Jefferson Airplane – A Great American Classic Rock Band

Jefferson Airplane was a great American classic rock, psychedelic rock, acid rock, and folk rock band formed in San Francisco, California in 1965. This great band was notable for co-pioneering the rise of psychedelic rock as well as the San Francisco Sound. It was the first band which stemmed from the San Francisco Bay Area that achieved commercial success overseas. 4 notable live performances of the band during the 1960s were at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, the first edition of the Isle of Wight Festival in 1968 (playing there as headliners), Woodstock in 1969, and the Altamont Free Concert in 1969. Their 1967 studio album entitled Surrealistic Pillow was a very important record that defined the Summer of Love which took place in 1967. There are two notable songs from the respective studio album (or LP) which were selected by Rolling Stone magazine as part of their song ranking list or top entitled 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The band was an important, defining part of the 1960s hippie counterculture.

The band was initially musically active between 1965 and 1973. This important Californian classic rock band also went through several line-up changes throughout the 1960s before dividing itself into two other bands in 1972, when several band members parted ways. One of these new resulting bands was Hot Tuna. The successor of Jefferson Airplane was Jefferson Starship which was formed in 1974. Charismatic and beautiful lead vocalist Grace Slick also continued her lengthy and commending musical career in the band Starship during the 1980s (which was, initially, the successor band to Jefferson Starship).

The discography of the band consists of 8 studio albums, 10 live albums, 8 compilations, 19 singles, and 8 music videos. 4 of their studio albums were certified gold by the R.I.A.A. (i.e. the Recording Industry Association of America), more specifically Crown of Creation (1968), Volunteers (1969), Bark (1971), and Long John Silver (1972). The band also had one earlier record certified platinum by the R.I.A.A., namely the famous Surrealistic Pillow (1967) which was previously mentioned in the introductory paragraph.

Jefferson Airplane was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 (more specifically the line-up of the band from October, 1966 to February, 1970). Subsequently, the band also received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award back in 2016. They were one of the most influential and beloved bands in rock music history. The U.S. Library of Congress selected and included the studio album Surrealistic Pillow (1967) in the National Recording Registry which is a list of records considered ‘culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant’.

Below you can listen to a personal selection of three favourite songs from their discography embedded via YouTube. Thank you very much for your time, attention, and readership! All the best and rock on! 🙂 🤘

Documentation sources and external links:

• The band’s page on www.wikipedia.org (in English)
• The band’s page on www.britannica.com (Encyclopædia Britannica)
• The band’s page on www.wikipedia.org (in English)
• Starship on www.wikipedia.org (in English)