| Along
with the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane are regarded as
the most successful San Francisco band of the late 60s. The
group were formed in August 1965 by Marty Balin (b. Martyn
Jerel Buchwald, 30 January 1942, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; vocals,
guitar). The other members in the original line-up were Paul
Kantner (b. 17 March 1941, San Francisco, California, USA;
guitar, vocals) and Jorma Kaukonen (b. 23 December 1940, Washington,
DC, USA; guitar, vocals). Bob Harvey and Jerry Peloquin gave
way to Alexander Skip Spence (b. 18 April 1946, Windsor, Ontario,
Canada) and Signe Anderson (b. Signe Toly Anderson, 15 September
1941, Seattle, Washington, USA). Their replacements, Spencer
Dryden (b. 7 April 1938, New York, USA; drums) and Jack Casady
(b. 13 April 1944, Washington, DC, USA), made up a seminal
band that blended folk and rock into what became known as
west coast rock. Kantner, already a familiar face on the local
folk circuit and Balin, formerly of the Town Criers and co-owner
of the Matrix club, soon became highly popular locally, playing
gigs and benefits organized by promoter Bill Graham. Eventually
they became regulars at the Fillmore Auditorium and the Carousel
Ballroom, both a short distance from their communal home in
the Haight Ashbury district. Anderson departed shortly after
the release of their moderately successful debut Jefferson
Airplane Takes Off and was replaced in October 1966 by Grace
Slick (b. Grace Barnett Wing, 30 October 1939, Evanston, Illinois,
USA; vocals). |
