Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band based in San Francisco, California, that became one of the pioneering bands of psychedelic rock. Formed in 1965, the group defined the San Francisco Sound and was the first from the Bay Area to achieve international commercial success. They headlined the Monterey Pop Festival (1967), Woodstock (1969), Altamont Free Concert (1969), and the first Isle of Wight Festival (1968) in England. Their 1967 breakout album Surrealistic Pillow was one of the most significant recordings of the Summer of Love. Two songs from that album, "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit", are among Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
Jefferson Starship is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1974 by a group of musicians including former members of Jefferson Airplane. Between 1974 and 1984, they released eight gold or platinum-selling studio albums, and one gold-selling compilation. The album Red Octopus went double-platinum, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart in 1975. The band went through several major changes in personnel and genres through the years while retaining the Jefferson Starship name. The band name was retired in 1984, but it was picked up again in 1992 by a revival of the group led by Paul Kantner, which has continued since his death in 2016.
Grace Slick is an American painter and retired musician. She is best known for her musical career, which spanned four decades. Slick was a prominent figure in San Francisco's psychedelic scene during the mid-1960s. She first performed with the Great Society, but is best known for her time and work with Jefferson Airplane and the subsequent spinoff bands Jefferson Starship and Starship. Slick and Jefferson Airplane first achieved fame with their 1967 album Surrealistic Pillow, which included the top-ten US Billboard hits "White Rabbit" and "Somebody to Love". She provided the lead vocals on both tracks. With Starship, she sang co-lead for two number one hits, "We Built This City" and "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now". She has also released four studio albums as an independent artist. Slick retired from music in 1990, but continues to be active in visual arts. Slick was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 as a member of Jefferson Airplane.
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.
John Michael Thomas is an American rock singer, best known as one of the lead vocalists of Jefferson Starship and Starship, the last remaining original member of the latter.
Knee Deep in the Hoopla is the debut studio album by American AOR band Starship, the succeeding musical project to Jefferson Starship. It was released on September 10, 1985, through record label Grunt.
Nuclear Furniture is the eighth album by American rock band Jefferson Starship, released in June 1984 through Grunt Records. It was the final album by the band before the departure of leader Paul Kantner and the eventual transition of the remaining members of the group to become Starship.
Paul Lorin Kantner was an American rock musician. He is best known as the co-founder, rhythm guitarist, and vocalist of Jefferson Airplane, a leading psychedelic rock band of the counterculture era. He continued these roles as a member of Jefferson Starship, Jefferson Airplane's successor band.
Starship is an American rock band from San Francisco, California. Initially a continuation of Jefferson Starship, it underwent a change in musical direction, the subsequent loss of personnel, and a lawsuit settlement that led to a name change. Starship's 1985 album, Knee Deep in the Hoopla, was certified platinum by the RIAA, and included two singles that went to number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart: "We Built This City" and "Sara". Their follow up album, No Protection, released in 1987, was certified gold and featured the band's third number one single, "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now". After a short hiatus in the early 1990s, the band reformed in 1992 as "Starship featuring Mickey Thomas" and resumed touring.
Modern Times is the sixth album by Jefferson Starship and was released in 1981. Grace Slick appeared on this album after a three-year absence. She returned near the end of the recording sessions, providing background vocals on some tracks as well as lead vocals on the single "Stranger" as a duet with lead singer Mickey Thomas. "Stranger" had previously been performed live by Jefferson Starship as early as December 1979, and the first studio version was made for Modern Times. Although not appearing in the band picture on the gatefold cover, Slick is listed on the back cover of the LP with the credit "Introducing Grace Slick" and her picture is on the lyric sleeve with the note "Grace Slick courtesy of Grace Slick." She joined the band officially for the 1981 tour. MTV debuted in 1981 and this was the first Jefferson Starship album to have promotional music videos. It was also the first album to feature a charting single on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, which had premiered earlier in the year. The single "Find Your Way Back" reached No. 3 on the Mainstream Rock chart.
Jefferson Airplane is the eighth and final studio album by San Francisco rock band Jefferson Airplane, released on Epic Records in 1989. Marty Balin, Paul Kantner, Grace Slick, Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady all returned for the album and supporting tour, though Spencer Dryden did not participate. The album and accompanying tour would mark the last time Jefferson Airplane would perform together until their 1996 induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Dragon Fly is the debut album by Jefferson Starship, released on Grunt Records in 1974. It peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard 200, and has been certified a gold album. Credited to Grace Slick, Paul Kantner, and Jefferson Starship, the band itself was a turning point after a series of four albums centering on the partnership of Kantner and Slick during the disintegration of Jefferson Airplane through the early 1970s.
Blows Against the Empire is a concept album by Paul Kantner, released in 1970 under the name Paul Kantner and Jefferson Starship. It is the first album to use the "Starship" moniker, a name which Kantner and Grace Slick would later use for the band Jefferson Starship that emerged after Jack Casady and Jorma Kaukonen left Jefferson Airplane. From a commercial standpoint, it performed comparably to Jefferson Airplane albums of the era, peaking at No. 20 on the Billboard 200 and receiving a RIAA gold certification. It was one of the first two albums to be nominated for a Hugo Award in the category of Best Dramatic Presentation.
Software is the fourth and final solo studio album by American singer Grace Slick, released on January 30, 1984, by RCA Records. The album was recorded after Slick rejoined Jefferson Starship. After working on this album, Peter Wolf would go on to contribute to Jefferson Starship's 1984 album Nuclear Furniture. A music video was made for the single "All the Machines".
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.
The Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra (PERRO) is a nickname given to some artists who recorded together in the early 1970s. They were predominantly members of Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Their first album together was for Paul Kantner/Jefferson Starship's Blows Against the Empire.
Windows of Heaven is Jefferson Starship's first studio album since reforming in 1992 and ninth album overall. 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. Grace Slick joined the band in the studio to record vocals on "I'm on Fire" which only appears on the American and Japanese versions. The track "Maybe for You" later reappeared on the 2008 album, Jefferson's Tree of Liberty.
Across the Sea of Suns is a Jefferson Starship live album. The album was produced by using recordings from four different live venues: The Bottom Line in New York City; The IMAC at Huntington, New York; New Park Entertainment in Philadelphia; and The Keswick Theatre in Glenside, Pennsylvania. The album had further studio production at American Recording in Calabasas, California. Most of the tracks used for the final album were from The Bottom Line, and none of the tracks recorded in Philadelphia were used. The album was released as a double CD. Grace Slick provided liner notes, writing her own thoughts about sixteen of the songs included.
Jefferson's Tree of Liberty is the tenth album by Jefferson Starship, released on September 2, 2008. It is the band's first studio album since 1999's Windows of Heaven. The new album includes cover songs from Irish, American, English, and Latin-American traditions. The title is a reference to Thomas Jefferson's quotation, "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." The idea began in 2003 as "The Cuba Project", which was to include classic protest and folk songs recorded in Cuba. In 2008 the album was finally recorded but in California. About half of the songs planned for The Cuba Project were used on the final cut, with other songs coming from Jefferson Starship's previous repertoire and another project band member Paul Kantner had planned called "On the Threshold of Fire." The promotional tour for the album began in late June with shows at Larkspur, California followed by tours in the US and Europe before the album's release, and continued through December 2008 with a further tour in the US and a tour in Japan. On February 1, 2009, more tour dates and venues were announced by the band's manager Michael Gaiman, with additional plans to continue the tour through 2010 and bring it to Australia and South America. David Grisman joined the band for the April 2009 tour dates. The band's promotion for the album ended in June 2009 as the band changed their set-list to Jefferson Airplane's Woodstock Festival material and started touring with the "Heroes of Woodstock" through the end of October.
"Play on Love" is a 1975 song by Jefferson Starship. It was the second of two singles issued from their Red Octopus LP.
