Jefferson Airplane Co-Founder Paul Kantner Dead at 74

Paul Kantner, a co-founder of psychedelic rock band Jefferson Airplane, died on Thursday according to a report from the San Francisco Chronicle.

We send our thoughts and condolences to Paul’s loved ones during this hard time. The Airplane became the first San Francisco rock group of that era to achieve mainstream success. Their first album “The Jefferson Airplane Takes Off” was released a year later. He had also been hospitalized early past year for a heart attack.

Jefferson Airplane played at America’s three most famous festivals, Monterey, Woodstock and Altamont.

Enduring their own ups and downs, legal disputes, and a name change to Jefferson Starship when Kanter and Slick struck out on their own, the band were one one of the greats. “Together they made the performance feel engaging to the audience with down to earth, unscripted banter and humor between songs, which has been a consistency for the group through the past several years”. Kantner would continue to perform and record with various line-ups of the Jefferson Starship through 2013.

Listen to some classic Paul Kantner songs below… He sought escape in science fiction books and music, before being inspired by Pete Seeger to follow a path as a folk singer.

When not on the road with his band, Kantner was a fixture at Caffe Trieste in North Beach.

Talking about his neighborhood and Trieste in an earlier interview, Kantner said, “I’ve always loved San Francisco better than anywhere”.