Tuesday 3/9/21 12am ET: Feature LP: Jefferson Starship – Red Octopus (1975)

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Red Octopus is the second album by Jefferson Starship, released on Grunt Records June 13, 1975. Certified double platinum by RIAA in 1995, it is the best-selling album by any incarnation of Jefferson Airplane and its spin-off groups. The single “Miracles” was the highest-charting single any permutation of the band had until Starship’s “We Built This City” a decade later, ultimately peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard singles chart; the album itself reached No. 1 four non-consecutive weeks during 1975 on the Billboard 200. As with several other albums from the epoch, stereo and quadraphonic mixes of Red Octopus were released concurrently.

Following a guest appearance on the preceding Dragon Fly, Jefferson Airplane founder Marty Balin returned as a fully integrated member of the ensemble. Balin wrote or co-wrote five of the ten tracks on the album, including “Miracles.” The group attempted to create a commercialized sound which was a total contrast to their past works, paving the musical direction of their next two albums.

1. “Fast Buck Freddie” 3:28
2. “Miracles” 6:52
3. “Git Fiddler” 3:08
4. “Ai Garimasũ (There Is Love)” 4:15
5. “Sweeter than Honey” 3:20

1. “Play on Love” 3:44
2. “Tumblin'” 3:27
3. “I Want to See Another World” 4:34
4. “Sandalphon” 4:08
5. “There Will Be Love” 5:04

Grace Slick – lead and backing vocals, piano (4)
Paul Kantner – lead and backing vocals, rhythm guitar
Marty Balin – lead and backing vocals
Craig Chaquico – lead guitar, backing vocals
Papa John Creach – electric violin
David Freiberg – organ (2, 8), lead and backing vocals, ARP synthesizer (4, 10), keyboards (7), bass (3, 6, 9)
Pete Sears – bass (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10-15), keyboards (3, 5) electric (2, 11) and acoustic (6, 8-10) pianos, organ (6, 8, 9), clavinet (6), ARP synthesizer (9), backing vocals
John Barbata – drums, percussion, backing vocals

Bobbye Hall – percussion, congas
Irv Cox – saxophone

Friday 1/15/2021 1am ET: Feature LP: Jefferson Starship – Gold (1979)

Gold is a compilation album by Jefferson Starship, released on Grunt Records on January 22, 1979. It collects the band’s four Top 40 hit singles from the 1970s, as well as three additional singles that charted on the Billboard Hot 100, a single that missed the chart, one B-side, and one album track. All tracks were also featured on their four studio albums to date: Dragon Fly from 1974; Red Octopus from 1975; Spitfire from 1976; and Earth from 1978. It peaked at No. 20 on the Billboard 200, and has been certified a gold record by the RIAA.

The original vinyl album comprised either album or single versions of individual tracks; for instance, the versions of “Miracles,” “Love Too Good” and “Runaway” were the single versions and not the album versions. Early pressings of the album on compact disc repeated this, but 1998 reissue included the full album tracks from Red Octopus and Earth.. The original record release also contained a 7-inch 45 RPM bonus single, “Light the Sky on Fire”, that was recorded for Star Wars Holiday Special. That and its B-side “Hyperdrive” from Dragon Fly were included on the 1998 RCA reissue as tracks six and twelve. The album was re-released on gatefold vinyl on Record Store Day, April 13, 2019, with 5,500 copies. The album is on gold vinyl and contains the mixes from the original vinyl, including the single edits of “Miracles,” “Love Too Good,” and “Runaway.” Like the original, the release includes a 7″ 45 RPM vinyl of “Light the Sky on Fire” b/w “Hyperdrive.”

1. “Ride the Tiger” 5:06
2. “Caroline” 7:27
3. “Play on Love” 3:12
4. “Miracles” 3:25
5. “Fast Buck Freddie” 3:23
6. “Light the Sky on Fire” 3:56

1. “With Your Love” 3:33
2. “St. Charles” 6:38
3. “Count on Me” 3:14
4. “Love Too Good” 4:37
5. “Runaway” 3:40
6. “Hyperdrive” 6:11

Paul Kantner – vocals, rhythm guitar
Grace Slick – vocals
Marty Balin – vocals all tracks except “Ride the Tiger” and “Hyperdrive”
David Freiberg – keyboards on “Ride the Tiger,” “Caroline,” “Miracles,” “Light the Sky on Fire,” “With Your Love,” “St. Charles,” and “Runaway”; bass on “Play on Love,” “Count on Me,” and “Love Too Good”; backing vocals
Craig Chaquico – lead guitar, backing vocals
Pete Sears – bass on “Ride the Tiger,” “Caroline,” “Miracles,” “Fast Buck Freddie,” “Light the Sky on Fire,” “With Your Love,” “St. Charles,” “Runaway,” and “Hyperdrive”; keyboards on “Caroline,” “Miracles,” “St. Charles,” “Love Too Good,” “Count on Me,” and “Hyperdrive”
John Barbata – drums, percussion, backing vocals
Papa John Creach – electric violin on “Ride the Tiger,” “Play on Love,” “Fast Buck Freddie,” and “Hyperdrive”
Steven Schuster – clarinet on “Light the Sky on Fire”

Wednesday 12/2/2020 9pm ET: Feature Artist – Mickey Thomas

John Michael Thomas (born December 3, 1949) is an American rock singer, best known as one of the lead vocalists of Jefferson Starship and Starship.

Thomas was born in Cairo, Georgia on December 3, 1949. He was inspired to pursue a career in music after travelling to Atlanta with longtime childhood friends Charles Connell and Tommy Verran to see a Beatles performance in 1965. Thomas, Connell, and Verran formed their first band together; Verran was the lead vocalist. They disbanded while attending different colleges, but later reformed in the early 1970s along with friend Bud Thomas as the Jets.

Thomas was the vocalist for the Lords of London, a garage band from Douglas, Georgia for a brief time, along with guitarist Billy Folsom, bassist Bob Hutchinson, keyboardist Billy Corbi, and drummer Troy Blasingame.

Elvin Bishop Group
While singing lead for the Jets in 1974, Thomas joined the Elvin Bishop Group as a backing vocalist and eventually made it to lead vocals. He sang lead vocals on the 1975 Elvin Bishop single “Silent Night” and the 1976 single “Spend Some Time,” but his best known achievement was singing on Elvin Bishop’s chart hit “Fooled Around and Fell in Love”, a #3 single in 1976.

Jefferson Starship & Starship
Thomas recorded the solo album As Long as You Love Me in 1976. After leaving the Elvin Bishop Group, he recorded three songs for the 1978 film Skateboard, which also featured a cameo by Jefferson Starship guitarist Craig Chaquico. In April 1979, Thomas was asked to join that group after the departure of Marty Balin and Grace Slick. In 1981 he recorded his second solo album, Alive Alone. Former Elvin Bishop Group drummer Donny Baldwin became drummer for Jefferson Starship two years later when Aynsley Dunbar left.

Thomas spent most of the early 1980s as the main vocalist of Jefferson Starship, performing several duets with Slick (who rejoined in 1981) and gaining greater influence in the band. After Paul Kantner left in 1984, Thomas was leader of the band. Kantner sued over the name of Jefferson Starship, and the settlement left the band with the name Starship. From 1985 until 1989 the band had three #1 hit songs. When Slick left again in 1988, Thomas sang all lead vocals. The 1989 “Love Among the Cannibals” tour was postponed after Baldwin attacked Thomas in a bar. The damage was such that it required facial reconstruction surgery. Baldwin resigned after the incident.

Starship featuring Mickey Thomas
Starship was let go by their record label RCA and became inactive in 1991. In early 1992, Mickey Thomas revived Starship as Starship featuring Mickey Thomas and touring has continued with this title. The band’s Loveless Fascination was released on September 17, 2013. The band performed at the Streamy Awards on September 8, 2014.

Studio albums
As Long as You Love Me (1976)
Alive Alone (1981)
Over the Edge (2004)
The Blues Masters Featuring Mickey Thomas (2010)
Marauder (2011)

Elvin Bishop Group
Let It Flow (1974)
Juke Joint Jump (1975)
Struttin’ My Stuff (1975)
Hometown Boy Makes Good! (1976)
Raisin’ Hell (1977)

Jefferson Starship
Freedom at Point Zero (1979)
Modern Times (1981)
Winds of Change (1982)
Nuclear Furniture (1984)

Starship
Knee Deep in the Hoopla (1985)
No Protection (1987)
Love Among the Cannibals (1989)
Loveless Fascination (2013)

Friday 10/16/2020 12am ET: Feature LP: Jefferson Starship – Wind of Change (1982)

Winds of Change is the seventh album by Jefferson Starship and was released October 4, 1982. It was the first studio album produced after Grace Slick rejoined the band as a full member. Aynsley Dunbar plays drums on the album, but was replaced by Donny Baldwin for the supporting tour. The album reached number 26 on the Billboard charts.

The LP produced two U.S. Top 40 singles: “Be My Lady” in the fall of 1982 (#28), and “Winds of Change” in the winter of 1983 (#38).

1. “Winds of Change” 3:52
2. “Keep on Dreamin'” 5:00
3. “Be My Lady” 3:50
4. “I Will Stay” 3:56
5. “Out of Control” 2:53

1. “Can’t Find Love” 4:48
2. “Black Widow” 4:59
3. “I Came Back From the Jaws of the Dragon” 5:57
4. “Quit Wasting Time” 5:01

Craig Chaquico – lead guitar, rhythm guitar
Aynsley Dunbar – drums, percussion
David Freiberg – vocals, bass
Paul Kantner – vocals, rhythm guitar
Pete Sears – bass
Mickey Thomas – vocals
Grace Slick – vocals

Tuesday 2pm ET: Feature Artist – Marty Balin

Marty Balin (born Martyn Jerel Buchwald; January 30, 1942 – September 27, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician best known as the founder and one of the lead singers and songwriters of Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship.

In 1962, Buchwald changed his name to Marty Balin, and began recording with Challenge Records, releasing the singles “Nobody But You” and “I Specialize in Love”. By 1964, Balin was leading a folk music quartet called The Town Criers.

Balin was the primary founder of Jefferson Airplane, which he “launched” from a restaurant-turned-club he created and named the Matrix, and was also one of its lead vocalists and songwriters from 1965 to 1971. In the group’s famous 1966–1971 iteration, Balin served as co-lead vocalist alongside Grace Slick.

Rejoining the team he had helped to establish, Balin became a permanent member of Jefferson Starship in 1975; over the next three years, he contributed to and sang lead on four top-20 hits, including “Miracles” (No. 3, a Balin original), “With Your Love” (No. 12, a collaboration between Balin, former Jefferson Airplane drummer Joey Covington, and former Grootna/Bodacious DF lead guitarist Vic Smith), Jesse Barish’s “Count on Me” (No. 8), and N.Q. Dewey’s “Runaway” (No. 12).

While on tour in March 2016, Balin was taken to Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital in New York City after complaining of chest pains. After undergoing open-heart surgery, he was transferred to an intensive-care unit to spend time recovering. In a subsequent lawsuit, Balin alleged that neglect and inadequate care facilities on the hospital’s behalf had resulted in a paralyzed vocal cord, loss of his left thumb and half of his tongue, bedsores, and kidney damage.

Balin died on September 27, 2018, at the age of 76.

Thursday 12am ET: Feature LP: Jefferson Starship – Earth (1978)

Earth is the fourth album by Jefferson Starship. The album was recorded in 1977, with the same band lineup as the previous album, Spitfire and released February 6, 1978.

The band had not toured in 1977, partly due to Marty Balin’s reluctance to commit to the band. The song “Count on Me” became a Top 10 single, peaking at No. 8. The album hit No. 5 on the Billboard charts. A US and European tour followed. A riot in West Germany occurred after the band decided not to play without Grace Slick, who was ill. They lost their guitars and equipment during the riot and played one more tense show on West German TV in Hamburg, after which Slick left the band for one album. Marty Balin led the band for one more show at a Genesis concert at the Knebworth Festival in England using rented equipment. When they returned to the US, drummer John Barbata left the band after a serious car accident. This would be the end of the 1970s line-up and several new members joined the band, as well as a new record producer. Success of this album led to Jefferson Starship being contracted to provide a song for the Star Wars Holiday Special.

1. “Love Too Good” 6:03
2. “Count on Me” 3:14
3. “Take Your Time” 4:08
4. “Crazy Feelin'” 3:38
5. “Skateboard” 3:18

1. “Fire” 4:44
2. “Show Yourself” 4:36
3. “Runaway” 5:18
4. “All Nite Long” 6:28

Monday 10pm: LP Lounge with Willie B

Tony Orlando and Dawn is an American pop music group that was popular in the 1970s. Their signature hits include “Candida”, “Knock Three Times”, “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree”, “Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose”, and “He Don’t Love You (Like I Love You)”.

Red Octopus is the second album by Jefferson Starship, released on Grunt Records in 1975. Certified double platinum by RIAA in 1995, it is the best-selling album by any incarnation of Jefferson Airplane and its spin-off groups. The single “Miracles” was the highest-charting single any permutation of the band had until Starship’s “We Built This City” a decade later, ultimately peaking at #3 on the Billboard singles chart; the album itself reached #1 four non-consecutive weeks during 1975 on the Billboard 200. As with several other albums from the epoch, stereo and quadraphonic mixes of Red Octopus were released concurrently.

Following a guest appearance on the preceding Dragon Fly, Jefferson Airplane founder Marty Balin returned as a fully integrated member of the ensemble. Balin wrote or co-wrote five of the ten tracks on the album, including “Miracles.” The group attempted to create a commercialized sound which was a total contrast to their past works, paving the musical direction of their next two albums. – Wikipedia

Tonight, 10pm NYC time – we drop the needle on 2 70’s quad LPs – and, so you can (sort-a) hear them in quad, we’ve demodulated the cd-4 vinyl, then re-encoded them for QS (or Regular Matrix). please join us on RadioMaxMusic.com – and, starting tomorrow we begin our regular surround sound shows on EZMax music (The humble sister station of RadioMaxMusic)

Saturday 9pm: In Memoriam 2016

We feature music from some of those we lost in 2016, featuring music from: David Bowie, Glenn Frey, Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship for Paul Kantner, Earth, Wind and Fire for Maurice White, Emerson Lake and Palmer for Gregg Lake and Keith Emerson, Merle Haggard, Prince, Billy Paul, Juan Gabriel, Bobby Vee, Leonard Cohen, Leon Russell and George Michael.

Sounds of The 70s with Dan Varroney 9am ET

Today on Sounds of the 70s we bring you Peter Frampton, America, Carl Douglas, Tom Jones, Terry Jacks, Paul Simon, Three Dog Night, Cufflinks, 10cc, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Jefferson Starship, and so much more. Join Dan Varroney with Sounds of the 70s today at 9:00 am ET 

Sounds of The 70s with Dan Varroney 9am ET

Today on Sounds of the 70s great artists: Eric Burden, Bad Company, Cliff Richard, Jefferson Starship, Bob Seger, Billy Joel, The Doors, and Cher. Join Dan Varroney today at 9:00am ET

Sounds of The 70s with Dan Varroney 7am ET

This week on the Sounds of The 70s it’s “The Hits from this Week in 1978 & 1979” with Dan Varroney today at 7:00 am ET at http://www.radiomaxmusic.com. We’ll feature, Andy Gibb, A Taste of Honey, City Boy, Bob Welch, Cars, Robert Palmer Jackson Browne, Bill Labounty, Jefferson Starship, ELO, Cheap Trick, Eddie Rabbit, Heatwave, Eddie Money, John Stewart, Donna Summer, and so much more.

Artist Countdown: Jefferson Airplane / Starship Top 45 Hits 6pm ET

Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band formed in San Francisco, California in 1965. A pioneer of psychedelic rock, Jefferson Airplane was the first band from the San Francisco scene to achieve international mainstream success. Their 1967 record Surrealistic Pillow is regarded as one of the key recordings of the “Summer of Love”. The band performed at the three most famous American rock festivals of the 1960s—Monterey (1967), Woodstock (1969) and Altamont (1969)—as well as headlining the first Isle of Wight Festival. Two hits from the album “Somebody to Love” and “White Rabbit”, are listed in Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Songs of All Time”. Successor bands to Jefferson Airplane include Jefferson Starship and Starship; spinoffs include Hot Tuna and KBC Band. Jefferson Airplane was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.

Jefferson Starship is an American rock band formed in the early 1970s by several members of the former psychedelic rock group Jefferson Airplane. The band has undergone several major changes in personnel and genres through the years while retaining the same Jefferson Starship name. The current Jefferson Starship, led by co-founder Paul Kantner, more closely resembles its original mix of psychedelic and electric folk music than the pop-driven tunes it was widely known for in the early to mid-1980s. It is not to be confused with Starship, a spin-off of the group featuring former co-lead singer Mickey Thomas that also periodically tours. The latter group is most frequently identified with the 1980s pop tunes of the Jefferson Starship.

In June 1984, Paul Kantner, the last remaining founding member of Jefferson Airplane, left Jefferson Starship, and then took legal action over the Jefferson Starship name against his former bandmates. Kantner settled out of court and signed an agreement that neither party would use the names “Jefferson” or “Airplane” unless all members of Jefferson Airplane, Inc. (Bill Thompson, Paul Kantner, Grace Slick, Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady) agreed. The band briefly changed its name to Starship Jefferson while legal proceedings occurred, but ultimately the name was reduced to Starship. Freiberg stayed with the band after the lawsuit and attended the first studio sessions for the next album. He became frustrated with the sessions because all the keyboard work in the studio was being done by Peter Wolf (who had played on the sessions for Nuclear Furniture and briefly joined the band on the road for the follow-up tour) and that was the instrument Freiberg was supposed to be playing. He left the band and the next album was finished with the five remaining members. In 1984, Gabriel Katona (who had previously played in Rare Earth and Player) joined the band to play keyboards and saxophone on the road with them through the end of 1986. – Wikipedia

1	Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now
2	We Built This City
3	Sara
4	It’s Not Over (‘Til It’s Over)
5	It’s Not Enough
6	Count On Me
7	Jane
8	Miracles
9	With Your Love
10	Runaway
11	Find Your Way Back
12	No Way Out
13	Somebody to Love
14	White Rabbit
15	Tomorrow Doesn’t Matter Tonight
16	Winds of Change
17	Be My Lady
18	Stranger
19	Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil
20	Layin’ It on the Line
21	Pretty as You Feel
22	Watch Her Ride
23	Set the Night to Music
24	Wild Again
25	Hearts of The World Will Understand
26	Crazy Feelin’
27	Light the Sky On Fire
28	Before I Go
29	Save Your Love
30	Stairway To Cleveland
31	Can’t Find Love
32	Planes
33	Greasy Heart
34	Beat Patrol
35	Play On Love
36	Sorry Me, Sorry You
37	Girl with the Hungry Eyes
38	Crown of Creation
39	St. Charles
40	I Didn’t Mean to Stay All Night
41	Ride the Tiger
42	Mexico
43	Long John Silver
44	My Best Friend
45	Plastic Fantastic Lover

Classic Countdown with Ron Kovacs 9am ET @radiomax

This week on the RadioMax Classic Countdown, we feature the Top 40 Hits from this week in 1978, specifically July 1, 1978.

1	SHADOW DANCING    Andy Gibb
2	BAKER STREET    Gerry Rafferty
3	IT’S A HEARTACHE    Bonnie Tyler
4	YOU’RE THE ONE THAT I WANT    John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John
5	TAKE A CHANCE ON ME    Abba
6	MISS YOU    Rolling Stones
7	USE TA BE MY GIRL    O’Jays
8	DANCE WITH ME    Peter Brown with Betty Wright
9	TWO OUT OF THREE AIN’T BAD    Meat Loaf
10	YOU BELONG TO ME    Carly Simon
11	STILL THE SAME    Bob Seger & Silver Bullet Band
12	THE GROOVE LINE    Heatwave
13	EVERY KINDA PEOPLE    Robert Palmer
14	LOVE IS LIKE OXYGEN    Sweet
15	BLUER THAN BLUE    Michael Johnson
16	TOO MUCH, TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE    Johnny Mathis & Deniece Williams
17	EVEN NOW    Barry Manilow
18	LAST DANCE    Donna Summer
19	I WAS ONLY JOKING    Rod Stewart
20	FEELS SO GOOD    Chuck Mangione
21	YOU’RE THE LOVE    Seals & Crofts
22	I CAN’T STAND THE RAIN    Eruption
23	BECAUSE THE NIGHT    Patti Smith Group
24	GREASE    Frankie Valli
25	FOLLOW YOU FOLLOW ME    Genesis
26	WONDERFUL TONIGHT    Eric Clapton
27	ONLY THE GOOD DIE YOUNG    Billy Joel
28	RUNAWAY    Jefferson Starship
29	HEARTLESS    Heart
30	ON BROADWAY    George Benson
31	COPACABANA (At The Copa)    Barry Manilow
32	MY ANGEL BABY    Toby Beau
33	LOVE WILL FIND A WAY    Pablo Cruise
34	THREE TIMES A LADY    Commodores
35	FM (No Static At All)    Steely Dan
36	KING TUT    Steve Martin & Toot Uncommons
37	BABY HOLD ON    Eddie Money
38	MAGNET AND STEEL    Walter Egan
39	LIFE’S BEEN GOOD    Joe Walsh
40	I’M NOT GONNA LET IT BOTHER ME TONIGHT    Atlanta Rhythm Section