Jefferson Airplane Singer Dies at 74, same day as Paul Kantner

‘Signe Toly Anderson, the original female vocalist with Jefferson Airplane, who left the band after its first album and was replaced by Grace Slick, died on Thursday at her home in Beaverton, Ore. She was 74.

…Ms. Anderson died the same day as another original member of the Airplane, the singer and guitarist Paul Kantner, who was also 74.

In the 1960s, Ms. Anderson was living in San Francisco and appearing at a popular folk club, the Drinking Gourd, when the vocalist Marty Balin heard her sing and asked her to join a folk-rock group he was forming. The band, soon christened Jefferson Airplane, signed with RCA Victor Records and released its first album, “Jefferson Airplane Takes Off,” in 1966.

By the time that album came out, Ms. Anderson had given birth to her first child and decided to leave the group. She left after a farewell concert at the Fillmore in October 1966 and was replaced the next night by Ms. Slick, formerly of the San Francisco group the Great Society.

…Ms. Anderson stayed in touch with Mr. Kantner, Mr. Balin and other former bandmates and performed with them on occasion. Jorma Kaukonen, the Airplane’s lead guitarist, wrote on his blog that she was “our den mother in the early days” and a voice of reason for “our dysfunctional little family.” Mr. Balin, writing on Facebook, imagined that she and Mr. Kantner “woke up in heaven and said: ‘Hey what are you doing here? Let’s start a band.’” …’

Source: New York Times