Paul Kantner and Jefferson Starship - Have You Seen the Stars Tonite? (1970)

Internal problems amongst the members of Jefferson Airplane began to boil over in 1970, starting with their drummer, Spencer Dryden, being unanimously voted out of the band. Members Jack Casady and Jorma Kaukonen launched a side project, Hot Tuna; Paul Kantner and the married Grace Slick began a love affair; and Marty Balin felt like a bit of an outcast because of his bandmates pairing up without him.

Since Jefferson Airplane had only released one single in 1970, Paul Kantner decided to work on a solo album with Grace Slick titled Blows Against the Empire. The entire album was conceptualized around a science-fiction theme and was released under the name “Paul Kantner and Jefferson Starship.” It’s important to note that this was not the same Jefferson Starship band that would be created in 1974 by Kantner. This was, if anything, a coincidental name that would provide the inspiration for Kantner’s Jefferson Starship four years later. It’s said that the name “Starship,” was inspired by many things: the evolution of Jefferson Airplane to something more grandiose, the star-filled lineup that accompanied Kantner and Slick on the album, and the fact that the characters within the album were seeking a starship to leave the planet Earth.

Speaking of the talent involved in the creation of the album, Blows Against the Empire featured not only the talents of Paul Kantner and Grace Slick, but also fellow Jefferson Airplane members Jack Casady and Joey Covington; the Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia, Bill Kreutzmann, and Mickey Hart; CSN’s David Crosby and Graham Nash; Quicksilver Messenger Service’s David Freiberg; The Electric Flag’s Harvey Brooks; and Jorma Kaukonen’s brother Peter Kaukonen.

The song heard below appeared as the eighth song on Blows Against the Empire. It was written by Paul Kantner and David Crosby. It features Paul Kantner, Grace Slick, Jerry Garcia (pedal steel guitar), Mickey Hart (percussion), and David Crosby (vocals, guitar). Although the song never charted, Blows Against the Empire itself was the first rock album to be nominated for the Hugo science fiction award. If you like this song, I highly recommend listening to the entire album.



Paul Kantner and Jefferson Starship - Have You Seen the Stars Tonite? (1970)

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Lyrics:

Have you seen the stars tonight?
Would you like to go up on ‘A’ Deck and look at them with me?
Have you seen the stars tonight?
Would you like to go up for a stroll and keep me company?

Do you know?
We could go
We are free
Any place you could think of
We could be

Have you seen the stars tonight?
Have you look at all the family of stars?

Jefferson Airplane - Embryonic Journey (1967)

By the end of the summer in 1966, Jefferson Airplane’s pregnant singer, Signe Toly Anderson, was expecting her first child. Combined with the hostility toward her husband from her bandmates, she wanted out. Luckily for her, when the group was formed, she had a clause inserted into her contract that would allow her to break away from the group for any reason (which she had put in due to her distrust of then manager, Matthew Katz). In late 1966, Anderson parted with the group and what remained of Jefferson Airplane persuaded Grace Slick, of The Great Society, to take her place.

When Slick departed with The Great Society, she took with her two songs: “White Rabbit” and “Somebody to Love,” both of which became enormous hits. Both songs also appeared on the group’s second album, Surrealistic Pillow, which also featured this song. This song was written by the group’s guitarist, Jorma Kaukonen, in 1962 and was added to the album at the insistence of the other members. Though I've never watched the show, you may recognize this song from the last episode of the television show Friends.



Jefferson Airplane - Embryonic Journey (1967)

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Lyrics:

(instrumental)

Jefferson Airplane - Come Up The Years (1966)

Rooted in folk and blues music, this psychedelic group was the first (and largest) band to come out of the San Francisco movement in the mid to late ‘60s. They’re mostly remembered for their biggest commercial hits “White Rabbit” and “Somebody to Love.” Both of these psychedelic songs were sung by their second female vocalist, Grace Slick (a former model), who had replaced Signe Toly Anderson and boosted the band into stardom.

This song comes from their first album, Jefferson Airplane Takes Off, before Grace Slick, The Acid Queen, had joined the band.



Jefferson Airplane - Come Up The Years (1966)

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Lyrics:

I oughta get goin'
I shouldn't stay here and love you
More than I do
'cause you're so much younger than I am
Come up the years
Come up the years
And love me, love me, love me

A younger girl keeps hangin' around
One of the loveliest I've ever found
Blows my mind; stealin' my heart
Somebody help me 'fore I fall apart

I oughta get goin'
I shouldn't stay here and love you
More than I do
'cause you're so much younger than I am
Come up the years
Come up the years
And love me, love me, love me

The things she's doin' keep turnin' me on
And I've been happy to go right along
I know it's time that I said goodbye
I know I can't leave no matter how hard I try

I oughta get goin'
I shouldn't stay here and love you
More than I do
'cause you're so much younger than I am
Come up the years
Come up the years
And love me, love me, love me
Love me, love me, won’t you love me?