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 chart, being the highest-charting single the band had until that point. The album itself reached #1 on the Billboard 200. Marty Balin, one of the original founders of Jefferson Airplane, returns as a fully integrated member and writes 5 of the 10 tracks, including the hit “Miracles”. (More from Wikipedia)
Another man who stands out in my memory is Papa John Creach, who played electric violin – an instrument that I had never heard of previously – for Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna beginning in 1970; he also stuck it out with Jefferson Starship through the Red Octopus album. He provided an added dimension to these 1960’s stalwarts, and the presence of that gray hair in the midst of the much younger musicians in the two bands made it clear that you didn’t have to be a kid to rock out.
(August 2011)
