Jefferson Starship
is an American rock band that was popular in the 1970s and 1980s. Although its origins are complex, it is generally regarded as a spinoff from Jefferson Airplane and evolved from a 1970 science fiction-themed concept album by then-Airplane member Paul Kantner entitled Blows Against the Empire
.
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Origins
Blows Against the Empire
was issued before the first break-up of the original Jefferson Airplane. The album, conceived by Paul Kantner, featured an ad-hoc group of all-star musicians who called themselves Jefferson Starship. The band proper would initially consist of Kantner,
Grace Slick,
Craig Chaquico and Jorma's brother
Peter Kaukonen to promote Slick's solo album
Manhole
and after that Jefferson Starship was formally launched. After the initial tour, Kaukonen left and was replaced by
Pete Sears for the first studio album
Dragon Fly
. The band continued in about the same configuration until late 1978 when Grace Slick, and
Marty Balin left the band under different circumstances. The drummer for this incarnation of the Starship,
John Barbata was injured in a car accident which killed the passenger and left him so that he could not play. The band redefined their music with more of a hard-rock edge with
Aynsley Dunbar and
Mickey Thomas joining. In 1984, Paul Kantner left forming
KBC Band with former bandmates Balin and Casady. The remaining members renamed themselves Starship, releasing three studio albums before manager Bill Thompson finally dismantled the band in 1990. Kantner began performing again in 1991 with
Tim Gorman and
Slick Aguilar of the
KBC Band, calling themselves "Paul Kantner's Wooden Ships". As the band continued to add more members, Kantner renamed the band Jefferson Starship once again. In September 2008, the band released their latest studio effort
Jefferson's Tree of Liberty
.
History
Paul Kantner/Jefferson Starship
During the transitional period of the early 1970s, singer-guitarist
Paul Kantner recorded
Blows Against the Empire
, a concept album featuring an
ad hoc
group of musicians and credited on the LP as "Jefferson Starship", marking the first use of that name.
[1]
This 'prototype' version of Jefferson Starship included
David Crosby and
Graham Nash and
Grateful Dead members
Jerry Garcia,
Bill Kreutzmann, and
Mickey Hart, as well as some of the remaining members of Jefferson Airplane, lead singer
Grace Slick, drummer
Joey Covington and bassist
Jack Casady. The name of this group of musicians was changed to
Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra.
In
Blows Against the Empire
, Kantner (and Slick) sang about a group of people escaping Earth in a hijacked starship. In 1971, the album was nominated for the prestigious science fiction prize, the
Hugo Award, a rare honor for a musical recording.
Rolling Stone
calls it "a sci-fi song suite that now suffers from concept-album creakiness but at its time boasted an experimental edge".
It was while that album was being made that Kantner sealed his love affair with Grace Slick; their daughter
China Kantner (who made a name for herself as an
MTV veejay in the 1980s) was born shortly thereafter.
Kantner and Slick with the Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra released two follow-up albums:
Sunfighter
, an environmentalism-tinged album released in 1971 to celebrate China's birth, and 1973's
Baron von Tollbooth & The Chrome Nun
, titled after the nicknames David Crosby had given to the couple. The artist credit on
Baron von Tollbooth
gave ex-bassist-keyboard player-vocalist
David Freiberg equal billing with Kantner and Slick. Freiberg had known and played with Kantner on the folk circuit in the early 1960s and also appeared on
Blows Against the Empire
, and he had joined Jefferson Airplane in time to appear on their live LP
Thirty Seconds over Winterland
. Early in 1974, Slick released
Manhole
, her first solo album. It was on the
Manhole
album that Paul and Grace next worked with
Pete Sears (who had first played on
Papa John Creach's first
solo album, who was downstairs co-producing a Kathi McDonald album in the same studio. Sears wrote and recorded the song, "Better Lying Down" with Grace, and played bass on the song "Epic #38". It was during this session at Wally Heider studios in San Francisco, that Paul first asked Pete to play with a new band he was forming that was later christened "Jefferson Starship". However, Sears had worked on three of
Rod Stewart's early British recordings, and had to go back to England to play on
Smiler
, Rod's last album made in London, so
Jorma Kaukonen's brother Peter Kaukonen first played with the band early in 1974 before Sears returned to the States and replaced him in Jefferson Starship in June 1974.
Kantner is also credited with discovering teenage guitarist
Craig Chaquico during this time, who first appeared on
Sunfighter
and would play with Kantner, Slick and their bands and then with Starship through 1990. He later embarked on a successful solo career as a
smooth jazz artist.
Jefferson Starship
By 1973, with Kaukonen and Casady now devoting their full attention to
Hot Tuna, the musicians on
Baron von Tollbooth & the Chrome Nun
formed the core of a new lineup that was formally reborn as "Jefferson Starship" in 1974.
Kantner, Slick, and Freiberg were charter members. The line-up also included late-Airplane holdovers drummer
John Barbata, and fiddler
Papa John Creach (who also played with Hot Tuna), Jorma Kaukonen's brother Peter, who, after the group's 1974 spring tour, was replaced by
Pete Sears (who, like Freiberg, played bass and keyboards) and twenty-year-old guitarist
Craig Chaquico.
Marty Balin contributed the haunting ballad "Caroline" to their first album
Dragon Fly
, but did not join the band again until January 1975. Balin stayed with the group for nearly the remainder of the decade. This line-up proved to be the band's most commercially successful so far. Balin's ballad "Miracles" helped 1975's
Red Octopus
reach multiple-platinum status and #1 in the
Billboard charts. Creach left the band in August 1975 to pursue a solo career.
The next album,
Spitfire
, was released in June 1976 and while it went platinum and climbed to #3, the band considered the album's sales to be relatively disappointing compared to its predecessor and requested an audit from
RCA Records, distributor of their Grunt label.
[2] RCA subsequently put a reported $500,000
[3] into the next Jefferson Starship project.
Earth
was released in March 1978 and followed by tours of the U.S. & Europe.
Balin's reluctance to tour had kept the band off the road for over a year, and Slick's alcoholism increasingly became a problem, which led to two consecutive nights of disastrous concerts in Germany in June 1978.
[4] On the first night, fans ransacked the stage when Slick and the band failed to appear. On the second night, Slick, in a drunken stupor, shocked the audience by using profanity and sexual references throughout most of her songs. She also reminded the audience that their country had lost World War II, repeatedly asking "Who won the war?", and implied that all residents of Germany were responsible for the wartime atrocities.
[5] [6] After the debacle, Kantner had had enough, and he asked for Slick's resignation from the team.
Towards the end of 1978, Jefferson Starship (now without Grace Slick) recorded "Light the Sky on Fire" for
The Star Wars Holiday Special
and their forthcoming greatest hits album
Gold
.
Gold
, highlighting their work from 1974's
Dragon Fly
through to 1978's
Earth
, was released early the following year. "Light the Sky on Fire" (backed with Sears' and Slick's "Hyperdrive", from
Dragon Fly
) was included as a bonus single in the original packaging of album. (When
Gold
was issued on CD, both tracks were included on the album.) The album originally had a shortened single version of the hit "Miracles"; early pressings of the CD repeated this, but later editions had the full length version from the album
Red Octopus
.
Shortly before the release of
Gold
, Balin too left the group, leaving Kantner and company to find a new lead singer in
Mickey Thomas (who had sung lead on
Elvin Bishop's "Fooled Around and Fell in Love"). Thomas joined the group in April 1979 and his soaring tenor steered the band toward a harder rock sound. Barbata had been seriously injured in a car accident in October 1978 and was replaced by
Aynsley Dunbar, who had previously played with
Journey.
After the 1979 release of
Freedom at Point Zero
(which spawned the hit single "Jane"), the new lineup toured (for the first without Grace Slick) and were augmented by sax player Steve Schuster. (Schuster had played with the band, along with horn player David Farey, on the 1978 tour, and he had also appeared on
Freedom At Point Zero
).
In early 1981 Grace Slick returned to the band, rejoining in time to sing on one song, written by Pete and Jeannette Sears, "Stranger", on the group's next album,
Modern Times
(1981).
Modern Times
also included the humorous "Stairway to Cleveland", in which the band defended the numerous changes it had undergone in its musical style, personnel, and even name. Slick remained in the band for Jefferson Starship's next two albums,
Winds of Change
(1982) and
Nuclear Furniture
(1984). One noted personnel change in the group between the two albums was Dunbar leaving in August 1982 replaced by
Donny Baldwin, who had performed with Thomas in the Elvin Bishop Group. Around this time, the band began enthusiastically embracing the rock-video age, making elaborate videos typical of the era's superstar bands. Grace Slick would appear frequently on
MTV and such music-oriented television shows as
Solid Gold
, giving the band a high visibility in the MTV era. However, the Jefferson Starship albums of this era were only modestly successful, yet the band remained a gold-selling (and thus commercially credible) act and a popular concert draw. During this year, band groupie Patricia Lang, helped establish a large "groupie following" with over 1 million fans using internet BBS services, which at the time was very progressive. It is believed to be one of the first uses of the Internet for gathering large fan base support.
Starship
In June 1984, Paul Kantner, the last remaining founding member of Jefferson Airplane, left Jefferson Starship, and then took legal action over the Jefferson Starship name against his former bandmates. Kantner settled out of court and signed an agreement that neither party would use the names "Jefferson" or "Airplane" unless all members of Jefferson Airplane, Inc. agreed to it (Bill Thompson, Paul Kantner, Grace Slick, Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady). The band briefly changed its name to "Starship Jefferson" while legal proceedings occurred, but ultimately the name was reduced to simply "Starship". Freiberg stayed with the band after the lawsuit and attended the first studio sessions for the next album. However, he became frustrated with the sessions because all the keyboard work in the studio was being done by
Peter Wolf (who'd played on the sessions for
Nuclear Furniture
and briefly joined the band on the road for the followup tour) and that was the instrument Freiberg was supposed to be playing.
[7] He left the band and the next album was finished with the five remaining members. In 1984, Gabriel Katona (who'd previously done stints in
Rare Earth and
Player) joined the band to play keyboards & saxophone on the road with them through the end of 1986.
The next album,
Knee Deep in the Hoopla
was released in October 1985 and scored two #1 hits. The first was "
We Built This City", written by
Bernie Taupin,
Martin Page,
Dennis Lambert, and
Peter Wolf; the second was "
Sara". The album itself reached #7, went platinum, and spawned two more singles: "Tomorrow Doesn't Matter Tonight" (#26), and "Before I Go" (#68). The band hadn't had a #1 hit record since the original Jefferson Starship released
Red Octopus in 1975.
In 1987, "
Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" was featured in the film
Mannequin
and hit #1, although only Slick and Thomas (plus Craig Chaquico's guitar solo) appeared on it. At that time, the song made Slick the oldest female vocalist to sing on a number-one
Billboard Hot 100 hit, at the age of 47, (She held this record until
Cher broke it at the age of 52, in 1999 with "
Believe".) The following year, the band's song "Wild Again" (which reached #73 on the
Billboard
singles chart) was used in the movie
Cocktail
.
By the time
No Protection
was released, bassist and keyboardist
Pete Sears had left the band due to the commercial direction the music had taken. Sears went on to play keyboards with former Jefferson Airplane members, Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady in
Hot Tuna for ten years. Starship's
No Protection
was not released until well after "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" (its most popular single) had peaked on the charts, but still went gold; in addition to "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" (#1), it featured the singles "It's Not Over ('Til It's Over)" (#9), and "Beat Patrol" (#46). The last song on the album, "Set The Night To Music", would later become a huge hit when re-recorded as a duet between
Roberta Flack and
Maxi Priest. For the
No Protection
tour, Brett Bloomfield was brought in to replace Sears and Mark Morgan was their new stage keyboardist.
Grace Slick left Starship in 1988, going on to join the reformed
Jefferson Airplane, for one album in 1989, before announcing that she was retiring from music. Slick, then in her late forties, was becoming more self-conscious about her age. As Kantner, Sears and Freiberg had left the band, all the new and remaining members were more than a decade younger than her. To this day Grace maintains that old(er) people "don't belong on a rock and roll stage".
[8]
With Slick's departure, Thomas became sole lead singer. The revamped lineup released
Love Among the Cannibals
in August 1989. On September 24 of that year while the band was in
Scranton, Pennsylvania for a show, Donny Baldwin seriously injured Mickey Thomas in a fight.
[9] Thomas was forced to undergo reconstructive facial surgery, and Baldwin was involuntarily dismissed from the team.
Breakup
Subsequent to Thomas' medical recovery, the band continued to tour in support of
Cannibals
. A replacement drummer, Kenny Stayripolous, was found and two female backup singers, Christina Marie Saxton and Melisa Kary, were recruited after Grace's departure. After the
Cannibals
tour wound up in 1990, Chaquico, the last remaining original Jefferson Starship member, handed in his notice. Thomas attributes the comparative lack of commercial success of the last album to the interruption of the tour, among other factors.
Cannibals
remains his personal favourite Starship album.
[10]
Early the following year, RCA assembled a greatest hits album,
Greatest Hits (Ten Years and Change 1979-1991)
, which featured two new tracks, one with Thomas & Chaquico (recorded before Craig had left) and the other featuring only Thomas and session players. For a brief period it was thought that Thomas would continue forward as Starship, but manager
Bill Thompson then decided it was over and told RCA that the band was done making records. Thomas revived Starship in 1992 as "Mickey Thomas' Starship" or "Starship featuring Mickey Thomas" with different personnel and has toured steadily ever since (see the band's personnel roster at the bottom of the page). The same year, Kantner also revived the Starship name, as Jefferson Starship - The Next Generation.
Jefferson Starship - The Next Generation
thumb
In 1992, Kantner established
Jefferson Starship - The Next Generation
, a group that would, at times, include various former Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship members, to tour and perform. After the first couple of years, the band dropped the use of "The Next Generation", and now perform as
Jefferson Starship
. The revived band grew out of Paul Kantner’s decision, following the "
Unplugged" trend, to hit the road in 1991 with an acoustic ensemble called
Paul Kantner’s Wooden Ships
, a trio that included
Slick Aguilar and
Tim Gorman from the
KBC Band, a previous group centered on former Jefferson Airplane/Starship members. The use of the phrase
Next Generation
in the name is a reference to
Star Trek: The Next Generation.
The success of this project prompted Kantner to reinvent his electric band, and Jefferson Starship took off once again. In addition to Aguilar and Gorman, Kantner recruited former collaborators
Jack Casady and blues violin master
Papa John Creach; former Tubes drummer
Prairie Prince; and former World Entertainment War vocalist
Darby Gould.
In 1993
Marty Balin rejoined Jefferson Starship, ending a 15-year hiatus from the group. Papa John died in February 1994, weeks after touring Europe. Concurrently a young vocalist,
Diana Mangano, joined the group as Gould's replacement after a brief spell by original Jefferson Airplane singer
Signe Toly Anderson.
In 1995 Jefferson Starship released
Deep Space / Virgin Sky
, a live album recorded at the House of Blues in Hollywood, California. The album featured eight new and seven classic tunes. Grace Slick joined the band for four songs, "Lawman", "Wooden Ships", "Somebody To Love" and "White Rabbit". In 1999 Jefferson Starship released the studio album
Windows of Heaven
, which featured Slick on background vocals on one song, "I'm On Fire".
Balin continued as a full-time member of the reunited band until 2003 and still occasionally joins them in concert as of 2008. In fact, since the late 90s, the band has done annual tours that will feature anywhere from three to as many as eleven players with no one member (with the exception of Kantner) appearing on all shows. Casady remained a member until 2000 and has also (since 1983) played with Jorma Kaukonen in a reunited Hot Tuna. Gorman left in 1995 and was replaced by Gary Cambra (from
The Tubes),
Barry Flast and then
T Lavitz, who stayed with the band for the recording of
Windows of Heaven
but was replaced by former Supremes keyboardist Chris Smith before the album's release. In 2005, twenty years after leaving,
David Freiberg rejoined the group (for a compete break down of comings & goings in the group, see the roster at the bottom of the page). Jefferson Starship played three songs on NBC's
The Today Show
on June 30, 2007.
Jefferson Starship continues to entertain audiences worldwide with frequent live appearances. Mangano was replaced by vocalist
Cathy Richardson in early 2008, and Prince was replaced by drummer
Donny Baldwin, who had played with Jefferson Starship in the 80s.
As of 2008 Jefferson Starship continues to tour with a lineup of Paul Kantner (vocals, guitar), David Freiberg (vocals, guitar), Cathy Richardson (vocals), Slick Aguilar (lead guitar), Chris Smith (keyboards) and Donny Baldwin (drums). The band sometimes features guest musicians such as Balin, Gould, Gorman and former Grateful Dead keyboardist Tom Constanten.
In March and May 2008, tracks were recorded for the new studio album released on September 2, 2008,
Jefferson's Tree of Liberty
.
[11] [12]
In addition to the current members, Grace Slick made contributions to the bonus track on the album, and Marty Balin and Jack Casady appear on a recording originally made for
Windows of Heaven
.
In July and August 2008, they played a two-part UK tour, including three nights at the
100 Club in London and an appearance at the
Rhythm Festival.
[13]
They are currently touring as part of the
Heroes of Woodstock tour with
Jeff Pevar (
Jazz Is Dead,
Crosby, Pevar & Raymond) on bass. Other musicians included in this tour are
Canned Heat,
Ten Years After,
Country Joe McDonald,
Tom Constanten,
Big Brother and the Holding Company,
Melanie,
John Sebastian,
Mountain,
Quicksilver Messenger Service and
Levon Helm Band, although not all artists appear at every show
Discography
Singles
Year
| Song
| US Hot 100
| US MSR
| US A.C.
| UK singles
| Album
|
1974
| "Ride the Tiger"
| 84
| -
| -
| -
| Dragon Fly
|
1975
| "Miracles"
| 3
| -
| 17
| -
| Red Octopus
|
1976
| "Play On Love"
| 49
| -
| -
| -
|
"With Your Love"
| 12
| -
| 6
| -
| Spitfire
|
"St. Charles"
| 64
| -
| -
| -
|
1978
| "Count On Me"
| 8
| -
| 15
| -
| Earth
|
"Runaway"
| 12
| -
| 37
| -
|
"Crazy Feelin'"
| 54
| -
| -
| -
|
"Light the Sky On Fire"
| 66
| -
| -
| -
| Gold
|
1979
| "Jane"
| 14
| -
| -
| 21
| Freedom at Point Zero
|
1980
| "Girl with the Hungry Eyes"
| 55
| -
| -
| -
|
1981
| "Find Your Way Back"
| 29
| 3
| -
| -
| Modern Times
|
"Stranger"
| 48
| 17
| -
| -
|
"Save Your Love"
| -
| 49
| -
| -
|
"Stairway to Cleveland"
| -
| -
| -
| -
|
1982
| "Be My Lady"
| 28
| 33
| -
| -
| Winds of Change
|
"Can't Find Love"
| -
| 16
| -
| -
|
1983
| "Winds of Change"
| 38
| 18
| -
| -
|
1984
| "No Way Out"
| 23
| 1*
| -
| -
| Nuclear Furniture
|
"Layin' It on the Line"
| 66
| 6
| -
| -
|
"Sorry Me, Sorry You"
| -
| 50
| -
| -
|
1985
| "We Built This City"
| 1**
| 1*
| 37
| 12
| Knee Deep in the Hoopla
|
"Sara"
| 1*
| 12
| 1***
| 66
|
1986
| "Tomorrow Doesn't Matter Tonight"
| 26
| 25
| -
| -
|
"Before I Go"
| 68
| -
| -
| -
|
1987
| "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now"
| 1**
| 16
| 1**
| 1
| No Protection
/Mannequin
soundtrack
|
"It's Not Over ('Til It's Over)"
| 9
| 9
| -
| 86
| No Protection
|
"Beat Patrol"
| 46
| -
| -
| -
|
1988
| "Set the Night to Music"
| -
| -
| 9
| -
|
"Wild Again"
| 73
| 30
| -
| -
| Love Among the Cannibals
/Cocktail
soundtrack
|
1989
| "It's Not Enough"
| 12
| 10
| 30
| 87
| Love Among the Cannibals
|
"I Didn't Mean to Stay All Night"
| 75
| -
| -
| -
|
1991
| "Good Heart"
| 81
| -
| -
| -
| Greatest Hits (Ten Years and Change 1979-1991)
|
Number of * denotes number of weeks at No.1
|
Albums
Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra discography
- Blows Against the Empire
by Paul Kantner and Jefferson Starship (1970) #20 US
- If I Could Only Remember My Name
by David Crosby (1971) #12 US
- Songs for Beginners
by Graham Nash (1971) #15 US
- Sunfighter
by Paul Kantner and Grace Slick (1971) #89 US
- Graham Nash David Crosby
by Graham Nash and David Crosby (1972) #4 US
- Rolling Thunder
by Mickey Hart (1972)
- Baron von Tollbooth & the Chrome Nun
by Paul Kantner, Grace Slick, and David Freiberg (1973) #52 US
Jefferson Starship
- Dragon Fly
(1974) #11 US
- Red Octopus
(1975) (best-selling album for any incarnation of the Airplane/Starship) #1 (4 wks.) US
- Spitfire
(1976) #3 US
- Earth
(1978) (last album with Marty Balin, until 1995) #5 US
- Gold
(1979) (compilation album) #20 US
- Freedom at Point Zero
(1979) #10 US
- Modern Times
(1981) #26 US
- Winds of Change
(1982) #26 US
- Nuclear Furniture
(1984) #28 US
- Deep Space / Virgin Sky
(1995)
- Windows of Heaven
(1999)
- Greatest Hits: Live at the Fillmore
(1999)
- Across the Sea of Suns
(2001)
- Jefferson's Tree of Liberty
(2008)
As Starship
- Knee Deep in the Hoopla
(1985) #7 US
- No Protection
(1987) #12 US
- Love Among the Cannibals
(1989) #64 US
- Greatest Hits (Ten Years and Change 1979-1991)
(1991)
- Forever Gold
(2003) [14]
Non US and other releases
- Jefferson Starship at Their Best
(1993)
- The Best of Starship
(1993)
- Starship: Greatest and Latest
(2003)
Live soundboard recordings
These were CDs recorded directly from the soundboard at the live shows and sold to concert attendees who wished to purchase them. They were also sold online for a short time.
- Live at B. B. King's Blues Club
(2000)
- Live at Vinoy Park
(2000)
- Post Nine 11
(2001) (6 concerts released separately)
- UK
(2002) (6 concerts released separately)
- Live
(2003) (3 concerts released separately)
- Galactic Reunion Concert
(2005)
Personnel
Jefferson Starship Jan. 1974 - June 1974
|
- Grace Slick - vocals
- Paul Kantner - guitar, banjo, vocals
- Craig Chaquico - lead guitar, synthesizer, backing vocals
- Peter Kaukonen - bass
- David Freiberg - keyboards, synthesizers, bass, vocals
- Johnny Barbata - drums, percussion, vocals
- Papa John Creach - violin
|
Jefferson Starship June 1974 - Jan. 1975
|
- Grace Slick - vocals
- Paul Kantner - guitar, banjo, vocals
- Craig Chaquico - lead guitar, synthesizer, backing vocals
- Pete Sears - bass, keyboards, guitar, backing vocals
- David Freiberg - keyboards, synthesizers, bass, vocals
- Johnny Barbata - drums, percussion, vocals
- Papa John Creach - violin
|
Jefferson Starship Jan. 1975 - August 1975
|
- Grace Slick - vocals
- Marty Balin - vocals, guitar
- Paul Kantner - guitar, banjo, vocals
- Craig Chaquico - lead guitar, synthesizer, backing vocals
- Pete Sears - bass, keyboards, guitar, backing vocals
- David Freiberg - keyboards, synthesizers, bass, vocals
- Johnny Barbata - drums, percussion, vocals
- Papa John Creach - violin
|
Jefferson Starship August 1975 - Early 1978
|
- Grace Slick - vocals
- Marty Balin - vocals, guitar
- Paul Kantner - guitar, banjo, vocals
- Craig Chaquico - lead guitar, synthesizer, backing vocals
- Pete Sears - bass, keyboards, guitar, backing vocals
- David Freiberg - keyboards, synthesizers, bass, vocals
- Johnny Barbata - drums, percussion, vocals
|
Jefferson Starship Early 1978 - June 1978
|
- Grace Slick - vocals
- Marty Balin - vocals, guitar
- Paul Kantner - guitar, banjo, vocals
- Craig Chaquico - lead guitar, synthesizer, backing vocals
- Pete Sears - bass, keyboards, guitar, backing vocals
- David Freiberg - keyboards, synthesizers, bass, vocals
- Johnny Barbata - drums, percussion, vocals
- Steve Schuster - sax(1978 tour)
- David Farey - horns(1978 tour)
|
Jefferson Starship June 1978 - October 1978
|
- Marty Balin - vocals, guitar
- Paul Kantner - guitar, banjo, vocals
- Craig Chaquico - lead guitar, synthesizer, backing vocals
- Pete Sears - bass, keyboards, guitar, backing vocals
- David Freiberg - keyboards, synthesizers, bass, vocals
- Johnny Barbata - drums, percussion, vocals
- Steve Schuster - sax
|
Jefferson Starship October 1978 - April 1979
|
- Paul Kantner - guitar, banjo, vocals
- Craig Chaquico - lead guitar, synthesizer, backing vocals
- Pete Sears - bass, keyboards, guitar, backing vocals
- David Freiberg - keyboards, synthesizers, bass, vocals
- Aynsley Dunbar - drums, percussion
- Steve Schuster - sax
|
Jefferson Starship April 1979 - Feb. 1981
|
- Mickey Thomas - vocals
- Paul Kantner - guitar, banjo, vocals
- Craig Chaquico - lead guitar, synthesizer, backing vocals
- Pete Sears - bass, keyboards, guitar, backing vocals
- David Freiberg - keyboards, synthesizers, bass, vocals
- Aynsley Dunbar - drums, percussion
- Steve Schuster - sax(1979–1980 tour)
|
Jefferson Starship Feb. 1981 - August 1982
|
- Grace Slick - vocals
- Mickey Thomas - vocals
- Paul Kantner - guitar, banjo, vocals
- Craig Chaquico - lead guitar, synthesizer, backing vocals
- Pete Sears - bass, keyboards, guitar, backing vocals
- David Freiberg - keyboards, synthesizers, bass, vocals
- Aynsley Dunbar - drums, percussion
|
Jefferson Starship August 1982 - June 1984
|
- Grace Slick - vocals
- Mickey Thomas - vocals
- Paul Kantner - guitar, banjo, vocals
- Craig Chaquico - lead guitar, synthesizer, backing vocals
- Pete Sears - bass, keyboards, guitar, backing vocals
- David Freiberg - keyboards, synthesizers, bass, vocals
- Donny Baldwin - drums, percussion, backing vocals
|
Jefferson Starship June 1984
|
- Grace Slick - vocals
- Mickey Thomas - vocals
- Paul Kantner - guitar, banjo, vocals
- Craig Chaquico - lead guitar, synthesizer, backing vocals
- Pete Sears - bass, keyboards, guitar, backing vocals
- David Freiberg - keyboards, synthesizers, bass, vocals
- Donny Baldwin - drums, percussion, backing vocals
- Peter Wolf - keyboards, synthesizers
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Starship June 1984 - Early 1985
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- Grace Slick - vocals
- Mickey Thomas - vocals
- Craig Chaquico - lead guitar, synthesizer, backing vocals
- Pete Sears - bass, keyboards, guitar, backing vocals
- David Freiberg - keyboards, synthesizers, bass, vocals
- Donny Baldwin - drums, percussion, backing vocals
- Gabriel Katona - keyboards, synthesizers, sax, backing vocals
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Starship Early 1985 - Mid 1987
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- Grace Slick - vocals
- Mickey Thomas - vocals
- Craig Chaquico - lead guitar, synthesizer, backing vocals
- Pete Sears - bass, keyboards, guitar, backing vocals
- Donny Baldwin - drums, percussion, backing vocals
- Gabriel Katona - keyboards, synthesizers, sax, backing vocals
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Starship Mid 1987 - Early 1988
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- Grace Slick - vocals
- Mickey Thomas - vocals
- Craig Chaquico - lead guitar, synthesizer, backing vocals
- Brett Bloomfield - bass, backing vocals
- Mark Morgan - keyboards, synthesizers, backing vocals
- Donny Baldwin - drums, percussion, backing vocals
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Starship Early 1988 - September 1989
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- Mickey Thomas - vocals
- Craig Chaquico - lead guitar, synthesizer, backing vocals
- Brett Bloomfield - bass, backing vocals
- Mark Morgan - keyboards, synthesizers, backing vocals
- Donny Baldwin - drums, percussion, backing vocals
- Christina Marie Saxton - backing vocals
- Melisa Kary - backing vocals
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Starship September 1989 - Late 1990
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- Mickey Thomas - vocals, guitar
- Craig Chaquico - lead guitar, synthesizer, backing vocals
- Brett Bloomfield - bass, backing vocals
- Mark Morgan - keyboards, synthesizers, backing vocals
- Kenny Stayripolous - drums, percussion
- Christina Marie Saxton - backing vocals
- Melisa Kary - backing vocals
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Jefferson Starship 1992–1993
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- Darby Gould - vocals
- Paul Kantner - guitar, banjo, vocals
- Mark "Slick" Aguilar - lead guitar
- Jack Casady - bass
- Tim Gorman - keyboards, synthesizers
- Prairie Prince - drums, percussion
- Papa John Creach - violin
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Jefferson Starship 1993–1994
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- Signe Anderson/Diana Mangano - vocals
- Marty Balin - vocals, guitar
- Paul Kantner - guitar, banjo, vocals
- Mark "Slick" Aguilar - lead guitar
- Jack Casady - bass
- Tim Gorman - keyboards, synthesizers
- Prairie Prince - drums, percussion
- Papa John Creach - violin
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Jefferson Starship 1994–1995
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- Darby Gould/Diana Mangano - vocals
- Marty Balin - vocals, guitar
- Paul Kantner - guitar, banjo, vocals
- Mark "Slick" Aguilar - lead guitar
- Peter Kaukonen/Jack Casady - bass
- Tim Gorman - keyboards, synthesizers
- Prairie Prince - drums, percussion
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Jefferson Starship 1995
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- Diana Mangano - vocals
- Marty Balin - vocals, guitar
- Paul Kantner - guitar, banjo, vocals
- Mark "Slick" Aguilar - lead guitar
- Jack Casady - bass
- Gary Cambra/Barry Flast - keyboards, synthesizers
- Trey Sabatelli/Prairie Prince - drums, percussion
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Jefferson Starship 1996–1998
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- Diana Mangano - vocals
- Marty Balin - vocals, guitar
- Paul Kantner - guitar, banjo, vocals
- Mark "Slick" Aguilar - lead guitar
- Jack Casady - bass
- T. Lavitz - keyboards, synthesizers
- Prairie Prince - drums, percussion
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Jefferson Starship 1998–2000
(From the late 90s on, the band appears at shows numbering anywhere from 3 to 11 players, with Balin and others no longer appearing at all shows)
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- Diana Mangano - vocals
- Marty Balin - vocals, guitar
- Paul Kantner - guitar, banjo, vocals
- Mark "Slick" Aguilar - lead guitar
- Jack Casady/Bobby Vega/Chico Huff - bass
- Chris Smith- keyboards, synthesizers
- Prairie Prince - drums, percussion
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Jefferson Starship 2000
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- Diana Mangano - vocals
- Marty Balin - vocals, guitar
- Paul Kantner - rhythm guitar, vocals
- Mark "Slick" Aguilar - lead guitar
- Jack Casady/Tom Lilly - bass
- Chris Smith - keyboards, synthesizers
- Prairie Prince - drums, percussion
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Jefferson Starship 2000–2005
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- Diana Mangano - vocals
- Marty Balin - vocals, guitar
- Paul Kantner - rhythm guitar, vocals
- Mark "Slick" Aguilar - lead guitar
- Chris Smith - keyboards, synthesizer bass
- Prairie Prince - drums, percussion
Subs & guests:
- Tom Lilly - bass(at some shows in 2000, 2001 & 2003)
- John Ferenzik - bass, keyboards(2002)
- Darby Gould - vocals(2002 & 2004)
- Michael Eisenstein - vocals, guitar(subbed for Kantner in 2002)
- Prof. Louie - keyboards(2003)
- Mike Falzarano - guitar(2003)
- Kerry Kearney - guitar(2003)
- Trey Sabatelli - drums(2004)
- China Wing Kantner - vocals (2003)
- Alexander Bowman Kantner - rhythm guitar, bass (2003)
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Jefferson Starship 2005
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- Diana Mangano - vocals
- Darby Gould - vocals
- Marty Balin - vocals, guitar
- David Freiberg - vocals
- Paul Kantner - guitar, banjo, vocals
- Mark "Slick" Aguilar - lead guitar
- Chris Smith- keyboards, synthesizer bass
- Tim Gorman - keyboards, synthesizers
- Prairie Prince - drums, percussion
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Jefferson Starship 2005
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- Diana Mangano - vocals
- Darby Gould - vocals
- Marty Balin - vocals, guitar
- David Freiberg - vocals
- Paul Kantner - guitar, banjo, vocals
- Mark "Slick" Aguilar - lead guitar
- Chris Smith- keyboards, synthesizer bass
- Prairie Prince - drums, percussion
- Jack Traylor - guitar, vocals
- Donny Baldwin - drums, percussion, backing vocals
Guests:
- Pete Sears - bass(Fall 2005 for a few shows)
- Linda Imperial - vocals
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Jefferson Starship 2006–2008
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- Diana Mangano - vocals
- Marty Balin - vocals, guitar
- David Freiberg - vocals
- Paul Kantner - guitar, banjo, vocals
- Mark "Slick" Aguilar - lead guitar
- Chris Smith- keyboards, synthesizer bass
- Prairie Prince - drums, percussion
Guests:
- Linda Imperial - vocals(2006–2007)
- Tony Morley - drums(a few shows 2006)
- John Ferenzik - bass (a few shows 2006)
- Peter Kaukonen - bass(Summer 2006)
- Darby Gould - vocals(Summer 2006)
- Tom Lilly - bass(2007)
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Jefferson Starship 2008–Present
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- Cathy Richardson - vocals, guitar, harmonica
- David Freiberg - vocals, guitar
- Paul Kantner - guitar, banjo, vocals
- Mark "Slick" Aguilar - lead guitar
- Chris Smith - keyboards, synthesizer bass
- Donny Baldwin - drums, percussion, backing vocals
Guests:
- Marty Balin - vocals, guitar
- Diana Mangano - vocals
- Darby Gould - vocals
- John Ferenzik - keyboards
- Tony Morley - drums
- Anne Harris - violin
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Starship featuring Mickey Thomas 1992–1993
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- Mickey Thomas - vocals
- Melisa Kary - lead and backing vocals
- Jeff Tamelier - lead guitar
- Bobby Vega - bass
- T. Moran - drums
- John Sandersis - keyboards, saxophone
- Max Haskett - trumpet, backing vocals
- Bill Slais - saxophone, keyboards
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Starship featuring Mickey Thomas 1993–1995
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- Mickey Thomas - vocals
- Melisa Kary - lead and backing vocals
- Jeff Tamelier - lead guitar
- Brett Bloomfield - bass, backing vocals
- Darrell Verdusco - drums
- John Sandersis - keyboards, saxophone
- Bill Slais - saxophone, keyboards
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Starship featuring Mickey Thomas 1995–1996
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- Mickey Thomas - vocals
- Melisa Kary - lead and backing vocals
- Jeff Tamelier - lead guitar
- Brett Bloomfield - bass, backing vocals
- Darrell Verdusco - drums
- Phil Bennett - keyboards, backing vocals
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Starship featuring Mickey Thomas 1996–1997
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- Mickey Thomas - vocals
- Melisa Kary - lead and backing vocals
- Jeff Tamelier - lead guitar
- John Garnache - bass, backing vocals
- Darrell Verdusco - drums
- Phil Bennett - keyboards, backing vocals
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Starship featuring Mickey Thomas 1997–1999
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- Mickey Thomas - vocals
- Melisa Kary - lead & backing vocals
- Erik Torjeson - lead guitar, backing vocals
- John Garnache - bass, backing vocals
- Darrell Verdusco - drums
- Phil Bennett - keyboards, backing vocals
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Starship featuring Mickey Thomas 1999–2000
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- Mickey Thomas - vocals
- Melisa Kary - lead and backing vocals
- Erik Torjeson - lead guitar, backing vocals
- John Garnache - bass, backing vocals
- Darrell Verdusco - drums
- Phil Bennett - keyboards, backing vocals
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Starship featuring Mickey Thomas 2000–2006
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- Mickey Thomas - vocals
- Mark Abrahamian - lead guitar
- Jeff Adams - bass, backing vocals
- Darrell Verdusco - drums
- Phil Bennett - keyboards, backing vocals
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Starship featuring Mickey Thomas 2006–Present
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- Mickey Thomas - vocals
- Stephanie Calvert - vocals
- Mark Abrahamian - lead guitar
- Jeff Adams - bass, backing vocals
- Darrell Verdusco - drums
- Phil Bennett - keyboards, backing vocals
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