Paul Kantner
Encyclopedia
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
.
, Kantner eventually became the main man of Jefferson Airplane and captained the group through various successor incarnations of Jefferson Starship. Kantner has the longest continuous membership with the band; at times he was its only member. A political anarchist, Kantner once advocated the use of psychedelic drugs such as LSD for mind expansion and spiritual growth, and is a prominent advocate of the legalization of marijuana. In a 1986 interview, Kantner shared his thoughts about cocaine and alcohol, saying, "Cocaine, particularly, is a bummer. It's a noxious drug that turns people into jerks. And alcohol is probably the worst drug of all. As you get older and accomplish more things in life in general, you realize that drugs don't help, particularly if you abuse them." When Kantner suffered a cerebral hemorrhage in 1980, his attending physician at Cedars-Sinai, Stephen Levy, was quick to point out it was not a drug-related issue, saying: "There is zero relationship between Paul's illness and drugs. He doesn't use drugs." Kantner's primary instrument is the rhythm guitar, and he also sings lead or backup vocals. Kantner has three children, sons Gareth and Alexander, and daughter China.
saw Kantner perform at the Drinking Gourd, a San Francisco folk club, and recruited him as part of the original Jefferson Airplane. When the group needed a guitarist, Kantner recommended Jorma Kaukonen, whom he knew from his San Jose days. Kantner would be the only member to appear on all Jefferson Airplane/Starship albums bearing the Jefferson prefix. Kantner's songwriting often featured whimsical or political lyrics with a science-fiction or fantasy theme, usually set to music that had a hard rock, almost martial sound. Kantner and Jefferson Airplane were among those who played at Woodstock
. Forty years later, Kantner recalled: “We were due to be on stage at 10pm on the Saturday night but we didn’t actually get on until 7.30am the following day.” Later in the year, the group also played at Altamont, where Marty Balin was knocked unconscious by a Hell's Angel member originally hired as security for the concert.
Despite its commercial success, the Airplane was plagued by intra-group fighting, causing the band to begin splintering at the height of its success. Part of the problem was manager Bill Graham
, who wanted the group to do more touring and more recording. During the transitional period of the early 1970s, as the Airplane started to disintegrate. Kantner recorded Blows Against The Empire
, a concept album featuring an ad-hoc group of musicians whom he dubbed Jefferson Starship. This earliest edition of Jefferson Starship included members of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (David Crosby
and Graham Nash
) and members of the Grateful Dead
(Jerry Garcia
, Bill Kreutzmann
, and Mickey Hart
), as well as some of the other members of Jefferson Airplane (Grace Slick
, Joey Covington
, and Jack Casady
).
In Blows Against the Empire, Kantner (and Slick) sang about a group of people escaping earth in a hijacked starship.The album was nominated in 1971 for the science fiction Hugo Award
. A sequel, The Empire Blows Back, was released in 1983 and included most of the same musicians, performing this time under the name The Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra.
Kanter had been in love with Grace Slick for some time, but she was involved in a relationship with the band's drummer, Spencer Dryden. After their two year affair ended, he finally had a chance with Grace. In 1969, Kantner and Grace Slick began living together publicly as a couple. Rolling Stone magazine called them "the psychedelic John and Yoko." Slick became pregnant, and a song about their love child's impending birth "A Child Is Coming" appeared on Blows Against the Empire. Kantner and Slick's daughter China Kantner
was born in 1971. Slick would later leave Kantner to marry Skip Johnson, a Jefferson Starship roadie. Despite the split, Slick remained with the band.
Kantner and Slick released two follow-up albums. Sunfighter was an environmentalism-tinged album released in 1971 to celebrate China's birth. He and Grace made news again in 1972, when they were accused of assaulting a policeman after their Akron, Ohio
concert. 1973's Baron von Tollbooth and the Chrome Nun was titled after the nicknames David Crosby had given to the couple. Through a songwriter friend Kantner discovered teen-aged guitarist Craig Chaquico
during this time, who first appeared on Sunfighter and would play with all of the incarnations of the Starship name through 1991.
After Kaukonen and Casady left the Airplane in 1973 to devote their full attention to Hot Tuna
, the musicians on Baron von Tollbooth formed the core of a new Airplane lineup that was formally reborn as "Jefferson Starship" in 1974. Kantner, Slick, and David Freiberg were charter members along with late-Airplane holdovers drummer John Barbata
, and fiddler Papa John Creach
, along with Pete Sears
(who, like Freiberg, played bass and keyboards), and Chaquico. Marty Balin also joined Jefferson Starship while their first album, Dragonfly, was still in the works, co-writing with Kantner the album's biggest hit "Caroline."
After the 1978 release of the album Earth - to which Kantner contributed just one song - Jefferson Starship endured major personnel changes. Slick took a leave of absence, and Balin quit the group to pursue a solo career. No attempt was made to replace Slick, but Balin was replaced by Mickey Thomas, who was previously successful as a member of the Elvin Bishop Group. An album dominated by Kantner compositions called Freedom at Point Zero was released to commercial success. Grace Slick returned for the follow-up album Modern Time which was another record featuring Kantner's science fiction themes.
in serious condition from a cerebral hemorrhage. Kantner had been working in Los Angeles
on an album when he became ill. He was 39 years old at the time and beat considerable odds with a full recovery without surgery. A year later, Kantner talked about the experience, saying, "If there was a Big Guy up there willing to talk to me, I was willing to listen. But nothing happened. It was all just like a small vacation." It was his second brush with serious illness or injury, having suffered a serious motorcycle accident in the early 1960s: ""I hit a tree at 40 miles an hour head first and nearly shattered my skull. I had a plate in there for a while." The injury from the motorcycle accident was credited with saving Kantner from serious complications from the cerebral hemorrhage; the hole left by the accident relieved the accompanying cranial pressure.
In 1984, Kantner (the last founding member of Jefferson Airplane remaining) left the group, complaining that the band had become too commercial and strayed too far from its counterculture roots. Kanter made his decision to leave while Jefferson Starship was in the middle of a tour. Upon quitting Kantner took legal action against his former bandmates over the Jefferson name (the rest of the band wanted to continue as Jefferson Starship). Kantner won his suit, and the group name was reduced to simply "Starship." Under the terms of the settlement, no group can call itself Jefferson Starship without Paul Kantner as a member, and no group can call itself Jefferson Airplane unless Grace Slick is onboard. The legal battle had personal repercussions as well, permanently damaging Kantner's friendships with Mickey Thomas and Craig Chiquico. In a 2007 interview, Kantner related that the legal battles did not put an end to the name issue: "Right now she's (Grace Slick) suing me for some unknown reason, but generally we get along really well. Twenty years ago, feeling tired of the music business, she signed over her interest in Jefferson Starship to me, and now she's suing me for using the name. I actually had to go and dig up the piece of paper she signed, and I showed it to her, and she said, "I don't remember that."" The legal issues came to an end in 2008, with Slick and former group manager Bill Thompson being declared the rightful owners of the name, but granting Kantner the right to use it for his band for a fee which was not disclosed.
In 1985, following his departure from Jefferson Starship, Paul Kantner rejoined with Balin and Jack Casady to form the KBC Band
, releasing their only album, KBC Band
(which included Kantner's hit, "America"), in 1987 on Arista Records. There was a video made for "America" as well as a national KBC tour. In 1986, Kantner headed for court with Slick and her then husband, Skip Johnson, over the taping of some telephone conversations.
With Kantner reunited with Balin and Casady, the KBC Band opened the door to a full-blown Jefferson Airplane reunion. In 1988, during a San Francisco Hot Tuna
gig where Kantner was performing, they found themselves joined by Grace Slick. This led to a formal reunion of the original Jefferson Airplane (featuring nearly all the main members, including founder Marty Balin, but without Spencer Dryden
, who left in 1970. A self-titled album was released by Columbia Records
. The accompanying tour was a success, but their revival was short-lived, although the band never formally disbanded. According to Grace Slick, the reunion began as a joke: "We hadn't even talked for a year, and we were battling legally - in fact, there are still some standing lawsuits between me and Paul, something to do with the Airplane. Anyway, the idea was that I'd just sneak in, stand at the side of the stage and come out and sing 'White Rabbit' and see what Paul did. Paul never got the joke, but he liked it, the audience liked it, and that's how it started."
in 1996. The performance at the induction ceremony was the first time original members Marty Balin, Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady, Spencer Dryden and Kantner had played together since 1970. Grace Slick had to miss the ceremonies because of a serious leg infection, but sent a message which was delivered by Kantner, "Grace sends her love."
In 1991 Kantner and Balin reformed Jefferson Starship and Kantner continues to tour and record with the band as of 2010. Today Jefferson Starship is primarily a Paul Kantner solo band, with various former Airplane and Starship members dropping in for tours or specific shows. With their latest female vocalist Cathy Richardson
and Kantner's son Alexander Kantner on bass, Jefferson Starship released their first studio album in a decade, titled Jefferson's Tree of Liberty
in September 2008. The album was a return to Kantner's musical roots featuring covers of 1950's and 60's protest songs.
In late 2010 Kantner started to compile collections of "sonic art" performed by him and various artists, including a mix of cover songs, sound effects, and spoken word, releasing multiple volumes under the title "Paul Kantner Windowpane Collective".
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
rock musician, known for co-founding the psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
band 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....
and its spin-off band Jefferson Starship
Jefferson Starship
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...
.
Overview
Although the band was originally formed by Marty BalinMarty 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...
, Kantner eventually became the main man of Jefferson Airplane and captained the group through various successor incarnations of Jefferson Starship. Kantner has the longest continuous membership with the band; at times he was its only member. A political anarchist, Kantner once advocated the use of psychedelic drugs such as LSD for mind expansion and spiritual growth, and is a prominent advocate of the legalization of marijuana. In a 1986 interview, Kantner shared his thoughts about cocaine and alcohol, saying, "Cocaine, particularly, is a bummer. It's a noxious drug that turns people into jerks. And alcohol is probably the worst drug of all. As you get older and accomplish more things in life in general, you realize that drugs don't help, particularly if you abuse them." When Kantner suffered a cerebral hemorrhage in 1980, his attending physician at Cedars-Sinai, Stephen Levy, was quick to point out it was not a drug-related issue, saying: "There is zero relationship between Paul's illness and drugs. He doesn't use drugs." Kantner's primary instrument is the rhythm guitar, and he also sings lead or backup vocals. Kantner has three children, sons Gareth and Alexander, and daughter China.
Early years
The son of Paul and Cora Lee (Fortier) Kantner, Paul had two much older half-siblings: a half-brother and a half-sister. His mother died when he was eight years old, and Kantner remembers not being able to attend her funeral, having been sent to the circus instead. His father, a traveling salesman, sent young Kantner off to Jesuit military school after his mother's death. It was in the school's library at age eight or nine where he read his first science fiction book, finding an escape by immersing himself in science fiction novels and music at an early age. When he became a teenager he went into total revolt against all forms of authority, and became determined to become a protest folk singer in the manner of his musical hero Pete Seeger. He entered University of Santa Clara and San Jose State College, completing a total of three years before he dropped out to enter the music scene.1960s-1970s
During the summer of 1965 singer Marty BalinMarty 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...
saw Kantner perform at the Drinking Gourd, a San Francisco folk club, and recruited him as part of the original Jefferson Airplane. When the group needed a guitarist, Kantner recommended Jorma Kaukonen, whom he knew from his San Jose days. Kantner would be the only member to appear on all Jefferson Airplane/Starship albums bearing the Jefferson prefix. Kantner's songwriting often featured whimsical or political lyrics with a science-fiction or fantasy theme, usually set to music that had a hard rock, almost martial sound. Kantner and Jefferson Airplane were among those who played at Woodstock
Woodstock Festival
Woodstock Music & Art Fair was a music festival, billed as "An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music". It was held at Max Yasgur's 600-acre dairy farm in the Catskills near the hamlet of White Lake in the town of Bethel, New York, from August 15 to August 18, 1969...
. Forty years later, Kantner recalled: “We were due to be on stage at 10pm on the Saturday night but we didn’t actually get on until 7.30am the following day.” Later in the year, the group also played at Altamont, where Marty Balin was knocked unconscious by a Hell's Angel member originally hired as security for the concert.
Despite its commercial success, the Airplane was plagued by intra-group fighting, causing the band to begin splintering at the height of its success. Part of the problem was manager Bill Graham
Bill Graham
William Carvel "Bill" Graham, PC QC is a former Canadian politician, who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of National Defence, and Leader of the Opposition and interim Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada.-Personal life:...
, who wanted the group to do more touring and more recording. During the transitional period of the early 1970s, as the Airplane started to disintegrate. Kantner 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...
, a concept album featuring an ad-hoc group of musicians whom he dubbed Jefferson Starship. This earliest edition of Jefferson Starship included members of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (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 members of the 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...
(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 other members of Jefferson Airplane (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...
, 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 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...
).
In Blows Against the Empire, Kantner (and Slick) sang about a group of people escaping earth in a hijacked starship.The album was nominated in 1971 for the science fiction 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 sequel, The Empire Blows Back, was released in 1983 and included most of the same musicians, performing this time under the name The Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra.
Kanter had been in love with Grace Slick for some time, but she was involved in a relationship with the band's drummer, Spencer Dryden. After their two year affair ended, he finally had a chance with Grace. In 1969, Kantner and Grace Slick began living together publicly as a couple. Rolling Stone magazine called them "the psychedelic John and Yoko." Slick became pregnant, and a song about their love child's impending birth "A Child Is Coming" appeared on Blows Against the Empire. Kantner and Slick's 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:...
was born in 1971. Slick would later leave Kantner to marry Skip Johnson, a Jefferson Starship roadie. Despite the split, Slick remained with the band.
Kantner and Slick released two follow-up albums. Sunfighter was an environmentalism-tinged album released in 1971 to celebrate China's birth. He and Grace made news again in 1972, when they were accused of assaulting a policeman after their Akron, Ohio
Akron, Ohio
Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
concert. 1973's Baron von Tollbooth and the Chrome Nun was titled after the nicknames David Crosby had given to the couple. Through a songwriter friend Kantner discovered teen-aged 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 would play with all of the incarnations of the Starship name through 1991.
After Kaukonen and Casady left the Airplane in 1973 to devote their full attention to 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 :...
, the musicians on Baron von Tollbooth formed the core of a new Airplane lineup that was formally reborn as "Jefferson Starship" in 1974. Kantner, Slick, and David Freiberg were charter members along with 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...
, along 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, like Freiberg, played bass and keyboards), and Chaquico. Marty Balin also joined Jefferson Starship while their first album, Dragonfly, was still in the works, co-writing with Kantner the album's biggest hit "Caroline."
After the 1978 release of the album Earth - to which Kantner contributed just one song - Jefferson Starship endured major personnel changes. Slick took a leave of absence, and Balin quit the group to pursue a solo career. No attempt was made to replace Slick, but Balin was replaced by Mickey Thomas, who was previously successful as a member of the Elvin Bishop Group. An album dominated by Kantner compositions called Freedom at Point Zero was released to commercial success. Grace Slick returned for the follow-up album Modern Time which was another record featuring Kantner's science fiction themes.
1980s-1990s
In October 1980, Kantner was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical CenterCedars-Sinai Medical Center
Originally established as Kaspare Cohn Hospital in 1902, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a non-profit, tertiary 958-bed hospital and multi-specialty academic health science centre located in Los Angeles, California, US. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital employs a staff of over...
in serious condition from a cerebral hemorrhage. Kantner had been working in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
on an album when he became ill. He was 39 years old at the time and beat considerable odds with a full recovery without surgery. A year later, Kantner talked about the experience, saying, "If there was a Big Guy up there willing to talk to me, I was willing to listen. But nothing happened. It was all just like a small vacation." It was his second brush with serious illness or injury, having suffered a serious motorcycle accident in the early 1960s: ""I hit a tree at 40 miles an hour head first and nearly shattered my skull. I had a plate in there for a while." The injury from the motorcycle accident was credited with saving Kantner from serious complications from the cerebral hemorrhage; the hole left by the accident relieved the accompanying cranial pressure.
In 1984, Kantner (the last founding member of Jefferson Airplane remaining) left the group, complaining that the band had become too commercial and strayed too far from its counterculture roots. Kanter made his decision to leave while Jefferson Starship was in the middle of a tour. Upon quitting Kantner took legal action against his former bandmates over the Jefferson name (the rest of the band wanted to continue as Jefferson Starship). Kantner won his suit, and the group name was reduced to simply "Starship." Under the terms of the settlement, no group can call itself Jefferson Starship without Paul Kantner as a member, and no group can call itself Jefferson Airplane unless Grace Slick is onboard. The legal battle had personal repercussions as well, permanently damaging Kantner's friendships with Mickey Thomas and Craig Chiquico. In a 2007 interview, Kantner related that the legal battles did not put an end to the name issue: "Right now she's (Grace Slick) suing me for some unknown reason, but generally we get along really well. Twenty years ago, feeling tired of the music business, she signed over her interest in Jefferson Starship to me, and now she's suing me for using the name. I actually had to go and dig up the piece of paper she signed, and I showed it to her, and she said, "I don't remember that."" The legal issues came to an end in 2008, with Slick and former group manager Bill Thompson being declared the rightful owners of the name, but granting Kantner the right to use it for his band for a fee which was not disclosed.
In 1985, following his departure from Jefferson Starship, Paul Kantner rejoined with Balin and Jack Casady to form 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...
, releasing their only album, KBC Band
KBC Band (album)
KBC Band is KBC Band's only album, featuring Paul Kantner, Marty Balin, and Jack Casady from Jefferson Airplane. The single "It's Not You, It's Not Me" was released shortly before the album's release...
(which included Kantner's hit, "America"), in 1987 on Arista Records. There was a video made for "America" as well as a national KBC tour. In 1986, Kantner headed for court with Slick and her then husband, Skip Johnson, over the taping of some telephone conversations.
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 :...
gig where Kantner was performing, they found themselves joined by Grace Slick. This led to a formal reunion of the original Jefferson Airplane (featuring nearly all the main members, including founder Marty Balin, but without Spencer Dryden
Spencer Dryden
Spencer Dryden was an American musician best known as the longest-serving drummer for Jefferson Airplane. He also played with New Riders of the Purple Sage, The Dinosaurs, and The Peanut Butter Conspiracy.-Early life:...
, who left in 1970. A self-titled album was released by Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
. The accompanying tour was a success, but their revival was short-lived, although the band never formally disbanded. According to Grace Slick, the reunion began as a joke: "We hadn't even talked for a year, and we were battling legally - in fact, there are still some standing lawsuits between me and Paul, something to do with the Airplane. Anyway, the idea was that I'd just sneak in, stand at the side of the stage and come out and sing 'White Rabbit' and see what Paul did. Paul never got the joke, but he liked it, the audience liked it, and that's how it started."
1990's-present
Kantner and his Jefferson Airplane bandmates were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of FameRock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
in 1996. The performance at the induction ceremony was the first time original members Marty Balin, Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady, Spencer Dryden and Kantner had played together since 1970. Grace Slick had to miss the ceremonies because of a serious leg infection, but sent a message which was delivered by Kantner, "Grace sends her love."
In 1991 Kantner and Balin reformed Jefferson Starship and Kantner continues to tour and record with the band as of 2010. Today Jefferson Starship is primarily a Paul Kantner solo band, with various former Airplane and Starship members dropping in for tours or specific shows. With their latest female vocalist Cathy Richardson
Cathy Richardson
Catherine E. Richardson , who goes professionally by Cathy Richardson, is a singer and songwriter from Chicago, Illinois....
and Kantner's son Alexander Kantner on bass, Jefferson Starship released their first studio album in a decade, titled 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 September 2008. The album was a return to Kantner's musical roots featuring covers of 1950's and 60's protest songs.
In late 2010 Kantner started to compile collections of "sonic art" performed by him and various artists, including a mix of cover songs, sound effects, and spoken word, releasing multiple volumes under the title "Paul Kantner Windowpane Collective".
Jefferson Airplane
- Jefferson Airplane Takes OffJefferson Airplane Takes OffJefferson Airplane Takes Off is the debut album of San Francisco rock band Jefferson Airplane, released on RCA Victor Records in September 1966. The personnel differ from the later "classic" lineup and the music is more folk-rock than the harder psychedelic sound for which the band later became...
(1966) - US position: # 128 - Surrealistic PillowSurrealistic PillowSurrealistic Pillow is the second album by American psychedelic rock band Jefferson Airplane, released in February 1967.Original drummer Alexander 'Skip' Spence had left the band in mid-1966, replaced by a jazz drummer from Los Angeles, Spencer Dryden, a nephew of Charlie Chaplin. New lead vocalist...
(1967) - US position: # 3 (Breakthrough album featuring "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit.") - After Bathing at Baxter'sAfter Bathing at Baxter'sAfter Bathing at Baxter's was released in 1967 and is the third album by the San Francisco rock band Jefferson Airplane.Unlike Surrealistic Pillow, released earlier the same year, After Bathing at Baxter's is classified as psychedelic rock because it eschews the more commercial type pop songs, such...
(1967) - US position: # 17 - Crown of CreationCrown of Creation-Personnel:*Marty Balin – vocals, rhythm guitar*Grace Slick – vocals, piano, organ*Paul Kantner – rhythm guitar, vocals*Jorma Kaukonen – lead guitar, electric chicken, vocals*Spencer Dryden – drums, piano, organ, steel balls, vocals...
(1968) - US position: # 6 - Bless Its Pointed Little HeadBless Its Pointed Little HeadBless Its Pointed Little Head is a live album by Jefferson Airplane recorded at both the Fillmore East and West in the fall of 1968 and released in 1969. Five songs on the album had not appeared on any of the band's previous studio recordings. The songs that did appear on previous albums, however,...
(1969) Live - VolunteersVolunteers (Jefferson Airplane album)-Personnel:*Grace Slick – vocals, piano on "The Farm", "Hey Fredrick", "Eskimo Blue Day", and "Volunteers", organ on "Meadowlands", recorder on "Eskimo Blue Day"*Paul Kantner – vocals, rhythm guitar*Marty Balin – vocals, percussion...
(1969) - US position: # 13 - The Worst of Jefferson AirplaneThe Worst of Jefferson AirplaneThe Worst of Jefferson Airplane is the first ever compilation album from the rock band Jefferson Airplane, released in November 1970. The album features all of Jefferson Airplane's hit singles up to that point...
(1970) - US position: # 12 (First greatest hits collection.) - Bark (album)Bark (album)-Personnel:* Jack Casady – bass* Joey Covington – percussion, drums, vocals* Paul Kantner – guitar, vocals* Jorma Kaukonen – lead guitar, vocals* Grace Slick – piano, vocals- Additional personnel :...
(1971) - US position: # 11 - Long John SilverLong John SilverLong John Silver is a fictional character and the primary antagonist of the novel Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson. Silver is also known by the nicknames "Barbecue" and the "Sea-Cook".- Profile :...
(1972) - US position: # 20 - Thirty Seconds Over WinterlandThirty Seconds Over Winterland-Personnel:Personnel credits from original Vinyl release.*Jack Casady – bass*Paul Kantner – vocals, rhythm guitar*Jorma Kaukonen – lead guitar, vocals*Grace Slick – vocals*Papa John Creach – electric violin*John Barbata – drums, percussion...
(1973) Live - Early FlightEarly Flight-Personnel:*Marty Balin – guitar, vocals*Paul Kantner – rhythm guitar, vocals*Jorma Kaukonen – lead guitar, vocals*Jack Casady – bass*Grace Slick – vocals on "J. P. P. McStep B. Blues", "Go to Her", "Mexico", and "Have You Seen the Saucers", piano on "Mexico" and "Have You Seen the Saucers"*Spencer...
(1974) (A collection of singles, B-sides, and other non-LP tracks.) - Flight LogFlight Log (album)-Personnel:*Signe Anderson – vocals*Marty Balin – vocals*Skip Spence – drums*Paul Kantner – vocals, rhythm guitar*Jorma Kaukonen – lead guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals*Jack Casady – bass*Grace Slick – vocals, piano*Spencer Dryden – drums...
, 1966–1976 (1977) (Compilation album, also includes tracks by Jefferson Starship, Hot Tuna, as well as solo tracks.) - Time Machine (1984) (Compilation album.)
- 2400 Fulton Street| (1987) (Compilation album.)
- Jefferson AirplaneJefferson Airplane (album)Jefferson Airplane is the reunion album of San Francisco rock band Jefferson Airplane, released on Epic Records in 1989.-Overview:Marty Balin, Paul Kantner, Grace Slick, Jorma Kaukonen, and Jack Casady, who had played together on Surrealistic Pillow, After Bathing at Baxters, Crown of Creation and...
(1989) (1989 "reunion" album.) - White Rabbit & Other Hits (1990) (Compilation album.)
- Jefferson Airplane Loves YouJefferson Airplane Loves You (album)Jefferson Airplane Loves You is a three-CD boxed set of recordings by the San Francisco rock band Jefferson Airplane with extensive liner notes by Jeff Tamarkin, author of the Jefferson Airplane biography Got a Revolution: The Turbulent Flight of Jefferson Airplane.Many of the tracks are previously...
(1991) (Three-disc boxed set.) - Best of Jefferson Airplane (1993) (Compilation album.)
- Live at the Monterey FestivalLive at the Monterey FestivalLive at the Monterey Festival is a live album by the San Francisco rock band Jefferson Airplane, which was released in the United Kingdom and Europe by Thunderbolt Records in 1991. The album was authorized by the band and features the entire set from the group's June 17, 1967 performance at the...
(1995) (Live recording, British release of Jefferson Airplane's performance at the June 1967 Monterey Pop FestivalMonterey Pop FestivalThe Monterey International Pop Music Festival was a three-day concert event held June 16 to June 18, 1967 at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California...
.) - Journey: The Best of Jefferson Airplane (1996) (British compilation album.)
- Live at the Fillmore East (1998) (Live recording of 1968 performance at the Fillmore EastFillmore EastThe Fillmore East was rock promoter Bill Graham's rock venue on Second Avenue near East 6th Street in the East Village neighborhood of the Manhattan borough of New York City. It was open from 1968 to 1971, and featured some of the biggest acts in rock music at the time...
in New York City.) - The Roar of Jefferson Airplane (2001) (Compilation album.)
- Platinum & Gold CollectionJefferson Airplane Platinum & Gold Collection (album)The Platinum & Gold Collection is part of Arista Records' Platinum & Gold Collection. Recorded between 1966 & 1969, this compilation serves as a primer for both the early years of Jefferson Airplane and the golden age of psychedelic rock....
(2003) (Compilation album.) - The Essential Jefferson AirplaneThe Essential Jefferson Airplane (album)The Essential Jefferson Airplane is a compilation of music from the San Francisco rock band Jefferson Airplane spanning its entire career, excluding the brief reunion in 1989 .It follows their development, in more-or-less chronological order, from their beginnings in folk-rock, through...
(2005) (Compilation album.)
Jefferson Starship
- Dragon Fly (1974)
- Red OctopusRed OctopusRed 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...
(1975) (Best-selling album for any incarnation of the Airplane/Starship.) - SpitfireSpitfire (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:...
(1976) - EarthEarth (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",...
(1978) (Last album w/ Marty Balin until 1995.) - GoldGold (Jefferson Starship album)-Personnel:*Marty Balin – vocals*John Barbata – drums, percussion, vocals*Craig Chaquico – lead guitar, vocals*David Freiberg – bass, keyboards, vocals*Paul Kantner – rhythm guitar, vocals*Pete Sears – bass, keyboards*Grace Slick – vocals...
(1979) (Compilation album.) - Freedom at Point ZeroFreedom 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...
(1979) - Modern TimesModern 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) - Winds of ChangeWinds 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) - Nuclear FurnitureNuclear 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) - Jefferson Starship at Their Best (1993) (Compilation album.)
- Deep Space / Virgin SkyDeep 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...
(1995) (Live album.) - Miracles (album) (1995) (Live album.)
- Windows of HeavenWindows 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...
(1999) - Greatest Hits: Live at the FillmoreGreatest Hits: Live at the Fillmore-Personnel:*Paul Kantner - vocals, rhythm guitar*Marty Balin - vocals, acoustic guitar*Jack Casady - bass*Diana Mangano - vocals*Slick Aguilar - lead guitar, background vocals*Chris Smith - keyboards*Prairie Prince - drums, percussion...
(1999) (Live album.) - Extended Versions (2000) (Live album.)
- Across the Sea of SunsAcross the Sea of Suns (album)-Personnel:*Paul Kantner – 12-string guitar, vocals*Marty Balin – vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion*Slick Aguilar – electric guitar, vocals*Prairie Prince – drums, percussion*Diana Mangano – vocals...
(2001) (Live album) - Jefferson's Tree of LibertyJefferson's Tree of LibertyJefferson'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...
(2008)
Compilation albums credited to "Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship/Starship"
- Hits (1998)
- VH1 Behind the Music (2000)
- Love Songs (2000)
Paul Kantner/Grace Slick
- SunfighterSunfighter-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"...
(1971) - Baron von Tollbooth and the Chrome Nun (1973) (By Paul Kantner, Grace Slick, and David Freiberg.)
Paul Kantner
- Planet Earth Rock and Roll OrchestraPlanet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra (album)-Personnel:*Paul Kantner – vocals, guitars, banjo, glass harmonica, synthesizers on "Circle of Fire", lead guitar on "Underground"*Grace Slick – vocals, piano on "The Mountain Song" and "The Sky Is No Limit"*Jack Casady – bass...
(1983; remastered and reissued 2005) - Windowpane Collective Vol. 1 - A Martian Christmas (2010)
- Windowpane Collective Vol. 2 - Venusian Love Songs (2011)
The KBC Band
Includes Paul Kantner, Marty Balin, and Jack Casady.- KBC BandKBC Band (album)KBC Band is KBC Band's only album, featuring Paul Kantner, Marty Balin, and Jack Casady from Jefferson Airplane. The single "It's Not You, It's Not Me" was released shortly before the album's release...
(1986)
Filmography
In 2004, a documentary containing 13 Jefferson Airplane performances and bandmember interviews was released on DVD.- Fly Jefferson Airplane (2004)