Marty Balin, Jefferson Airplane/Starship Vocalist, Left Us “Today”
One of the most iconic voices in all of rock has left us. Marty Balin, the sweet tenor who powered Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship, passed away Thursday, September 27th, at 76.
Balin was one of the founders of Jefferson Airplane and wrote songs for and sang on the band’s first five studio albums (and several live recordings). He also appeared on four albums by Jefferson Starship. During that period, he also played on a gem titled Bodacious D.F. Later, Balin recorded 13 albums under his own name, beginning with Balin in 1981; the last album, from 2016, was The Greatest Love.
He founded Jefferson Airplane with Paul Kantner. After original singer Signe Anderson was replaced by Grace Slick, their voices in tandem were one of rock’s sweetest sounds. Balin wrote or co-wrote all eight original songs on the band’s first album with Anderson, Jefferson Airplane Takes Off (1966).
On the definitive Surrealistic Pillow (1967), Balin wrote/co-wrote “She Has Funny Cars,” “Today,” “Comin’ Back to You,” “3/5 of a Mile in Ten Seconds,” and “Plastic Fantastic Lover.” After Bathing at Baxter’s (1967) featured his “Young Girl Sunday Blues” and “Won’t You Try/Saturday Afternoon.”
Contributions to 1968’s Crown of Creation were “In Time,” “Share a Little Joke with the World,” “If You Feel” and “The House at Pooneil Corners.” At this point, Balin and the band were drifting apart. His only song on Volunteers (1969) was the title track. He did not appear on Bark or Long John Silver.
He was, however, part of the remarkable Paul Kantner project Blows Against the Empire (1970), billed as Jefferson Starship. (That title is a shortened version of “It’s a fresh wind that blows against the empire.”) He co/wrote “Hijack” and “Starship.”
When Kantner and Slick former Jefferson Starship in 1974, Balin contributed his beautiful ballad “Caroline” to Dragonfly. Next year’s smash hit was “Miracles,” one of Balin’s songs on Red Octopus, which also featured “Sweeter Than Honey,” “Tumblin’” and “I Want to See Another World.” He was also on Spitfire (1976), where he wrote “St. Charles,” “With Your Love,” “Dance with the Dragon,” and “Love Lovely Love.”
That 1973 album Bodacious D.F. was prominent on progressive rock stations at the time, especially for the song “Drivin’ Me Crazy.” (The original album did not have his name on the cover.)
Balin’s solo albums include:
Balin (1981)
Lucky (1983)
There’s No Shoulder (1983)
Better Generation (1991)
Freedom Flight (1997)
Marty Balin Greatest Hits (1999)
Marty Balin (2003)
Nashville Sessions (2008)
Time For Every Season (2009)
Blue Highway (2010)
The Witcher (2011)
Good Memories (2015)
The Greatest Love (2016)
I feel extremely fortunate to have seen Balin on the Red Octopus tour and in 2007(??) when he joined Elliott Cohn on stage in Tampa to sing “If I Had a Rocket Launcher.”