Jefferson Airplane’s Paul Kantner Has Died

Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images

Jefferson Airplane guitarist/vocalist and founding member Paul Kantner has died, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. He was 74. Kantner had suffered a heart attack in March 2015. His friend and publicist Cynthia Bowman confirmed to the Chronicle that he died of multiple organ failure and septic shock.

Kantner formed Jefferson Airplane with Marty Balin in 1965. The band released seven albums, wrote counterculture hits like “Somebody to Love” and “White Rabbit,” and performed at iconic rock festivals such as Woodstock and Monterey. They broke up in 1973, following the release of 1972′s Long John Silver.

Following the breakup, Kantner formed the spin-off band Jefferson Starship in 1974 with ex-Jefferson Airplane member Grace Slick and other musicians who’d worked with the band. Through various lineup changes, Starship released 10 albums. In 1989—while Starship was still going—Jefferson Airplane reunited for a self-titled album. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. 

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