Sunday November 28, 2021 “Runaway” Jefferson Starship
When we think of Jefferson Starship, or Jefferson Airplane before they headed into outer space, the most obvious focus is usually on the lead singer Grace Slick but this tune has Marty Balin handling those responsibilities very capably.
Marty Balin, before forming the Jefferson Airplane in 1965 with singer/guitarist Paul Kantner, was co-owner of a San Francisco nightclub known as The Matrix. This club would be the home for many bands in the then burgeoning San Francisco music scene including the Grateful Dead, Big Brother & the Holding Company and Quicksilver Messenger Service. And it served as the launching pad for the Jefferson Airplane as well.
Balin would be the primary songwriter in Jefferson Airplane until Grace Slick replaced the original Airplane co-lead singer Signe Anderson who left the band after giving birth to her first child. Former model Grace Slick would create a power shift that would eventually cause Marty Balin to leave the band in 1971. He would return to work with Kantner and Slick and form the Jefferson Starship in 1975 and “Runaway” would be one of their early hits.
However he would once again depart from ‘Jefferson…’ in 1978 over disagreements over the direction the band was taking.
Stay safe and well...and enjoy this top twenty tune with some excellent guitar work by Craig Chaquico.