Jefferson Starship

JEFFERSON STARSHIP

 
Jefferson Starship  is an American rock band formed in the early 1970s by several members of the former psychedelic rock group Jefferson Airplane.  The band has undergone several major changes in personnel and genres through the years while retaining the same Jefferson Starship name.  The current Jefferson Starship, led by co-founder Paul Kantner, more closely resembles its original mix of psychedelic and electric folk music than the pop-driven tunes it was widely known for in the early to mid-1980’s.  (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)
 
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The early female rock stars got a lot of attention for their bands, with Janis Joplin in Big Brother and the Holding Company and Grace Slick in Jefferson Airplane (and later in Jefferson Starship and Starship) being two of the biggest.  A current Broadway show called A Night with Janis Joplin features Mary Bridget Davies in the title role; Davies is good enough at her job to have previously toured with Joplin’s former band Big Brother and the Holding Company.   

 

(October 2013)

 
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Pete Sears of the Sons of Fred moved to San Francisco after he was asked to be a founding member of Jefferson Starship as bass guitarist and keyboardist.  Sears played with the band from 1974 to 1984 and was also on the debut album by StarshipKnee Deep in the Hoopla (1985).  As of 2014, Sears sometimes appears as a guest musician at Jefferson Starship concerts.  Pete Sears also played with Hot Tuna from 1992 to 2001

 

(March 2014/2)

 

Last edited: March 22, 2021