PUMANAW sa edad na 74 ang Jefferson Airplane guitarist, vocalist at co-founding member na si Paul Kantner.

Siya ay sumakabilang-buhay nitong Huwebes, Enero 28, dahil sa multiple organ failure, na sinundan ng atake sa puso nitong unang bahagi ng linggo.

Noong 1965-1972, si Jefferson ay nagsimula sa Bay Area counterculture psychedelic rock scene, ang naging umpisa ng tinatawag ngayong “San Francisco sound.”

Sina Kantner at Marty Balin, isang gitarista at bokalista, ay bumuo ng banda sa isang bar na tinawag na Drinking Gourd, na nais nilang gawing folk-rock group.

“Jefferson Airplane had the fortune or misfortune of discovering Fender Twin Reverb amps and LSD in the same week while in college. That’s a great step forward,” sabi ni Kantner, noong nabubuhay pa, sa author at music historian na si Harvey Kubernik. “We went into it our normal selves…. The point is if you find something that makes you joyful take note of it. Amplify it if you can. Tell other people about it. That’s what San Francisco was about. Both musically, idealistically and metaphorically and every other way. That’s what we did here.”

“On our first U.S. tour we were in cities where all the kids came in prom gowns and tuxedos. Then we came back to Iowa a year later and they were having nude mud love-ins and everybody had their faces painted,” pahayag pa ni Kantner kay Kubernik.

Si Kantner ang unang founding member ng Jefferson Airplane na pumanaw. Siya rin ang founding member ng spinoffband na Jefferson Starship.

Si Kantner ay may tatlong anak, sina Gareth at Alexander at China. Ang mga detalye sa sa kanyang libing ay hindi pa isinasapubliko. (Yahoo News/Celebrity)