Jefferson Airplane Part 4: The Road To Jefferson Airplane Takes Off (Ep. 260)

Jefferson Airplane Part 4: The Road To Jefferson Airplane Takes Off (Ep. 260)

From Discograffiti by David Gebroe

May 22, 2026 · 19 min · Episode 260

About this episode

This episode covers the early history and formation of Jefferson Airplane leading up to their debut album.

Discograffiti is the deep-dive podcast for music obsessives. Feed Your Head: The Great Jefferson Airplane Deep Dive is an audio documentary that was consciously crafted to act as the ultimate repository of fact and opinion on one of the greatest bands to ever walk the face of the earth. It includes long-form interviews, commentary on their history, wild stories, and star ratings for every release. Part 4 of the series covers the period from August 1965 to August 1966—that is, from their very first gig to the release of their debut album—in the style of an audiobook documentary. Here are just a few of the many things discussed in this episode of Discograffiti: Grace Slick, Skip Spence, and Spencer Dryden enter the picture; Members begin to play musical chairs as they edge closer and closer to the classic line-up; Their early audition for Phil Spector; All the record labels the Airplane turned down, and the one they did not; Jack Casady flies out to San Francisco to try out for the band; The stylistic affectation that initially did not endear Jack to Paul Kantner; The wheeling and dealing of their first manager, notorious shyster Matthew Katz; And the trials and tribulations behind…

People in this episode

Host: David Gebroe

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Phil Spector

Books & works: Jefferson Airplane Takes Off

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