Hot Tuna is an American blues rock band formed in 1969 by former Jefferson Airplane members Jorma Kaukonen (guitarist/vocals) and Jack Casady (bassist). Although it has always been a fluid aggregation, with musicians coming and going over the years, the band's center has always been Kaukonen and Casady's ongoing collaboration.
John Henry Creach, better known as Papa John Creach, was an American blues violinist who also played classical, jazz, R&B, pop and acid rock music. Early in his career, he performed as a journeyman musician with Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller, Stuff Smith, Charlie Christian, Big Joe Turner, T-Bone Walker, Nat King Cole and Roy Milton.
Jorma Ludwik Kaukonen, Jr. is an American blues, folk, and rock guitarist. Kaukonen performed with Jefferson Airplane and still performs regularly on tour with Hot Tuna, which started as a side project with bassist Jack Casady, and as of early 2019 has continued for 50 years. Rolling Stone magazine ranked him No. 54 on its list of 100 Greatest Guitarists. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 as a member of Jefferson Airplane.
Bark is the sixth studio album by American rock band Jefferson Airplane. Released in 1971 as Grunt FTR-1001, the album is one of the Airplane's late-period works, notable for the group's first personnel changes since 1966. The album was the first without band founder Marty Balin and the first with violinist Papa John Creach. Drummer Spencer Dryden had been replaced by Joey Covington in early 1970 after a lengthy transitional period in which both musicians had performed with the band.
Long John Silver is the seventh studio album by the American rock band Jefferson Airplane, and their last album of all new material until 1989. It was recorded and released in 1972 as Grunt FTR-1007.
Flight Log (1966–1976) is a compilation album by the American rock band Jefferson Airplane. Released in January 1977 as a double-LP as Grunt CYL2-1255, it is a compilation of Jefferson Airplane and Airplane-related tracks, including tracks by Jefferson Starship and Hot Tuna, as well as solo tracks by Paul Kantner, Grace Slick, and Jorma Kaukonen. Although primarily a compilation album, the album includes one previously unreleased song: "Please Come Back" written by Ron Nagle and performed by Jefferson Starship. "Please Come Back" is not available on any other release.
Burgers is the third album by Hot Tuna, the folk rock offshoot of Jefferson Airplane members Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady, and Papa John Creach, released in 1972 as Grunt FTR-1004. It was the band's first studio album, the previous two being live recordings. "Water Song" and "Sunny Day Strut" are instrumentals composed for this album. Hot Tuna did not release the song as a single until June 1982. In 1996, RCA released the CD box set Hot Tuna in a Can which included a remastered version of this album, along with remasters of the albums Hot Tuna, First Pull Up, Then Pull Down, America's Choice and Hoppkorv.
The Phosphorescent Rat is the fourth album by the blues rock group Hot Tuna, released in early 1974 as Grunt BFL1-0348. This was the first Hot Tuna album recorded after guitarist Jorma Kaukonen and bass player Jack Casady had left Jefferson Airplane. They were joined as before by drummer Sammy Piazza, though Papa John Creach had left the band for Jefferson Starship. The band's playing was moving away from the softer, more acoustic sound of their first three albums, and towards a hard rock sound that would be explored on their next three albums.
Last Flight is an authorized recording released in the United Kingdom, taken from the last live performance of the San Francisco rock group Jefferson Airplane prior to the band's dissolution in 1972. The concert was held at the Winterland Arena in San Francisco, and selected tracks were released on the 1973 album Thirty Seconds Over Winterland. Last Flight consists of the entire concert with the exception of the encore, Marty Balin's "You Wear Your Dresses Too Short", previously released on the Jefferson Airplane Loves You box-set. Balin sings lead vocals on "Volunteers" much to the surprise of the audience since he left the band in late 1970.
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 history Got a Revolution: The Turbulent Flight of Jefferson Airplane.
Baron von Tollbooth & the Chrome Nun is a collaborative studio album by Jefferson Airplane members Paul Kantner, Grace Slick, and David Freiberg, released in May 1973.
Grunt Records was a vanity label founded in 1971 by Jefferson Airplane and distributed by RCA Records. Initially created to sign local Bay Area acts, the label later was used only for Jefferson Starship and Hot Tuna releases. The label ended use in 1987 after Grace Slick left Starship.
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.
Playing My Fiddle for You is Papa John Creach's third solo album and his last with Grunt Records. All the songs on the album are played with the supporting band Zulu, featuring Kevin Moore who would later be known as Keb' Mo'. After this album, the supporting band changed their name to Midnight Sun.
I'm the Fiddle Man is Papa John's fourth solo album and the first with Buddah Records. The album was recorded after Papa John Creach left Jefferson Starship following the successful album, Red Octopus. The supporting band on this album is known as Midnight Sun and had a similar lineup to Zulu on Playing My Fiddle for You. This album featured fewer original compositions than the previous album.
Final Vinyl is a Hot Tuna compilation album. At the time the album was assembled, Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady had stopped performing together and were on to newer endeavours. Kaukonen recorded a solo album, Jorma, and Casady joined the band SVT. Kaukonen signed to RCA Records and Casady moved to 415 Records. This marked the end of Hot Tuna on the Jefferson Airplane owned Grunt Records, so a "final" compilation album was assembled. Kaukonen and Casady reunited to perform as Hot Tuna in 1983 and moved to the Relix Records label, where they released material until the late 1990s.
The Best of Hot Tuna is a Hot Tuna compilation album released in 1998. It covers songs from all the Hot Tuna albums released on Grunt Records. Bill Thompson, former manager of Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna helped select the songs for inclusion. The artwork on the cover is a painting of Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady made by Grace Slick. The album was released as a double CD.
Historic Live Tuna is an album by the band Hot Tuna. It was released in 1985. Side A contains previously unreleased tracks from a live acoustic performance played on KSAN radio in 1971. Side B contains previously unreleased material from a live electric performance in 1971 recorded at the Fillmore West auditorium in San Francisco. The album was Hot Tuna's second release on Relix Records, and would be their last release until after the 1989 Jefferson Airplane reunion tour and reunion album, when they were signed to Epic Records for a short time before returning to Relix.
Classic Hot Tuna Acoustic is a Hot Tuna album released in 1996 and is an expansion of the A-side of the previous vinyl release Historic Live Tuna. The B-side of the previous release was expanded as Classic Hot Tuna Electric and released at the same time as this album. The tracks are taken from a live acoustic performance played on KSAN radio in 1971.
Classic Hot Tuna Electric is a Hot Tuna album released in 1996 and is an expansion of the B-side of the 1985 vinyl release Historic Live Tuna. The tracks were recorded at a live electric performance on July 3, 1971, at the Fillmore West auditorium in San Francisco.
