60's Bands From San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury District: Jefferson Airplane

The Jefferson Airplane, also known as the "J" Plane to Bay Area fans, got together in San Francisco in 1965. The Jefferson Airplane are mostly known for their contributions to Psychedelic Rock.

The band was founded by Marty Balin. Marty first recruited San Francisco native Paul Kantner into his band. Kantner then recruited guitarist Jorma Kaukonen. Later, drummer Jerry Peloquin and acoustic bassist Bob Harvey joined the group. During the mid 60's, the band made several personnel changes. In 1966, Grace Slick, formerly a member of the band "The Great Society", joined the Airplane. With the addition of Slicks' voice, the band was on the road to fame.

There are different stories making the rounds as to how the band came up with the name Jefferson Airplane. One story says the band got it's name from a slang definition for a used paper match split to hold a marijuana joint that has been smoked too short to hold without burning the fingers,an improvised roach clip. However, band member Jorma Kaukonen has been quoted as saying, "I had this friend in Berkeley who came up with funny names for people." "His name for me was Blind Thomas Jefferson Airplane (for blues pioneer Blind Lemon Jefferson). When the guys were looking for band names and nobody could come up with something, I remember saying, 'You want a silly band name? I got a silly band name for you!'

In 1967 the band released their classic  album "Surrealistic Pillow." The album featured the cuts "Somebody To Love" and "White Rabbit." Both cuts became huge successes in the U.S. The name Surrealistic Pillow was coined by Grateful Dead band member Jerry Garcia. In his role as a producer of the album he said, "the album sounded "as Surrealistic as a pillow is soft." The songs were iconic to the Summer of Love concerts in Golden Gate Park.

Rock music icon Bill Graham had manged the band until 1968 when Grace Slick gave the band a choice of keeping Graham or keeping her. Their new manager, Bill Thompson, moved the band forward financially and bought them a Victorian mansion at 2400 Fulton Street across from Golden Gate Park near the Haight-Ashbury district, which became the band's office and communal residence.
Jefferson Airplane, like Big Brother & The Holding Company, brought San Francisco Psychedelic Rock into being. The Airplane became one of the most commercially successful bands to evolve from the Haight-Ashbury District in San Francisco.