Morton Shadows' History of Rock 'n' Roll Music!

Yo-di-doo-di folks,

This here week we gone start our 'lil jaunt back down the ages o' rock at that 'lil biddy ole letter J.


J is for.......




Jefferson Airplane!!


The Airplane certainly went through a heck of a load of changes before they "built this city on Rock 'n' Roll'. Here's a brief summary of their many permutations.

The group was founded in 1795 by The Montgolfier Brothers, under the monicker of Jefferson Hot-Air Balloon. They proved a wow, zonking fin de siecle audiences with their dazzlingly psychedelic waltzes, scherzos and fugues. The 19th century saw the group fade somewhat from the public but the 20th Century promised better things for the Jeffersons. The arrival of a new rhythm section, The Wright Brothers, and a change of name to Jefferson Wright Flyer proved a massive hit. The group went through several incarnations between this model and their high watermark in the 1960s - Jefferson Monoplane, Jefferson, Bi-plane, Jefferson Spitfire and Jefferson V2 rocket all had hits in the first half of the century.

But it was as Jefferson Airplane that, with singer Grace Slick at the helm, they would carve their initials in the tree trunk of rock history. Grace, along with her twin Brothers Earl and Oil, has to be one of the greates vocal talents in the history of popular music.




Who can forget that stupendous performance on White Rabbit? I've certainly never seen a human voice curdle milk from 40 yards away before or since, that's for sure. And what better song to play next time you want to enjoy a relaxing bath with a quart of ether and a three bar electric fire?

The glory days may have passed since Jefferson Starship split in the wake of their massive hit and ode to all that is Rock DIY ("We built this city on Rock 'n' Roll") but there are still a number of spin off bands doing the rounds on the California bar circuit. Currently geting back to their roots is Spencer Dryden with his solo vehicle, Jefferson Balsa Wood Model Airplane Kit With Ultra Light Attachable Battery Pwered Engine. Seems like the old adage is true: You just can't keep a good plane down! (Unless you contract out your catering services to Gate Gourmet, in which they'll immobolise your entire fleet within 24 hours...)


Keep on rockin' y'all!!


Mort