*He was one of the only three rockers with the guts to stand up to the Hell's Angels at Altamont:* *http://dailykemp.com/2016/01/31/that-time-when-paul-kantner-stood-up-to-the-hells-angels/ <http://dailykemp.com/2016/01/31/that-time-when-paul-kantner-stood-up-to-the-hells-angels/>*
*MCM* https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/jefferson-airplane-guitarist-marty-balin-dead-76-730912/ > > *Jefferson Airplane Co-Founder Marty Balin Dead at 76 **Hall of Famer and > co-vocalist of San Francisco psychedelic rock band also founded Jefferson > Starship**By* Andy Greene > <https://www.rollingstone.com/author/andy-greene/> > > [image: marty balin] > > > *Jefferson Airplane guitarist and co-founder Marty Balin has died at age > 76. * > > *Tom Hill/WireImage * Jefferson Airplane > <https://www.rollingstone.com/t/jefferson-airplane/> vocalist-guitarist > Marty Balin, who co-founded the San Francisco psychedelic rock band in 1965 > and played a crucial role in the creation of all their 1960s albums, > including* Surrealistic Pillow* and *Volunteers*, died Thursday at the > age of 76. Balin’s rep confirmed the musician’s death to *Rolling Stone*, > though the cause of death is currently unknown. > > “RIP Marty Balin, fellow bandmate and music traveler passed last night,” > Jefferson Airplane bassist Jack Casady said in a statement. “A great > songwriter and singer who loved life and music. We shared some wonderful > times together. We will all miss you!!!!” > > “Marty and I were young together in a time that defined our lives,” > Jefferson Airplane guitarist Jorma Kaukonen wrote on his blog > <http://jormakaukonen.com/cracksinthefinish/>. “Had it not been for him, > my life would have taken an alternate path I cannot imagine. He and Paul > Kantner came together and like plutonium halves in a reactor started a > chain reaction that still affects many of us today. It was a moment of > powerful synchronicity. I was part of it to be sure, but I was not a prime > mover. Marty always reached for the stars and he took us along with him.” > > Born Martyn Jerel Buchwald, Balin was a struggling folk guitarist on the > San Francisco scene when he formed a band with Paul Kantner after meeting > the 12-string guitarist at a hootenanny. They met up with guitarist Jorma > Kaukonen, bassist Jack Casady, drummer Skip Spence and singer Signe Toly > Anderson and cut their 1966 debut LP *Jefferson Airplane Takes Off*. They > developed a strong following around the budding San Francisco rock scene, > but became nationwide superstars in 1967 when Anderson left the group and > was replaced by Grace Slick. > > Balin co-wrote five songs on their breakthrough LP *Surrealistic Pillow* > , including “Comin’ Back to Me” and album opener “She Has Funny Cars,” and > his tenor voice became a key component of their signature sound. He played > with the group at all of their most famous gigs, including the 1967 Human > Be-In in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, The Monterey Pop Festival, > Woodstock and Altamont. At the latter gig, Balin was brutally beaten by the > Hells Angels after he dove into the audience to help an audience member in > distress. “I woke up with all these boot marks all over my body,” he told > Relix in 1993. “I just walked out there. I remember Jorma saying, ‘Hey, > you’re a crazy son of a bitch.'” > > A little over a year later, Balin quit the group. “I thought everybody > [was] kind of an asshole,” he said earlier this year. “It was a period of > cocaine then…everybody took cocaine. And people I would work with, they > would yell at you and it got intense. The Airplane was on that kind of > trip. You know, I personally just drank alcohol. But some of the chemicals > made people crazy and very selfish, and it just wasn’t any fun to be around > for me. So I bailed.” > > Balin spent a few years managing rock bands in San Francisco, but was > pulled back into the group’s orbit by Kantner in 1974, though by this point > Casady and Kaukonen had defected and the remaining members were billing > themselves as Jefferson Starship. The offshoot band was incredibly > successful and scored more hits than the original Airplane, including the > Balin-penned “Miracles” from *Red Octopus,* hitting Number Three in 1975. > But by 1978, Balin grew tired of touring, especially since Slick’s alcohol > issues caused many uneven performances, and he left the group for a solo > career. In 1989, he participated in the short-lived Jefferson Airplane > reunion tour and returned four years later to Jefferson Starship, finally > leaving for good in 2008. > > > <https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/grateful-dead-phil-lesh-donate-christine-blasey-ford-731129/>In > 2016, Balin underwent open-heart surgery at Mount Sinai Beth Israel > Hospital in New York City. He later sued them for medical malpractice > <https://nypost.com/2018/08/17/jefferson-airplane-singer-details-hospital-nightmare-in-shocking-lawsuit/>, > claiming they caused him a myriad of injuries, including a paralyzed vocal > cord, bedsores, kidney damage and the loss of his left thumb and half of > his tongue. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to Mark Crispin Miller's "News From Underground" newsgroup. If you'd like to donate to News From Underground, please visit http://markcrispinmiller.com/donate - we appreciate your ongoing support. Ways to unsubscribe, 1) send a blank email to [email protected]. PLEASE NOTE: you must unsubscribe using the SAME email with which you subscribed; 2) go to http://groups.google.com/group/newsfromunderground and click on the "Unsubscribe or change membership" link in the yellow bar at the top of the page, then click the "Unsubscribe" button on the next page. For more News From Underground, visit http://markcrispinmiller.com
