Marty Balin, co-founder of the San Francisco psychedelic rock band Jefferson Airplane, and whose tenor voice became a key component of their signature sound, died Thursday, Sept. 27 at the age of 76. Balin's rep confirmed the musician's death to Rolling Stone, though the cause of death is currently unknown.
Born Martyn Jerel Buchwald, Balin was a struggling folk guitarist in San Francisco when he met Paul Kantner at a hootenanny. They formed a band and later met up with guitarist Jorma Kaukonen, bassist Jack Casady, drummer Skip Spence and singer Signe Toly Anderson and cut their 1966 debut LP, Jefferson Airplane Takes Off. They developed a strong following around the budding San Francisco rock scene, but became nationwide superstars in 1967 when Anderson left the group and was replaced by Grace Slick. Balin played with the Airplane at their most famous gigs, including the Monterey Pop Festival, Woodstock and Altamont. At the latter gig, Balin was brutally beaten up by Hells Angels after he dove into the audience to help an audience member in distress. "I woke up with all these boot marks all over my body," Balin told Relix in 1993. "I just walked out there. I remember Jorma saying, 'Hey, you're a crazy son of a bitch.'"
A year later, Balin quit the group and spent a few years managing rock bands in San Francisco, but was pulled back into the group's orbit by Kantner in 1974 in the offshoot Jefferson Starship, which went on to have more hits than the original Airplane, including the Balin-penned "Miracles," which reached No. 3 in 1975. By 1978, Balin left the group for a solo career. In 1989, he participated in a short-lived Jefferson Airplane reunion tour and returned four years later to Jefferson Starship, finally leaving for good in 2008.
This is probably Marty's best known song. He co-wrote it with Paul Kantner...
