Is this how the '60s end, not with a bang or a whimper, but with a lawsuit?
Former members of Jefferson Starship, nee Airplane, are going to court, says the San Francisco Chronicle today, over the use of the band's name. Grace Slick, the band's lead singer and co-founder -- she's also the majority shareholder in Jefferson Starship Inc. -- has joined with a former band manager to sue Paul Kantner, the group's former lead guitarist. Apparently Kantner has been touring for years under the name Paul Kantner's Starship, which didn't bother Slick and the rest of them so long as Kantner's gigs were limited to "playing small fairs," in the words of Bill Thompson, the former manager.
But when Kantner struck a deal with Microsoft to use the band's name in promotions, the legal briefs hit the fan.
Who knows where this will wind up? But it's a long way from "Don't You Want Somebody to Love."
The battle over Starship has been going on forever -- this is just the latest wrinkle. Almost from the outset the Airplane was beset by internal squabbles, esp. when Grace joined and immediately became the face of the band, much to founder Marty Balin's chagrin. The Airplane/Starship were the only '60s-era S.F. band that didn't reunite for Bill Graham's memorial concert. And it's likely they'll be the only band of that era not to reunite for the Summer of Love 40th anniversary concert in Sept. Esp. now. All those '60s S.F. bands have had their share of legal battles -- the Jeffersons are just the most acrimonious, it seems. And it will never end.
When Starship/Airplane stopped being socially relevant, I stopped caring about the group. They made their mark during the sixties, and I still enjoy "White Rabbit" and "...Somebody To Love", but when I hear "We Built This City", I turn the channel. They sold out.
Does anyone know the name of the vocalist who sang , "White Rabbit" at the Summer of Love, September, 2007 Golden Gate Park.
I thought it was Grace Slick, but apparently, it couldn't have been. I couldn't see the stage.