Paul Lorin Kantner was an American rock musician. He is best known as the co-founder, rhythm guitarist, and a secondary vocalist of Jefferson Airplane, a leading psychedelic rock band of the counterculture era. He continued these roles as a member of Jefferson Starship, Jefferson Airplane's successor band.
Kantner performing in 2011
Kantner in 1972
Kantner and Grace Slick, circa 1977, while members of Jefferson Starship
Paul Kantner, 1975
Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band based in San Francisco, California, that became one of the pioneering bands of psychedelic rock. Formed in 1965, the group defined the San Francisco Sound and was the first from the Bay Area to achieve international commercial success. They headlined the Monterey Pop Festival (1967), Woodstock (1969), Altamont Free Concert (1969), and the first Isle of Wight Festival (1968) in England. Their 1967 breakout album Surrealistic Pillow was one of the most significant recordings of the Summer of Love. Two songs from that album, "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit", are among Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
Jefferson Airplane photographed by Herb Greene in his dining room, San Francisco, late 1966; top row from left: Jack Casady, Grace Slick, Marty Balin; bottom row from left: Jorma Kaukonen, Paul Kantner, Spencer Dryden
The original lineup of Jefferson Airplane at the Matrix in summer 1965. Clockwise from left: Bob Harvey, Signe Toly Anderson, Jerry Peloquin, Paul Kantner, Jorma Kaukonen, and Marty Balin.
Jefferson Airplane in early 1966. From left: Anderson, Casady, Balin, Spence, Kantner and Kaukonen.
Jefferson Airplane Fillmore poster, February 1966. This was the first non-benefit concert held at the venue.