Mid-Week Music

 

A belated happy birthday (he turned 85 yesterday) to Jorma Kaukonen, lead guitarist for Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna, for starters.   A fellow Washington, DC, native, Kaukonen was a founding member of Jefferson Airplane and was the band member who came up with the name.  After leaving Jefferson Airplane, he formed Hot Tuna with fellow Airplane member (and another DC native) Jack Casady.  Both are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as members of the Airplane. Kaukonen is on several lists as one of the premier guitarists of the rock era.  We've got two of his compositions, both instrumentals that showcase his talent: 1967's "Embryonic Journey" with the Airplane, and 1972's "Water Song" with Hot Tuna (Papa John Creach on violin).

Weekend Music

Happy birthday (81!) to Grace Slick (The Great Society/Jefferson Airplane/Starship), the charismatic vocalist, songwriter and iconoclast who helped lead the music explosion in San Francisco in the mid- late '60s.  The Jefferson Airplane's "Surrealistic Pillow" remains one of our favorite albums of that era, and Grace contributed significantly, singing lead on "Somebody To Love" (written by her brother- in- law Darby) and writing and singing lead on "White Rabbit."  (The "White Rabbit" video footage was shot at Woodstock and the song audio is edited from the album by the subscription channel.)  Hope you enjoy.

Weekend Tribute Song - R.I.P. Paul Kantner

Sad news today that Paul Kantner, founding member of the iconic San Francisco band Jefferson Airplane passed away yesterday at the too- young age of 74 following a heart attack days earlier.  Kantner, along with Grace Slick, Marty Balin, Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady and Spencer Dryden, formed the most popular lineup of the band in the mid- to late-60's.*  Here's a song he co-wrote with Balin, and one of our favorites, "Today."  Everlasting soft breezes and incense. R.I.P.



* In a strange twist, the original singer for the Airplane, Signe Toly Anderson, passed away yesterday also.

Weekend Embryonic Song

Here in Maryland, the State legislature recently passed a bill decriminalizing possession of marijuana for amounts under 10 grams (about a third of an ounce).  You get escalating fines, but no criminal record.  It's clearly a first step (given the many socially conservative Dems in the legislature, it was a small miracle anything was passed).  Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley has said he will sign the bill into law.

Jefferson Airplane was a San Francisco based group that would appreciate both the intent of the law as well as its embryonic nature (alright alright, enough with the tortured segue).  Here they are with guitarist (and D.C. native) Jorma Kaukonen's "Embryonic Journey" from their masterpiece pre- Summer of Love 1967 album "Surrealistic Pillow":

Saturday Song

1960s rock band Jefferson Airplane was known for it's avant-guard, psychedelic tunes. But many of their early efforts were lovely ballads, like this long, wistful one from their Surrealistic Pillow album in 1967.

Saturday "Embryonic Journey"

Since we're off on a drive to West Virginia today, this cut from Surrealistic Pillow seems mildly appropriate. Other worthy tunes from that iconic album: "Today," "White Rabbit," "Coming Back to Me," and "How Do You Feel?"