Jefferson Airplane co-founder Paul Katner has died aged 74. Passing away yesterday, the San Francisco Chronicle reports he died from multiple organ failure and septic shock following a heart attack over the weekend.
Born Paul Lorin Kantner in San Francisco on March 17, 1941, Kanter formed Jefferson Airplane after meeting fellow singer Marty Balin in a Union Street bar called The Drinking Gourd. With guitarist Jorma Kaukonen and bass player Jack Casady joining as well as third vocalist Grace Slick, the band soon developed a following.
The first band to come out of the emerging San Francisco Bay Area psychedelic rock scene and sign a contract with a major label, the band would come to stardom with songs like Somebody to Love and White Rabbit.
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.
In 1996 Kanter was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and looking back on his success said: “We never made plans.
“Well, we made plans, but they went awry. It was good to have a plan in case they didn’t go awry.”
Mr. Kantner is survived by three children; sons Gareth and Alexander, and daughter China.
Watch: Jefferson Airplane – White Rabbit
