Jefferson Airplane co-founder Kantner dies

Kantner died from multiple organ failure and septic shock after suffering a heart attack earlier this week, according to reports.

Balin and Kantner appeared together on six Jefferson Airplane studio albums, stretching throughout the 1960s (from the band’s 1966 debut, Jefferson Airplane Takes Off, to 1969’s Volunteers) and including their final, self-titled 1989 LP. The moniker Starship was initially applied for a concept album that Kantner recorded with Slick and other musicians – among them members of Airplane, David Crosby, Graham Nash and Jerry Garcia – and credited to Paul Kantner and Jefferson Starship on its 1970 release.

Kantner is survived by three children; sons Gareth and Alexander, and daughter China, a former MTV presenter.

The SF Gate reported the news shortly after 4 p.m. Thursday, citing information from Kantner’s longtime publicist Cynthia Bowman.

Paul founded Jefferson Airplane with lead singer Marty Balin in San Francisco in 1965. Kantner, a founding member of the Jefferson Airplane, was 74 and had suffered a heart attack this week.

Kantner was a guiding force in the transformation from Jefferson Airplane to Jefferson Starship, an offshoot band with a more commercial sound that didn’t generate the critical acclaim of its predecessor but sold a lot more records. Slick brought a fiery, charismatic style and, just as important, “Somebody to Love” and “White Rabbit”, anthems for 1967’s “Summer of Love” and highlights of the Airplane’s landmark psychedelic album “Surrealistic Pillow”.

Jefferson Airplane singer Marty Balin shared pictures of Kantner in a tribute on his Facebook page. Balin left the group as a full-time member in 2003, but continued to make occasional guest appearances. That band had a string of soft-rock hits in the 1970s, mostly sung by Balin, including “Miracles” and “Count on Me”.

After a legal battle over the rights to the name, his bandmates regrouped as Starship and enjoyed global hits with We Built This City, Sara and Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now. The Recording Academy, which is due to award Jefferson Airplane a lifetime achievement Grammy this year, in a statement mourned Kantner as “a true icon” of the 1960s music scene.