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| An ad for Jefferson Airplane and Poco at University Arena ("The Pit") at the University of New Mexico on September 10, 1972. This was the next-to-last booking of the original Jefferson Airplane. |
Jefferson Airplane was the first band to surface in the San Francisco rock scene, initially just a local phenomenon that would go National with the Surrealistic Pillow album in Fall 1966. Grace Slick was the iconic figure of San Francisco rock, with celebrity good looks that matched both her soaring vocals and her provocative taste for troublemaking. In the 21st century, the Grateful Dead have eclipsed every one of their City peers, and the tragedy of Janis Joplin's early death has been excessively romanticized, but it was Jefferson Airplane who had initially shined the brightest and flew the closest to the sun. When they played for free--previously unthinkable for a popular band--they would draw huge crowds, and a lot of cops, and press, and maybe there'd be a riot and maybe Grace would get arrested.
By 1970, the Airplane had released a series of hit albums, and since the rock concert industry had gotten bigger than ever, a Jefferson Airplane show was a certifiable event not only in any American city but in Europe as well. FM rock radio had spread from San Francisco, and soon "Volunteers" and "Won't You Try" was joining "White Rabbit" and "Somebody To Love" as part of the soundtrack of every high schooler's bedroom and every college dorm.
Unlike their pals the Grateful Dead, however, Jefferson Airplane would fly high and crash by 1972. The final Jefferson Airplane tour was hugely anticipated, financially successful, a musical calamity and the end of an era. This post will look at Jefferson Airplane's final tour, in August and September of 1972. If anyone has memories, corrections, additions, insights or groovy speculation, include them in the Comments. Flashbacks welcome.
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| Jeff Tamarkin's excellent Got A Revolution: The Turbulent Flight of Jefferson Airplane (published 2003 by Simon & Schuster Books) |
Jefferson Airplane Status Report Summer 1972
The history of Jefferson Airplane cannot be summarized in a blog. The story of the Airplane, with so many characters, and the dramatic encore of Jefferson Starship that followed, would require an entire book. Fortunately, that book has been written. Jeff Tamarkin's indispensable Got A Revolution: The Turbulent Flight of Jefferson Airplane (2003, Simon & Schuster) covers the whole saga from early days to the strange end, from really high highs to low-down low, and is a must-read for anyone interested in 1960s rock bands, regardless of how much you like "3/5 Of A Mile In Ten Seconds." Thanks to Mr. Tamarkin, however, I can dispense with trying to describe the complicated cross-currents that led to the Summer of '72, and simply describe the status quo for the band at the time.
In 1972, Jefferson Airplane was struggling to focus on being a band. At their peak in 1970, they had negotiated a huge deal with RCA Records where the band had not only unlimited studio time, but their own record label. Grunt Records, financed and distributed by RCA, would not only release albums by the Airplane, but solo albums by band members, Hot Tuna albums and albums by friends of the group. The initial release had been Jefferson Airplane's September 1971 album Bark, which would climb to #11 on the Billboard charts. Paul Kantner and Grace Slick were always recording at Wally Heiders in San Franciso, rather than touring. Grunt followed with the release of Sunfighter, credited to Kantner and Slick.
Bark had rather unexpectedly spawned a modest hit single, Joey Covington's "Pretty As You Feel." Catchy, but not an anthem, the song still got some airplay on both AM and FM radio. Grace Slick, of all people, singing "You're only pretty as you feel" was awash in irony. RCA had released a greatest hits album in December 1970, which also reactivated the Airplane on FM radio. The album was called The Worst Of Jefferson Airplane, which seems trite now, but at the time stood out as a hilariously transgressive thing to do for a popular group.
The Airplane had halted touring near the end of 1970, since Grace Slick was pregnant. China Kantner was born in January, 1971 (initially, Grace and Paul told the press her name was "god," which was yet another prankish shock delivered by Grace). Marty Balin officially left the group, which in retrospect took away one of the pillars of the band, even if his departure reduced some of the constant infighting amongst band members. Balin's absence had delayed the next Airplane album, however, and when Bark finally came out it was the first new Airplane album since Volunteers had been released in late 1969. Two years without a new album was an eternity in the early 70s rock world.
Jefferson Airplane had booked a substantial Summer tour in June of 1971. It was unavoidably delayed when Grace Slick had a bad auto accident in May of 1971, while racing Jorma Kaukonen across the Golden Gate Bridge. The tour was re-booked for August, but only a few of the dates were made up (see below). Some November shows were booked, but they were all canceled. A few more dates were made up in January of 1972 (see below), too, but that wasn't really a tour, either.
There was a lot of pent-up desire to see Jefferson Airplane in concert. Even though Bark wasn't a hot album, the Airplane packed big places in the few shows that they played. The rock market was aging, but it was still pretty young. There were a lot of fans who had discovered Surrealistic Pillow and Volunteers long after they had been released, or had been too young to see the Airplane when they had toured. Jefferson Airplane were rock icons well beyond their very popular records, and Grace Slick was the epitome of a rock star: beautiful, charismatic, talented and always willing to piss every one off. Feminism hadn't gotten to rock and roll yet--if it ever did--but Grace wasn't some pretty wallflower, pining for some guy in the hopes of living happily ever after. She was dressing up, raising hell and having a great time, and if anyone didn't like it she would happily tell them what to do with that. Everyone wanted to see Grace, and so everyone wanted to see Jefferson Airplane.
When Jefferson Airplane's record contract with RCA was up for renewal in 1970, they were flying as high as a band could be. Their previous album, Volunteers, had been released in November 1969. Volunteers had reached #13 on Billboard, and had gone Gold. Grace Slick was a true star, and the Airplane were icons, so they had leverage. Manager Bill Thompson negotiated a deal with RCA where the Airplane would have their own record label. Now, Grunt Records was what was known as an "Imprint," where the band had control of the material and the releases but RCA was in charge of manufacturing, marketing and distribution. Thus Jefferson Airplane not only had complete control of their recorded output, they could release solo albums and albums by their friends, and RCA had to put them out.
RCA also paid for essentially unlimited studio time. Now, of course, I'm pretty sure that the studio bills were paid by RCA and then subtracted from future royalties, so it wasn't really "free." The band members went to Wally Heiders studio in San Francisco nearly every day to record. I believe, incidentally, that band members got union fees for every day they showed up, probably around $90 for three hours. If a band member made a few hundred dollars a week in cash, that was real money in those days. Of course, racking up the studio costs against royalties meant that the band members wouldn't really get a payout for a long time unless an album was a monster hit, but that wasn't initially obvious.
(For a list of Grunt Records releases in 1971 and '72, see the Appendix below)
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| Jefferson Airplane was featured prominently on this ad for a 1971 theatrical showing of the movie Stamping Ground (filmed June 26-28 '70 in Kraalingen, NL) |
Jefferson Airplane On Film and Video
The media landscape was very different in 1972. There were only four TV stations, the three networks plus PBS. Every region had a local station or two, but they mostly just had local and syndicated broadcasts. So anything on TV, even on PBS, got a kind of audience that would be unthinkable today. People went out to the movies, so what was actually shown in theaters was much more significant culturally than it would be today. Rock music was still new, and had not yet penetrated the greater cultural context. Thus the fact that Jefferson Airplane was prominent on film and video gave them an infinitely higher profile than it would have done in the present day.
Jefferson Airplane had already appeared in the Monterey Pop movie (1969) and Gimme Shelter (1970). PBS had broadcast two shows that featured live Jefferson Airplane. The 1970 documentary A Night At The Family Dog, recorded in a special concert at San Francisco's Family Dog on February 4, 1970, is mainly recalled today because the Grateful Dead were in it. However, Jefferson Airplane and Santana were actually much higher profile bands at the time. Another documentary, Go Ride The Music, had recorded the Airplane on October 4, 1970 at Winterland, and had been first shown on Public TV in December, 1970. The nature of public television was that both of these hour-long specials were re-broadcast constantly.
Less recalled now was a film called Stamping Ground, about a self-conscious effort to repeat Woodstock in Holland. The Holland Pop Festival was held June 26-28, 1970 in Kraalingen, NL and hundreds of thousands attended to see the Airplane, Pink Floyd, Santana and many others. Canned Heat's management made a movie of it, and it was seen a lot at college campuses and midnight movies and the like. Jefferson Airplane's performance was extremely ragged, in fact, but film appearances like this confirmed the band's stardom.
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| Host Laura Weber welcomes Jack and Jorma for an episode of the PBS-TV show Guitar, Guitar (broadcast June 22, 1972) Although Hot Tuna had a far lower profile than Jefferson Airplane, film and TV appearances by Jack and Jorma also swelled the Airplane's prominence. Among other things, Hot Tuna appeared in the movie of the closing of Fillmore West, released in September 1972, because the Airplane was unavailable in May 1971 when Bill Graham had closed the building. Jack and Jorma also appeared in an episode of a PBS show about folk guitar playing (a publicity photo is above). |
Hot Tuna
Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady had always been the most devoted of the Airplane to actually playing their instruments. On tour, they would pick all night in their shared hotel room. By mid-68, they started to perform live around the Bay Area, either as acoustic duo or an electric trio, along with drummer Joey Covington. In May 1970, RCA had released an album of acoustic music by Jorma, Jack and harmonica player Will Scarlett, recorded at the New Orleans House in Berkeley in September 1969. Needing a name for the album, the band was casually named Hot Tuna. Since Joey Covington had replaced Spencer Dryden as drummer for Jefferson Airplane, Jorma and Jack got their own drummer, Sammy Piazza, and Will Scarlett played in the electric configuration as well.
At Airplane concerts Jorma, Jack and Joey had their own segment as part of the show, which offered critical rest to band vocal cords (Grace in particular had throat problems). Electric violinist Papa John Creach had joined the Airplane in October 1970, and he effectively joined Hot Tuna as well. Papa John would usually join in for Jack and Jorma's segment, and occasionally Paul or Marty participated, too. Balin had always provided a kind of R&B edge in his vocals, balancing out Kantner's folkier sounds. In the Jack and Jorma segment, and when he occasionally appeared with Hot Tuna, however, Balin sang an obscure soul song by Syl Johnson called "Your Dress Is Too Short." Jack, Jorma and Joey would play sort of psychedelic funk while Marty grunted through some (perhaps ironic) criticism of an immodest woman. Balin was a good crooner, but in James Brown mode, "Your Dress Is Too Short" was embarrassing, the kind of singing that made fans tell white people not to sing black music.
When Grace became a new mom, Hot Tuna gigged more than ever. After Grace's May '71 accident canceled the Airplane tour, Hot Tuna started playing farther afield. Hot Tuna wasn't the draw that the Airplane was, of course, but they were building their own fan base, and Jack and Jorma could play the music they wanted with fewer compromises. Hot Tuna was Jack, Jorma, Sammy Piazza and Papa John. Will Scarlett was on their electric live album, First Pull Up, Then Pull Down, released in June 1971 (recorded in April), but he soon dropped out. Among the few Airplane shows in 1971, and including some canceled ones, Hot Tuna was billed as the opening act, formalizing the "Jack and Jorma" segment of Airplane concerts.
The fourth release on Grunt was Hot Tunas's first studio album, Burgers, released in February 1972. It included a slew of Jorma originals, and not just re-worked blues tunes. Hot Tuna was a real band now, and that only added to the Airplane's dysfunction. Jack and Jorma weren't opposed to the Airplane, but they weren't that into it, either. In the Winter of 1972, Jack and Jorma discovered speed skating (on ice), of all things, and that was one of their principal interests, taking precedence over recording with the Airplane.
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| Phil Elwood of the SF Examiner panned Jefferson Airplane's first night at Winterland (September 21, 1972). It would be the next-to-last Jefferson Airplane concert. The headline says "Jefferson Airplane's Concert Conks Out" |
Jefferson Airplane Performance Log, August-September 1972
By Summer '72, Grunt had released several albums, and a few of them had even sold. Yet Jefferson Airplane was not in a good way. Marty Balin had left the band at the end of 1970. Papa John Creach had joined, but he was neither singer nor songwriter. Drummer Joey Covington, author of their last hit, had been pushed out, replaced by ex-CSNY drummer John Barbata. The few shows in Summer '71 and January '72 did not seem to have gone well, despite being hugely successful (see the Appendix below for detailed dates). To shore up their vocals, the Airplane added their old friend David Freiberg, who had left Quicksilver Messenger Service the prior year. Besides his long-time friendship with Kantner, Freiberg had been working in the studio with Paul, Grace and others, and he would fit in socially working with the always volatile Airplane.
Grace Slick-vocals
Grace Slick was not a founding member of Jefferson Airplane. For its first year, and for the first album, Signe Andersen had matched her voice with Paul and Marty, and they had established the trademark sound of the Airplane. Kantner had loved The Weavers, so he wanted a female voice as part of the vocal trio. Grace was on the ground floor of the Fillmore scene, however, singing with the band Great Society. When Signe had left the Airplane for personal reasons, the Airplane had recruited Grace. She debuted with them at the Fillmore in October 1966, and the rest was rock and roll history.
Grace played piano in the studio, and occasionally keyboards on stage, but I don't think she played any on the 1972 tour.
Paul Kantner-vocals, rhythm guitar
Paul Kantner had been the co-founder of Jefferson Airplane with Marty Balin. Paul and Grace were now not only a couple, but parents. Of course, having the two lead singers of a band become involved with each other was not a recipe for tranquility. Kantner was principled and determined, about music, politics and everything else, and while that was admirable it didn't always make for smooth sailing.
David Freiberg had been Kantner's roomate back in 1963, and after various adventures, he had gotten out of jail on a dope bust in 1965 to find himself in a new, unnamed band, rehearsing at the Matrix when Jefferson Airplane wasn't rehearsing themselves. The band became Quicksilver Messenger Service, and Freiberg had made seven albums with the band. In late 1971, however, Freiberg had another brief jail stint, a probation bust related to the prior term, and ultimately stepped away from Quicksilver.
Freiberg had spent time hanging out at Mickey Hart's Novato ranch. The Barn, as it was called, had a recording studio, and it kind of acted as the Country Retreat for the Heider Studios crowd. The facilities weren't as good, but tapes could be made. Hart had been working on a solo album, and Freiberg had sang lead on a Curly Jim Stalarow song called "Blind John" (who was Curly Jim, you ask? Oh, therein lies a tale). Freiberg had the idea to invite Paul and Grace to sing harmonies on the track. "Blind John" came out great and would be released on Hart's 1972 album Rolling Thunder.
One of the many criticism of the Airplane's view shows in '71 and early '72 had been the absence of Marty Balin. Marty wasn't coming back, but Paul and Grace realized that they at least needed a third voice. They recalled the nice sound on "Blind John" and asked Freiberg to join the band. In a book by Freiberg's ex-wife (Girl: An Untethered Life by Julia [Dreyer/Freiberg] Bridgen], herself a legendary character), she describes sitting at home one afternoon and David receiving a phone call out of the blue where Kantner invited him to join the band.
On the 1972 tour, Freiberg mainly sang, although he would play a few guitar parts. In later iterations of Jefferson Starship, Freibeg had a substantial role on stage playing bass and keyboards, but that wasn't part of his Airplane gig.
Back in 1965, Jorma Kaukonen had been the first person Paul and Marty had asked to join their new band. Although an accomplished folk and blues guitarist at the time, Jorma had never played electric guitar in a serious way since he was a teenager in the late 1950s. He was a phenomenal player, but he was also unique. Unlike many 60s players, Jorma was distinctive and powerful on both electric and acoustic guitar. Live with the Airplane, however, he stuck to electric.
Jorma had contributed a number of songs to Airplane albums, and more so after Marty Balin was no longer in the band, and he sang some of them on stage.
Jack Casady-electric bass
As the saying goes, if you don't know Jorma, you don't know Jack. Jorma had been a teenager in Washington, DC in the 50s, and his friend Chick Casady had a younger brother who played guitar. According to legend, Jack and Jorma played their first public gig together on New Year's Eve 1958. Their last gig together has yet to be played.
Casady had been a guitarist initially, and switched to bass in the early 1960s, while Jorma was at college. Jorma had called to offer him the bass gig in the Airplane in Fall '65, but in fact had never heard Jack play bass. Jack Casady became an instant legend on the bass, however, and being in the popular Airplane had made him very prominent. Over the years, Casady had turned down opportunities to tour with Jimi Hendrix and (probably) Crosby, Stills and Nash in order to stay with the Airplane and Hot Tuna.
Papa John Creach-electric violin
Papa John Creach was the least likely member of the Airplane. Born in 1916 in small-town Pennsylvania, the formally trained Creach had been a professional musician since the 1930s. He had played with orchestras, jazz musicians, "hillbillies" and on a cruise ship, among many other gigs. Somewhere along the way in Chicago he had picked up the electric violin, a pretty rare calling. Creach had met Joey Covington in Los Angeles around 1967, when his gig was the SS Catalina cruise ship. Covington and Creach had stayed friends, and eventually "Papa John" was invited to play with the Airplane.
Creach was invited to sit in with Jefferson Airplane at Winterland on October 4, 1970. He was an instant hit, and officially joined the Airplane shortly after. He soon became a member of Hot Tuna as well. Creach wasn't a virtuoso, but he had a very distinctive sound and a flexible style. Also, Papa John was skinny and bald, which made him look somewhat older than he actually was. Still, he was 55 at the time of the '72 tour, far older than anyone else in any touring rock band (unlike, of course, today).
Grunt had released his first solo album on Grunt in December '71. The album showed off his versatile style, and featured many of the Heider Studios crowd, including Jerry Garcia, Carlos Santana and members of his band, most of the Airplane and many more.
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| L.A. Getaway, recorded by Mendocino residents John Barbata, Joel Scott Hill and Chris Etheridge, released on ATCO Records in 1971. One song, "Big City," would turn up on the Jefferson Starship Spitfire album 5 years later |
John Barbata-drums
John Barbata was an experienced professional rock drummer, usually associated with the Los Angeles studio scene. He had joined the Turtles in 1965, and had played on all their hits (like "Happy Together"). When the Turtles had ground to a halt, he had hooked up with Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, playing on their legendary Four Way Street live album. Barbata played on numerous studio sessions as well. According to legend, David Geffen invited Barbata to join The Eagles, but he demurred. It was David Crosby who tipped Barbata off to the fact that the Airplane were looking for a new drummer in early 1972. Kanter had shared a house in Venice Beach in 1963 with Frieberg and Crosby--9 years later, one roommate was in Kantner's band and the other had referred the drummer.
Joey Covington was a good drummer, but he had fallen afoul of the constant infighting amongst the Airplane. Of course, the reason he was even in the band was because he had been drumming with Jack and Jorma (Hot Tuna didn't even have a name yet), and Spencer Dryden had fallen prey to Airplane politics. Covington had gotten the gig when Dryden was pushed aside, and now in effect the same thing had happened to him. Like Spinal Tap, the Airplane and Starship drum chair was never a permanent appointment, going back to the days of Skip Spence.
Barbata spent a lot of time in Mendocino County. Ultimately he would build a house in the somewhat remote and inland community of Comptche (eventually sold to Bill Kreutzmann). I'm not sure precisely when he built it. A few other LA pros spent a lot of time in Mendocino, too, and in 1971 Barbata, guitarist Joel Scott Hill (ex-Canned Heat) and bassist Chris Etheridge (ex-Flying Burrito Brothers) had put out an ATCO album called LA Getaway. It included the song "Big City," co-written by Barbata, which would turn up on the Jefferson Starship album Spitfire some years later.
Jefferson Airplane Tour Summer 1972
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| Hartford Courant August 5, 1972 |
August 10, 1972 Dillon Stadium, Hartford, CT: Jefferson Airplane/Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen (Thursday)
The Jefferson Airplane Summer tour began on a Thursday night in Hartford, CT. Hartford was a robust rock market, but it wasn't like opening in New York or Boston. Dillon Stadium, at 250 Huyshope Street (now Trinity Health Stadium) was a minor league football stadium that had been built in 1935. Its football capacity was just 9,600, but it could hold as many as 20,000 for concerts, as fans could be allowed on the field.
Hartford was the state capital, inland from Providence and Boston, but North of New Haven. In 1970, it had a population of 158,000 (it has fewer people now). WHCN-fm radio, a sister to WBCN in Boston, had been blasting rock music throughout the territory since 1968, so all the teenagers and college students in the middle of Connecticut were just as clued in as anywhere else. The rock audience was still pretty young, though, and since the Airplane didn't tour much, there would have been plenty of fans who had heard Jefferson Airplane on WHCN but had never seen them. One peculiar dynamic of FM at the time--I can personally vouch for this--was that FM radio spread rock music to younger teenagers who couldn't yet go to concerts. Either they couldn't drive, or they were too far away, or there parents wouldn't let them. When they got a little older, or got to college, suddenly their pent-up plans to see those rock bands could be fulfilled. So plenty of fans in Hartford would have been very excited to see Jefferson Airplane.
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| Long John Silver by Jefferson Airplane, released on Grunt Records in July 1972. The premise of the album packaging was that it was a cigar box of giant joints (weed not provided). This was pretty defiant at the time, even if it seems corny now. |
Grunt Records may have been a special imprint of Jefferson Airplane, but they were still financed and distributed by RCA Records, and followed 1972 record company orthodoxy. In July, Grunt had released the seventh Jefferson Airplane studio album, Long John Silver. The album included Papa John and John Barbata, but David Freiberg had not been part of the band. RCA took out plenty of ads wherever the Airplane were booked, encouraging fans to buy the album and see the band in concert. No doubt RCA did the same on WHCN and other FM stations. The point of touring was mainly to promote record sales. The Airplane were big enough, however, that they probably made good money from the tour itself. Long John Silver would peak at #20, not bad, but below previous releases.
Dillon Stadium was the home stadium for The Hartford Knights, a minor league football team in the long-forgotten Seaboard Professional Football League. The Knights practiced on the field the Thursday of the concert. The Hartford Courant reported (in the Sports section) that the Airplane soundchecked during the football practice. The concert was held afterwards, at night, no doubt so that fans would be able to see the Heavy Water Light Show, touring the country with Jefferson Airplane. The Airplane were likely the last band to tour with a light show, since the Grateful Dead had already given up touring with one.
Bruce Kauffman reviewed Jefferson Airplane in the next day's Courant. The concert drew 17,000, which was excellent box office, but his review wasn't favorable. He said the Airplane were tired, which maybe they were. Of course, Kauffman began his review by describing in great detail what Grace Slick was wearing, which gives a pretty good idea of how her star-power could undermine a serious consideration of the band's music.
According to a circulating setlist (which I can't independently confirm), Jefferson Airplane played 17 songs. They played a mixture of classics like "Volunteers" and "Somebody To Love," along with a number of songs off the most recent albums. This, too, was orthodoxy, since the goal of the tour was to sell the new records on Grunt.
Have You Seen the Saucers, Aerie, Feel So Good, When the Earth Moves Again, Crown of Creation, Long John Silver, Blind John, Trial By Fire, Walking the Tou-Tou, Twilight Double Leader, Law Man, Eat Starch Mom, Wooden Ships, Volunteers, Somebody To Love, Come Back Baby, Greasy Heart
Limited information suggests that this setlist was typical of the tour. Since the Airplane didn't tour much, and some members were new, they played what they had rehearsed. The Airplane couldn't just pull old chestnuts out of the bag like some other bands. An interesting note here is that they performed "Blind John," which featured Freiberg. The song would only be released on Mickey Hart's Rolling Thunder album, which was not released until September.
Opening the show was Berkeley's finest Hippie Honky-Tonk band, Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen. The Airmen had just released their debut album, Lost In The Ozone, and had scored somewhat of a hit with "Hot Rod Lincoln." Although Cody and the Airmen were on Paramount Records, not RCA, the convention at the time was that the opening act should complement the headliner without competing with them. Cody's crew was from the Bay Area and were pro-weed, which certainly fit the Airplane's fans. Yet their rocked-up Western Swing sound was distinctly different. Cody and the Airmen opened every Airplane date in August, as far as I can tell.
August 12, 1972 Roosevelt Raceway, Westbury, NY: Jefferson Airplane/Chuck Berry/James Brown/Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen/James Gang/Elephant's Memory/McKendree Spring/Stephen Stills' Manassas (Saturday) Nassau Easter Seal Society Presents a Festival Of Hope
On Saturday, Jefferson Airplane were the headliners on the first day of a two-day rock festival in Long Island. During this period, promoters were struggling to capture the scale of outdoor rock festivals while managing to actually sell enough tickets to make them profitable. The problem with many of the most famous rock festivals, like Woodstock, was that they got overrun and everyone ended up getting in for free. Promoters searched around for venues that could host big crowds and still provide enough security to sell tickets. Within a few years, this led to a nationwide trend towards concert in "multi-use" (Major League Baseball/NFL) stadiums. In the meantime, however, a lot of promoters tried other venues, and one of the intriguing, if largely failed, trends was to use auto racing facilities. Some of the largest early 70s rock events were at race tracks, like the Dead and the Allmans at Watkins Glen (July 28 '73) or the California Jam at Ontario Speedway (April 6 '74).
Roosevelt Raceway, in Westbury, NY, didn't entirely fit the racetrack model, but it was close. It had been built in 1936 as an auto racing track, and it had some very high profile races in 1936 and '37. The track was twisty and bumpy, however, and not really suitable for the race cars of the time. In 1939, Roosevelt Raceway was re-opened as a harness racing facility. It was used for the occasional rock concert. A lot of people could fit in there, yet it had power, water and bathrooms. Most importantly, access could be controlled and tickets could be sold.
The "Festival Of Hope" on the weekend of August 12 and 13, 1972, was an effort to have a sort of controlled Woodstock at Roosevelt Raceway. A crowd of 80,000 over two days had been anticipated, which the site could probably have absorbed. Jefferson Airplane headlined Saturday, and Sly And The Family Stone were the featured attraction on Sunday. Seventeen bands were booked over the two-day weekend. The crowd was probably less than half of expectations, in the range of 15,000 per day. A good crowd, yes, but all those bands had to be paid.
Commander Cody and The Lost Planet Airmen were booked at the Festival, probably a package deal that came with the Airplane. Stephen Stills also had his excellent band Manassas. James Brown was on the bill, but I don't think his core African American audience was going to come to an outdoor rock festival. Chuck Berry was probably backed by local band Elephant's Memory. The James Gang no longer featured Joe Walsh, and rather had Dominec Troiano (guitar) and Roy Kenner (vocals) in his place. McKendree Spring was an interesting Upstate New York band featuring an electric violinist, with three albums so far on Decca. It was a pretty good billing, but most fans around the country had been to a rock festival already, and didn't look forward to a repeat.
There would be only one other rock concert at Roosevelt Raceway, "Summersault '74," on September 8, 1972. Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young headlined over the Beach Boys, Joni Mitchell and Jesse Colin Young. 77,000 attended, and a live album was ultimately released of the CSNY performance. No other rock concerts were held there again, to my knowledge. The site is now a shopping center called Westbury Plaza.
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| Newsday (Aug 12 '72) noted the upcoming Jefferson Airplane show at Gaelic Park on Monday, August 14. Shows like this were often primarily promoted on FM radio, so there were no elaborate posters. |
Jefferson Airplane and Cody played an outdoor show at Gaelic Park, high up in the Bronx, promoted by Howard Stein. Howard Stein had been the promoter at the Capitol Theater in Port Chester in 1970 and '71. In mid-71. Stein had started promoting shows at Gaelic Park in the Bronx. Jefferson Airplane had played Gaelic Park on August 18, 1971, one of their few live shows that Summer (see below).
Gaelic Park is at 201 W. 240th Street, on the Northern end of The Bronx. The park is about midway between the Capitol Theater in Port Chester (19 miles away) and Yankee Stadium, which is near the Northern edge of Manhattan (for context, Yankee Stadium is at 161st Street).
Some ad copy for a Gaelic Park concert (for a Grateful Dead show the previous year) describes the setup:
While Gaelic Park can accommodate twenty-five thousand people, we are limiting sales to fifteen thousand. It will be easy, comfortable and unhassled.The last paragraph frames the marketplace. It describes the Park as "close to Manhattan" and gives subway directions, for city dwellers, and describes the driving route for suburbanites. I'm sure that Stein was aiming to attract fans from all over New York City, but the nature of transit was that everyone would know how to get to Manhattan, and the directions only describe Manhattan-to-Gaelic Park.
Gaelic Park is close to Manhattan in the Riverdale section of the Bronx. It is easily accessible by subway on the IRT Line (7th Ave Broadway #7) and by car on the Major Deegan, Van Cortland Park exit.
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| Electric Factory ad for upcoming concerts at The Spectrum in the Philadelphia Inquirer, July 23 '72: Quicksilver/Canned Heat/Dr John/Wishbone Ash (Aug 2), Yes/Eagles/JoJo Gunne (Aug 15), Airplane (Aug 18), Deep Purple/Fleetwood Mac/Silverhead (Aug 23) |
August 18, 1972 Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA: Jefferson Airplane/Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen (Friday) Electric Factory Presents
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| Akron Beacon Journal headline, the day after Jefferson Airplane played The Rubber Bowl. Look what's happening out in the streets, got a revolution. |
August 21, 1972 Rubber Bowl, Akron, OH: Jefferson Airplane/Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen (Wednesday) Belkin Productions Presents
Belkin Productions, Cleveland's principal rock promoters since 1966, had booked a series of concerts at the Akron Rubber Bowl for the summer of 1972. Akron is 40 miles South of Cleveland. Jules and Mike Belkin had rented the Rubber Bowl from the University Of Akron for the summer, for about $40,000. The stadium had been built as a civic facility in 1940, but the University of Akron had purchased it for $1 from the city in 1971. Belkin put on 9 concerts at the football stadium. Most of the shows drew about 20,000, but the sold-out Rolling Stones show drew as many as 50,000.
The University of Akron had reseeded the football field that day and fans were told to stay in the stands. Nobody listened.
Opening act Commander Cody, best known for a cover of “Hot Rod Lincoln,” urged concertgoers to dance in front of the stage, and they happily obliged.
When darkness fell, hooligans began to throw rocks and bottles at some of the 80 officers providing security. At least 20 cops were hit and nine were hurt. Police fired tear gas. Nearly 30 fans were arrested.
Jefferson Airplane singer Grace Slick, 32, belting out songs such as “White Rabbit” and “Somebody to Love,” noticed the disturbance and encouraged fans to fight.
Police halted the show at 11:30 p.m. after someone called in a bomb threat.
The group’s equipment manager [Chick Casady, Jack's brother] got into an altercation with officers, prompting Slick and bandmate Paul Kantner to join the fray. They were jailed on charges of assaulting an officer before posting bond at 1 a.m.
Slick and Kantner later pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of obstruction, paid $50 fines and pledged to stay out of Akron for three years.That was the grand finale of the 1972 rock series.
As a result, the next night's show in Detroit was delayed a day. Paul and Grace, as you might expect, did not return to Akron during the next three years. Many major papers in the Midwest picked up wire service stories about the arrest. Jefferson Airplane's new album wasn't particularly successful, but fans all over were reading that while Grace Slick was a new Mom, she was still ready to battle Ohio cops after midnight, so the legend of Jefferson Airplane continued to fly high.
August 23, 1972 Cobo Arena, Detroit, MI: Jefferson Airplane/Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen (Wednesday) Gemini Productions Presents
Jefferson Airplane were booked at Detroit's Cobo Arena on Tuesday night, but as a result of the Akron altercation, the show was rescheduled for the next night (Wednesday August 23). Cobo Arena, downtown at 1 Washington Boulevard, had been built in 1960. It was the home of the NBA's Detroit Pistons, and had a concert capacity of about 12,000 (it was also known as Cobo Hall). The Airplane had played Cobo on their brief 1971 Summer Tour (see below).
Note that the Detroit Free Press ad (above) presents "Jefferson Airplane With Gracie Slick." Grace knew she was an attraction, but she didn't want to be treated as separate from the group. Also, I'm pretty sure that her friends didn't call her "Gracie." Nonetheless, she was the star, and there probably wasn't a lot the band could do to prevent promoters from advertising this way.
For a big city booking, Chicago's Auditorium Theatre was a relatively small hall. The Theatre, at 50 Ida B Wells Street, had been built in 1889, but it had a capacity of just 3,800. Back in 1969, Jefferson Airplane had played for free in Grant Park and drawn something like 50,000, complete with riots and cops. So there wasn't any doubt about the Airplane's legendary status in Chicago. Lynn Van Matre reviewed the first night for the Chicago Tribune, and said "in some ways, it's a new group, but the old old magic is still there." It was a much more positive assessment than the band got in some places. Maybe the Auditorium Theatre was a better venue, maybe the band got a little edge from Chicago, but in any case it seems to have gone well. Of the seven tracks on the live album from the tour, 1973's 30 Seconds Over Winterland, four of them were actually recorded at the Chicago shows rather than at the titular Winterland.
I have seen this Wednesday show in Tulsa on internet concert lists, which are unreliable for the history of the Airplane. I can find no trace of it in any digitized sources. Did they actually play the show? The Tulsa Assembly Center, at 100 Civic Center, was a 7,111-capacity arena built in 1964. It was the principal venue for touring bands playing Tulsa, and many big acts played there over the years. For a band like Jefferson Airplane, playing Tulsa on a Wednesday night made sense as a booking between two major cities.
Tulsa made sense if there were empty nights between Chicago and, say, Dallas or Atlanta. But the Airplane's next show was Sunday night in Los Angeles. Why wait three days and go to Tulsa? Without further information, I see a couple of possibilities
- Tulsa had originally been on the calendar, but the show after it (Texas, Atlanta or somewhere like that) had been canceled, and Tulsa was canceled as well, or
- Tulsa had been one of the dates canceled in 1971, and the band owed the promoter a make-up. Thus Tulsa was tacked on to the schedule when it fit, and that was at the end.
If anyone has any information or insight about the August 30 Tulsa booking, please put them in the Comments.
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| Los Angeles Times September 1, 1972 |
The Hollywood Bowl was a prominent outdoor venue in the Hollywood Hills, at 2301 North Highland. It had been in use since the 1920s, but over times the natural amphitheater had been enhanced with a band shell and enhanced seating. Hollywood Bowl seated 17,500, and headlining there was very high profile. Presumably Jefferson Airplane and Commander Cody's Airmen had returned home for at least a few days before playing the Bowl.
For this leg of the tour, the opening act was Poco. Poco was a great band, but they were in the peculiar spot where they were well-regarded, had powerful management and a major record company, but their sales were usually disappointing. Poco had been formed by Richie Furay and Jim Messina, both expatriates from the legendary Buffalo Springfield, but Messina had been replaced by Paul Cotton. In September, 1971, Poco had released their fourth album (and first with Cotton), From The Inside. Bassist Tim Schmidt (later an Eagle), drummer George Grantham and pedal steel master Rusty Young were the rest of the band. Everyone sang and wrote.
The Los Angeles Times didn't seem to pay much attention to the Airplane concert. There was only the barest of listings (such as above), and no review. I suspect that the Hollywood Bowl concert drew alright, because there were simply so many rock fans in Southern California. In other cities, a Jefferson Airplane concert heralded the return of stars, but Los Angeles was the center of the Entertainment industry. Jefferson Airplane's new album wasn't at the top of the charts and they hadn't had a hit single in years. In LA, three years is like a dozen years in another town, and the Airplane were last decade's news.
Jefferson Airplane and Poco played San Diego Sports Area four days after Hollywood Bowl. The Airplane's sound and light show equipment was probably trucked down to San Diego, but the Airplane band members almost certainly flew home. In-California flights were very cheap, and San Francisco bands typically flew down and back to Los Angeles for gigs, often in the same day.
The San Diego Sports Arena, (now Pechanga Arena, at 3500 Sports Arena Blvd) built in 1966, seated between 9,000 and 14,000 in concert configuration. San Diego, for all its proximity to Hollywood, has always been a conservative Navy town. All the hip troublemakers in San Diego head up the freeway for LA, so San Diego remains pleasant and unruffled. I don't know anything about the show itself.
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| Tucson Daily Citizen September 2, 1972 |
Arizona is now the 14th most populous state in the country, but that is a recent development. Since 1970, the population has quadrupled (from 1.7 million to 7.3 million). Much of that has been in the main cities of Phoenix and Tucson, and their surrounding suburbs. Arizona was only made a state in 1912, and there were still Arizonans in 1972 who had been born when it was still a US Territory (including the state's then Senator, Barry Goldwater, who had been born in 1909). Arizona wasn't just growing, it was exploding, but it was still as much desert as suburb.
Tucson is 108 miles Southeast of Phoenix, and just 60 miles North of the Mexican border. Founded as a fort in 1775, Tucson was Arizona's largest city until 1920, when it was finally passed by Phoenix. The principal institution of Tucson was the University of Arizona, which had been established in 1885, 27 years before statehood. Then as now, Tucson's principal employer was the University. Although suburbs have smoothed out some of the distinctions, Tucson had a reputation as a laid-back college town, albeit of the desert variety, in contrast to the more prosperous and somewhat uptight Phoenix, 90 minutes away.
Between 1940 and 1970, Tucson had gone from a population of 35,000 to 262,000, and today it is at 542,000. The growth of surrounding Pima County has been equal in magnitude. But back in 1972, Tucson was more of a thriving college town than a booming metropolis. So it makes sense that rebellious Jefferson Airplane would play the Arizona college town, and not the place where everyone would frown at long hair. The ticket broker ad above gives an idea of what kind of town it was: Pink Floyd was coming soon after the Airplane (Dark Side Of The Moon had just been released), but so were Liberace and Eddy Arnold. Thus the entertainment was skewed to hippie college students and aging retirees.
The Tucson Community Center (now known as the Tucson Convention Center), had been built in 1971. It included the Tucson Arena, an 8962 seat concert venue. Once again, we know nothing about the concert itself. It's hard to tell if it wasn't a big deal, or if the local press just didn't pay attention to the local hippies and their music.
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| The September 7 (Thursday) Albuquerque Tribune had a note about the upcoming Jefferson Airplane show at The Pit, along with pictures of Grace and Paul |
September 10, 1972 University Arena, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM: Jefferson Airplane/Poco (Sunday)
Jefferson Airplane and Poco ended their Southwestern leg at the University of New Mexico. For obvious geographic reasons, bands on tour usually played gigs in both Arizona and New Mexico if they came to the Southwest. The University of New Mexico had been established in 1889, long before that Territory became a state. University Arena, known to NCAA basketball fans throughout the country as "The Pit," had been built in 1966. It had a capacity of up to 13,000 for concerts. I don't know anything about this show, either. If any readers know anything about shows from the LA-through-Albuquerque leg of the Airplane tour, please mention them in the Comments (second-hand memories and vague speculation actively encouraged).
Jefferson Airplane returned home, to put on what should have been two triumphant concerts at Winterland. Commander Cody, back home in Emeryville, were also on the bill. Jefferson Airplane had not played San Francisco in almost two years (the last being October 5, 1970). Yet Long John Silver had been out for two months and was basically a dud, at least by Airplane standards. It got little or no airplay on KSAN, the city's top FM rock station. The Friday night show (Sep 15) was canceled, apparently because Grace had throat problems, an ongoing issue with her. At first, Bill Graham tried to book the show on Sunday, but then Saturday night was canceled, too, and then both concerts were moved to the next weekend.
September 21-22, 1972 Winterland, San Francisco, CA: Jefferson Airplane/Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen/Muskrat (Thursday-Friday)
The Jefferson Airplane's concert at Winterland did not come close to taking off.
The faults were plentiful in the inept performance--one which inevitably provokes questions as to the Airplane's artistic direction...
...the once fascinating singer-instrumentalist Grace Slick has emerged as a musical shouter, seldom contributing to the integrity of the group. Although there was plenty of space in Winterland (a couple of thousand seats went unsold) there was little dancing. The Airplane has lost its compelling, driving dance-rhythms and it has wandered off into the musical and lyric fantasies.
1: Somebody to Love, Twilight Double Leader, Wooden Ships, Milk Train, Blind John, Come Back Baby, Son of Jesus
2: Long John Silver, When the Earth Moves Again, Down Home Blues, Eat Starch Mom, John's Other, Trial by Fire, Law Man, Have You Seen the Saucers, Aerie, Feel So Good, Crown of Creation, Walking the Tou-Tou, Diana > Volunteers
Encore: Dress Rap/You Wear Your Dresses Too Short (w/Marty Balin)
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| Jefferson Airplane's Thirty Seconds Over Winterland, released on Grunt Records in April 1973. Cover by Bruce Steinberg. |
Thirty Seconds Over Winterland
Side One"Have You Seen the Saucers?" (recorded September 21 at Winterland)
"Feel So Good" (recorded September 22 at Winterland)
"Crown of Creation" (recorded August 25 at Chicago Auditorium)
Side Two"When the Earth Moves Again" (recorded August 25 at Chicago Auditorium)
"Milk Train" (recorded August 25 at Chicago Auditorium)
"Trial by Fire" (recorded August 24 at Chicago Auditorium)
"Twilight Double Leader" (recorded September 21 at Winterland)
Thirty Seconds Over Winterland was ultimately a trivial album, essential only for Jorma completists. Its legacy was the album cover, by Bruce Steinberg, which featured a whimsical set of flying toasters. Jefferson Airplane had failed to register a trademark for the image, and the Toasters became Public Domain. As a result the Flying Toaster became a famous screensaver from Berkeley Systems' 1989 After Dark software package. So someone had bought Thirty Seconds, at least, but the Airplane could capture no royalties from the Toasters.
In 1974, somewhat broke, and with Jack and Jorma showing no interest in touring with the Airplane, Paul Kantner put together a revised lineup for a tour, which he dubbed "Jefferson Starship," after his Blows Against The Empire album. A February 1974 tour was financially successful and musically exciting, and Jefferson Starship returned to the studio. Marty Balin ultimately returned as well, and the Jeffersons flew again. Jefferson Starship had gigantic hits, sold way more albums (and singles) than the Airplane ever did, and handled their money correctly this time. As each member left Starship, they didn't have to work any more if they didn't want to.
Of course, the 15 years of Jefferson Starship were filled with fights, bitterness, breakups, reunions, lawsuits and drama of all sorts. But that was the Jefferson Way, same as it ever was. Epic Records signed Jefferson Airplane for a Ron Nevison-produced reunion album (entitled Jefferson Airplane) in 1989, but despite Grace, Marty, Paul, Jorma and Jack, it was forgettable. There was a nostalgic tour, where the band didn't play well. Jefferson Airplane managed to end in style, however, ending their 1990 tour with a week at the re-opened Fillmore and a free concert at Golden Gate Park. Grace Slick, who (for complicated reasons), controlled the Airplane trademark, declared there would be no more Jefferson Airplane shows, and the band members agreed. OK, so they played five songs at Washington, DC fundraiser a few days later, but it's better to think of Jefferson Airplane ending their career at Fillmore and Golden Gate Park, just as it began.
Coda: The Legacy Of Jefferson AirplaneJeff Tamarkin's final statement in his book encapsulates Jefferson Airplane's place in the American cultural landscape. Its worth repeating here in its entirety (p.373)
The Legacy Of Jefferson Airplane
Fort Zumwalt North High School in O'Fallon, Missouri, found itself in the glare of the national media spotlight in 1998. The reason for the the commotion was that the school's marching band and color guard had chosen to play "White Rabbit" as part of a "Salute To The Late 60s" medley to be performed before at football games. A concerned parent, it seems objected, because it was felt that the song's lyrics glorified the use of drugs.
Regardless of the fact that the kids did not plan to sing the lyrics--they were performing an instrumental version--the school's principal announced that "White Rabbit" was an "anthem of the drug culture" and demanded that the band delete the song from its repertoire.
Fifteen students sued, calling it a free speech issue and thus drawing reporters and TV crews to the otherwise un-newsworthy midwestern hamlet. The American Civil Liberties Union became involved, defending the students in federal court, but the judges sided with the authorities, saying that the school had the right to determine just what constitutes allowable speech within its confines, and the song was dropped.
Nonetheless, the fuss over the ban ultimately had another, more lasting effect. As the vast majority of the high school's students had been unaware of "White Rabbit" or Jefferson Airplane before the furor overtook the town, they flocked to the Internet to see just what the those contentious lyrics might possibly be.
"Now I have two Jefferson Airplane cds," one 16-year old student told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "And I listen to both of them all the time."
The school's principal was lucky that Jefferson Airplane was no more, and that Grace Slick was retired. A few decades earlier, Grace would have gone to Rolling Stone, Paul would have offered to fight the cops, and the entire band would have showed up for a free concert that ended in riots and tear gas, plus the entire high school permanently enrolled in the Jefferson Airplane frequent flyer program.
Look what's happening out in the street,
Got a revolution, got to revolution
Hey I'm dancing down the street
Got a revolution, got to revolution
Ain't it amazing all the people I meet
Got a revolution, got to revolution ("Volunteers", Paul Kantner-Marty Balin 1969)
Appendix I: Jefferson Airplane Recordings 1970-72
For timeline clarity, here is a list of Jefferson Airplane and Grunt Records releases from 1970-72.
"Mexico"/"Have You Seen The Saucers"-Jefferson Airplane (45 rpm single, May 1970 RCA)
"Mexico" was a topical song about the US Government's attempt to intercept marijuana smugglers. Neither of these songs appeared on regular Airplane albums.
Blows Against The Empire-Paul Kantner/Jefferson Starship (RCA October 70) #20 Gold
Kantner and Slick recorded Kantner's "space opera" with Jerry Garcia, Mickey Hart, Graham Nash, Jack and Jorma and others. Kantner used the name "Jefferson Starship" to indicate that it was a group production but not an Airplane record. The album reached #20 and went Gold. The album was also nominated for a Science Fiction Hugo award.
RCA released a "Best Of" album with all the Airplane's singles. This album filled a gap when there was no new Airplane in the stores, and also encouraged airplay on FM radio throughout the country. The album would reach #12 on Billboard. It has currently reached Platinum (1 million copies sold).
Hot Tuna (RCA May 70)
RCA released an album taken from recordings of Jorma, Jack and Will Scarlett (harmonica) playing acoustic at the New Orleans House in Berkeley. The September 1969 show had been billed as "Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady." The name Hot Tuna was added by the record company, who wanted a band name. While Jack and Jorma chose the name, on a whim, the legend persists (regularly debunked by Jorma) that the band was called Hot Shit, and RCA demurred. Great story, though.
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| The inside cover to Hot Tuna's 1971 First Pull Up album shows the inside of the Chateau Liberte |
First Pull Up, Then Pull Down-Hot Tuna (RCA-July 1971)
RCA followed Hot Tuna's debut with an electric album, recorded at the infamous Chateau Liberte in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Papa John Creach, drummer Sammy Piazza and Scarlett were on board for the elecric album. When the album was recorded, Hot Tuna mostly just played weekends at the Chateau, alternating with an obscure band from San Jose. That other band--the Doobie Brothers--had the cover photo of their 1971 debut album taken at the Chateau Liberte bar. By the time First Pull Up came out, Hot Tuna was touring nationally, as the Airplane was barely available.
Bark-Jefferson Airplane (Grunt FTR-1001September 1971)
The first Grunt release was the Airplane's Bark. It would reach #11, and went Gold as well. The single "Pretty As You Feel" did reach #60.
Sunfighter-Paul Kantner and Grace Slick (Grunt FTR-1002 November 1971)
Sunfighter, though put together by the same crew who had recorded Blows Against The Empire, was billed as a Paul Kantner/Grace Slick album. The album would only reach #89 on the Billboard charts.
Papa John Creach-Papa John Creach (Grunt FTR-1003 December 1971)
Papa John's initial solo album, released in December 1971, showcased his violin and singing in a much wider variety of settings than an Airplane or Hot Tuna album. This was a classic Heider Studios San Francisco All-Star production, with performances by Jerry Garcia, Hot Tuna, much of Santana, Grace Slick, the Tower of Power horns and numerous others.
Burgers-Hot Tuna (Grunt FTR-1004 February 1972)
Burgers was Hot Tuna's first studio album, and it featured five Jorma Kaukonen originals. The album only sold modestly at the time, but it established Hot Tuna as "real band" instead of some sort of side gig. Papa John and drummer Sammy Piazza joined Jack and Jorma, with a few studio guests, including David Crosby. Many of the songs on the record anchored Hot Tuna's sets for decades to follow.
Jack Bonus (Grunt FTR-1005 1972)
The Jack Bonus album is not a bad album, not at all by 70s singer/songwriter standards. The circumstances surrounding the album's release, however, are a good marker of how Jefferson Airplane's admirable values were in direct conflict with their finances. Jack Bonus played tenor sax and flute quite well, and also sang and wrote songs, playing acoustic guitar. He has a bluesy style, with a touch of folk and jazz. Music fans, to the extent they are aware of Jack Bonus, recognize him for having written "Hobo Song," recorded by Jerry Garcia and Old And In The Way. Peter Rowan has continued to sing the song in ensuing decades.
Jack Bonus first surfaces on The Great American Eagle Tragedy, a 1969 Elektra Records album by Earth Opera. Earth Opera was a sort of psychedelic folk group headed by Rowan and David Grisman, in the vein of The Incredible String Band. Earth Opera was based in Cambridge, MA, so I assume Bonus was from the East Coast. But I do not know this for a fact, nor do I even know if "Jack Bonus" was a real name or a stage name. By the early 70s, Bonus had ended up in Western Marin. At the time, Paul Kantner and Grace Slick lived in the Western Marin town of Bolinas, so they must have known him from around the way.
I was told by someone who knew Jack Bonus personally that he was a talented musician with an apparent variety of mental health issues. In the 1970s, many conditions that may be medically manageable today had far fewer treatments. Apparently, Jack Bonus lived on a modest permanent disability stipend, and was "86'd" from many bars, so making a living as a musician wasn't really viable. He did play in the Jack Bonus Group from 1974-76, that only played one bar in Stinson Beach, and he at least appeared on occasion with the Rowan Brothers circa 1974. Once (on May 5, 1974) he sat in with Grisman and Jerry Garcia and the Great American String Band at Keystone Berkeley, singing "Hobo Song."
Jack Bonus' songs and vocals on the Grunt album are well arranged, and he was supported by many excellent Bay Area musicians, including Peter Rowan, Grisman and members of The Loading Zone. While Bonus' music deserved to be heard, apparently he wouldn't really be able to tour and support it. RCA was a big, national, label, not really equipped to support local, independent releases, and the well-meaning Airplane were ultimately charged a premium for letting their friend make a record.
Black Kangaroo-Peter Kaukonen (Grunt FTR-1006 1972)
Peter Kaukonen was Jorma's brother, and a fine guitarist himself. In 1965, Jorma had offered him the opportunity to play bass for Jefferson Airplane, but Peter and Jorma's father (then in US State Department) had insisted that Peter stay in Stanford to avoid being drafted in the Vietnam war. Peter had joined the group Petrus in 1968, with singer Ruthan Friedman. Peter had also briefly played with Hot Tuna, and with Johnny Winter. Peter was married to Jacky Watts, who was the Airplane's office manager. Black Kangaroo was a kind of Jimi Hendrix-like album, with lots of overdubbing by Peter. Around 1972, Peter Kaukonen toured with a trio called Black Kangaroo.
The album was not a success, even though it was quite literally by a Jefferson Airplane family member, and Peter Kaukonen was a talented, experienced musician, willing to tour to support it. Unlike some Grunt releases, It was a good bet for a record company, even if it didn't work out.
Long John Silver-Jefferson Airplane (Grunt FTR-1007 July 1972) #20
Long John Silver, Jefferson Airplane's second album on Grunt, would reach #20 on Billboard. Jefferson Airplane toured hard to support it in 1972, even if it was a weak album.
Come-1 (Grunt FTR-1008 Fall 1972)
Come, by the group 1, was a legendary indulgence, an embarrassing episode that over time has come to epitomize "vanity imprints." RCA had told Jefferson Airplane they could release anything they wanted on Grunt Records, and Come proved it. Gerry Riley was a Bolinas neighbor and friend of Paul Kantner, but he used the name Reality D. Blipcrotch. I don't know who was in the band, and what few gigs they played seemed to have been in Marin. Riley insisted on all sorts of expensive indulgences like recording the ocean. Airplane engineer Pat "Maurice" Ieraci was still angry at Riley's arrogance decades later when Tamarkin interviewed him about the record. Ieraci's takedown is scathing. Riley passed away in 2021.
Grunt Records, distributed by RCA, continued to release albums by Jefferson Starship, Hot Tuna and band members through 1987, and certainly Jefferson Starship had many hits. But it stopped releasing solo albums by friends of the band after 1974.
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| The Asbury Park Free Press noting that Jefferson Airplane's show at Wall Stadium in nearby Belmar, NJ on August 15, 1971 was going to happen (there had been a lawsuit) |
Appendix 2: Jefferson Airplane Live Performances June 1971-January 1972
Jefferson Airplane played very few concerts in 1971 and early 1972. Rather confusingly, however, they booked, advertised, canceled and then re-scheduled a lot of shows. Thus the internet is full of shadowy listings of concerts that never occurred. This trail is compounded by bootleg recordings purporting to be from some of these canceled shows. Bootleggers, nor even tape traders, have no obligation to be archivally correct, and indeed in the bootleggers' case have a vested interest in claiming that they have something no one else has. I have found no list of Airplane shows for this period that is even remotely accurate, so I made my own. Since I made it, I may as well post it.
I have only listed Jefferson Airplane concerts that seem reasonably likely to have really occurred. I have probably missed a few shows, so any updates are very welcome. Be forewarned, however, that bootlegs and internet lists are not reliable sources in this search.
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| Asbury Park Free Press August 16 |
August 15, 1971 Wall Stadium, Belmar, NJ: Jefferson Airplane (Sunday) John Scher and Al Heyward Present
Rock and Roll Island, Feel So Good, Somebody to Love, When the Earth Moves Again, Pretty As You Feel, Law Man, Come Back Baby, The Man (Bludgeon of a Bluecoat), Wild Turkey, Third Week in the Chelsea, War Movie, Volunteers > Starship > Volunteers
August 17, 1971 Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA: Jefferson Airplane/Hot Tuna (Tuesday)
August 18, 1971 Gaelic Park, The Bronx, New York, NY Jefferson Airplane (Wednesday)
Jefferson Airplane played Gaelic Park. Since the Airplane just played a few shows, I think they chose to play a few major venues in the Northeast and then the Midwest, in lieu of an entire tour.
There is a reputed setlist for the Gaelic Park show as well.
Law Man, Feel So Good, Rock and Roll Island, Pretty As You Feel, Come Back Baby, When the Earth Moves Again, John's Other, Third Week in the Chelsea, Somebody to Love, Wild Turkey, Volunteers, Eat Starch Mom Jam
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| Detroit Free Press Aug 20 71 |
August 20, 1971: Cobo Hall, Detroit, MI: Jefferson Airplane/Five Man Electric Band (Friday)
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| The July 18, 1971 Winnipeg Free Press mentioned the upcoming concert with The Who, Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead in St. Paul on Augusr 21, 1971 |
August 21, 1971 Midway Stadium, St. Paul, MN: The Who/Jefferson Airplane/Hot Tuna/Grateful Dead/Leo Kottke (Saturday) canceled
September 25, 1971 Friends And Relations Hall, San Francisco, CA: Jefferson Airplane/Black Kangaroo/One/Ace Of Cups/Jack Bonus/Grootna Grunt Records Party (Saturday)
A few weeks after the release of Bark, the Airplane decided to have a party to celebrate, and invited 1000 friends or so to Friends And Relations Hall. The Examiner's Phil Elwood reported on the huge party that the Airplane had to celebrate their new album and their new label. Jefferson Airplane headlined the show, but came on very late and were not in terrific performing shape (ahem). Opening the show were a few bands who would release albums on Grunt. Black Kangaroo featured guitarist Peter Kaukonen, Jorma's brother. Grootna was associated with Marty Balin, who had left the band but was still part of the record company. Ace Of Cups were a long-standing San Francisco band, friends with the Airplane, who unfortunately never got to record anything for Grunt. One, with Reality D Blipcrotch, opened the show, but there were no reports on their performance.
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| Ticket stub for Jefferson Airplane's show at Assembly Hall in Champaign, IL |
January 13, 1972 Assembly Hall, U of Illinois, Champaign, IL: Jefferson Airplane/Hot Tuna (Thursday)
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| Jefferson Airplane were booked for Crisler Arena on November 20, 1971, but they canceled. They played there on January 14, 1972 instead. |
Jefferson Airplane had been booked at Crisler Arena, the University of Michigan basketball pavilion, on Saturday November 20. There is a nice poster (above), which circulates widely. There are even bootlegs recordings purporting to be of this show. The Airplane didn't play in November, but they played Crisler on January 14 instead. I assume Hot Tuna opened.
Crisler Arena, at 333 E. Stadium Boulevard in Ann Arbor, had been built in 1967. It had a capacity of around 13,000. It was known as "The House That Cazzie Built," because U of M star Cazzie Russell had led the school to three straight Big Ten titles (from 1964 to '66) and made the team hugely popular.
January 16, 1972 Cleveland Public Hall, Cleveland, OH: Jefferson Airplane (Sunday) Belkin Presents
January 19, 1972 Convention Center, Louisville, KY: Jefferson Airplane (Wednesday)
The Coliseum State Fairgrounds, at 1202 E. 38th Street, had been built in 1938 as part of the State Fairgrounds. It had a capacity of about 6,500. The review in the Indianapolis Star mentioned a "nearly packed house." Pure Prairie League were a country rock band also on RCA, who would go on to big success in later years.
January 22, 1972 Hara Arena, Dayton, OH: Jefferson Airplane/Pure Prairie League (Saturday) A Friend Presents
The Hara Arena was actually at 1001 Shiloh Springs in Trotwood, OH, a suburb of Dayton. The 5,000 seat arena had been built in 1964. I'm assuming that Jefferson Airplane played Dayton on a Saturday night because they were making up a canceled date. A Friend Presents was the clever corporate name for Midwestern promoter Roger Abramson.
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| Mendocino Coast Beacon April 28, 1972 |
April 29, 1972 Comptche Grange Hall, Comptche, CA: John Barbata/Chris Etheridge/Joel Scott Hill (Saturday)
For 1960s Jefferson Airplane live dates, the best on-line source, though outdated, are still my series of posts. There are 9 posts covering the band's concert history from September 1965 through December 1969. Part I, covering September thru December '65, can be found here; the final part, covering October through December 1969, can be found here. The other entries can be reached through those posts.
Posts
