"Jefferson Airplane’s Paul Kantner dies at 74"

By Aidin Vaziri  Updated 5:39 pm, Thursday, January 28, 2016

"Paul Kantner, one of the giants of the San Francisco music scene, died Thursday. Mr. Kantner, a founding member of the Jefferson Airplane, was 74 and had suffered a heart attack this week.

"His death was confirmed by longtime publicist and friend, Cynthia Bowman, who said he died of multiple organ failure and septic shock.

"Mr. Kantner had a string of health problems in recent years, including a heart attack in March.

"With Jefferson Airplane, Mr. Kantner pioneered what became known as the San Francisco sound in the mid-1960s, with such hits as 'Somebody to Love' and 'White Rabbit.'

"The Airplane was renowned for thrilling vocal gymnastics by singers Marty Balin, Grace Slick and Mr. Kantner, the psychedelic blues-rock sound developed by guitarist Jorma Kaukonen and bass player Jack Casady and the LSD-spiked, ’60s-era revolutionary fervor of its lyrics.

"The band was formed in 1965 in a Union Street bar called the Drinking Gourd, when Balin met Mr. Kantner and expressed his interest in creating a 'folk-rock' band. It didn’t take long for the Airplane to attract a sizable local following, enough so that when fledgling promoter Bill Graham opened his legendary Fillmore Auditorium, the Jefferson Airplane served as the first headliner."

Read more:  http://www.sfgate.com/music/article/Jefferson-Airplane-s-Paul-Kantner-dies-at-74-6791483.php




Another one bites the dust.