Tree of Liberty is a 2008 studio album by Jefferson Starship, released on September 2, 2008. It is the tenth studio album recorded by the band under the Jefferson Starship name, the first studio album since 1999's Windows of Heaven and the first on a major label by the band since 1989...
.
In addition to the current members, Grace Slick made contributions to the bonus track on the album, and Marty Balin and Jack Casady appear on a recording originally made for Windows of Heaven.
In July and August 2008, they played a two-part UK tour, including three nights at the 100 Club
100 Club
The 100 Club is a music venue in London situated at 100 Oxford Street, W1, originally called The Feldman Swing Club.The 100 Club attained legendary status in modern British music, having played host to live music since 24 October 1942....
in London and an appearance at the Rhythm Festival
Rhythm Festival
The Rhythm Festival is an outdoor music festival held at The Mansion House, Old Warden Park, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire from 2011. From 2006 until 2010 it was held at Twinwood Arena, near the village of Clapham, Bedfordshire, England.. Rhythm Festival was founded by music promoter Jim Driver...
.
In 2009 they toured as part of the Heroes of Woodstock tour
Heroes of Woodstock Tour
The Heroes of Woodstock Tour was a North American concert tour celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1969 Woodstock Festival. The tour features several bands, most of which performed at the original Woodstock festival or feature members that performed at the festival...
with Jeff Pevar
Jeff Pevar
Jeff Pevar is an American musician who has recorded and toured with hundreds of renowned artists and is a member of CPR with David Crosby. Although primarily a guitarist, he is also a multi-instumentalist, also playing bass, mandolin, lap steel, dobro and more...
(Jazz Is Dead
Jazz Is Dead
Jazz is Dead is an instrumental Grateful Dead cover band that interprets classic Dead songs with jazz influences. Although the group's composition has changed over time, with T Lavitz being the only constant member, the group is notable in featuring veterans of jazz and jazz fusion ensembles[]...
, Crosby, Pevar & Raymond) on bass. Other musicians included in this tour were Canned Heat
Canned Heat
Canned Heat is a blues-rock/boogie rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1965. The group has been noted for its own interpretations of blues material as well as for efforts to promote the interest in this type of music and its original artists...
, Ten Years After
Ten Years After
Ten Years After is an English blues-rock band, most popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Between 1968 and 1973, Ten Years After scored eight Top 40 albums on the UK Albums Chart...
, Country Joe McDonald
Country Joe McDonald
Country Joe McDonald is an American musician who was the lead singer of the 1960s psychedelic rock group Country Joe and the Fish.-Personal life:...
, Tom Constanten
Tom Constanten
Tom Constanten is an American keyboardist, best known for playing with the Grateful Dead from 1968 to 1970.-Biography:...
, Big Brother and the Holding Company
Big Brother and the Holding Company
Big Brother and the Holding Company is an American rock band that formed in San Francisco in 1965 as part of the same psychedelic music scene that produced the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service and Jefferson Airplane. They are best known as the band that featured Janis Joplin as their...
, Melanie
Melanie Safka
Melanie Anne Safka-Schekeryk is an American singer-songwriter. Known professionally as simply Melanie, she is best known for her hits "Brand New Key", "Ruby Tuesday" and "Lay Down ".-Early career:...
, John Sebastian
John Sebastian
John Benson Sebastian Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and autoharpist. He is best known as a founder of The Lovin' Spoonful, a band inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000...
, Mountain
Mountain (band)
Mountain is an American hard rock band that formed in Long Island, New York in 1969. Originally comprising vocalist and guitarist Leslie West, bassist Felix Pappalardi and drummer N. D. Smart, the band broke up in 1972 before reuniting in 1974 and remaining active until today...
, Quicksilver Messenger Service
Quicksilver Messenger Service
Quicksilver Messenger Service is an American psychedelic rock band, formed in 1965 in San Francisco.-Introduction:Quicksilver Messenger Service gained wide popularity in the Bay Area and, through their recordings, with psychedelic rock enthusiasts around the globe and several of their albums ranked...
and Levon Helm Band, although not all artists appeared at every show.
As of 2010, Jefferson Starship continues to tour with a lineup of Paul Kantner (vocals, guitar), David Freiberg (vocals, guitar), Cathy Richardson
Cathy Richardson
Catherine E. Richardson , who goes professionally by Cathy Richardson, is a singer and songwriter from Chicago, Illinois....
(vocals), Slick Aguilar (lead guitar), Chris Smith (keyboards) and Donny Baldwin (drums). The band sometimes features guest musicians such as Balin, Gould, Gorman.
On June 5, 2011 Jefferson Starship (Kanter, Freiberg, Richardson and Smith) performed with the Contemporary Youth Orchestra
Contemporary Youth Orchestra
Founded in 1995, the award winning Contemporary Youth Orchestra is the first and only youth orchestra in the country dedicated to the study and performance of contemporary orchestral literature...
at Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica in Cleveland, OH. The show was broadcasted live on HDNet
HDNet
HDNet is a men's interest television channel in the United States, broadcasting exclusively in high-definition format and available via cable and satellite television...
for the HDNet Concert Series.
External links
- 2008 studio release Jefferson's Tree of Liberty myspace page
- Jefferson Starship collection at the Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
's live music archive