In Memory of Paul Kantner: We Can Be Together

Paul Kantner, another icon of rock ‘n roll, passed on Thursday, January 28. While some may not recognize his name, his influence was felt for many years as a founding member of Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship, and the KBC Band.

Like many of the American rock performers of the mid to late 1960s, Kantner began as a folk singer in the vein of Pete Seeger. It was at one of these gigs that Marty Balin saw him and invited him to start a new band that became Jefferson Airplane. He eventually became the band’s leader. While he was not generally the front-person, he had the distinction of being the only member of Jefferson Airplane and its spinoff Jefferson Starship to appear on all of the albums by both groups.

Paul Kantner died in San Francisco from multiple organ failure and septic shock that occurred after having a heart attack. For our tribute to this seminal musician, I’ve selected the “B” side to the first single released from the 1969 LP “Volunteers”: “We Belong Together.” Kantner wrote the song and shared lead vocals with Grace Slick and Marty Balin. Thanks for the music, Paul, we’ll miss you.