10 Greatest Jefferson Starship Songs

via RHINO / Youtube

Once going by the name Jefferson Airplane, the band changed their 2nd name from Airplane to Starship, after the departure of Jack Casady and Jorma Kaukonen. Together, they went on to be one of the well-known bands in the 70s, incorporating their songs with hard rock, psychedelia, and progressive rock. But during the 80s, the band was losing their touch, therefore prompting them to erase the โ€œJeffersonโ€ from their name, revise the personnel, and change the flavor of their music. Below are some of their greatest songs. And no, we are not talking about โ€œNothingโ€™s Gonna Stop Us Nowโ€ and โ€œWe Built This City.โ€

โ€œLayinโ€™ It On The Lineโ€ โ€“ Nuclear Furniture

Technically, this was the final album of the Jefferson Starship, before they morphed into another group that was named Starship. This was the albumโ€™s opening track.

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โ€œRide The Tigerโ€ โ€“ Dragonfly

The opening track from their Dragonfly LP, โ€œRide the Tigerโ€ is also the albumโ€™s first single. It streams the virtue of Eastern Philosophy, mainly due to the influence of Byong Yu, who co-wrote the song with Grace Slick and Paul Kanter.

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โ€œFast Buck Freddieโ€ โ€“ Red Octopus

The track opener from Red Octopus LP, โ€œFast Buck Freddieโ€ has its own charm, with its rigid tune complementing the groupโ€™s instrument orchestration and Slickโ€™s reedy vocals. Itโ€™s a favorite among many fans.

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โ€œFind Your Way Backโ€ โ€“ Modern Times

The familiar introductory guitar riffs are a bit nostalgic, and thatโ€™s probably what you might feel since โ€œFind Your Way Backโ€ experienced some heavy rotation during the start of MTV. Itโ€™s the first single from Modern Times LP.

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โ€œWith Your Loveโ€ โ€“ Spitfire

A Spitfireย descendant, โ€œWith Your Loveโ€ is Jefferson Airplaneโ€™s follow-up single from their mega-hit โ€œMiracles.โ€ The song received fair recognition as well, peaking at no. 12 in Billboard 100.

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โ€œSt Charlesโ€ โ€“ Spitfire

The ending song from their Spitfire album, โ€œSt Charlesโ€ modifies its chromatic guitar licks to an absolute thrilling feeling of east/west type of love. It definitely belongs in the highlights of this album.

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โ€œMiraclesโ€ โ€“ Red Octopus

Need we say more? This song is the real miracle for the band who went through a lot of revisions in their whole career. Itโ€™s their highest-charting single from their greatest album Red Octopus.

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โ€œCount On Meโ€ โ€“ Earth

For Jefferson Starship fans, Earth was the last album that featured the iconic 70s classic lineup of the group. The song bore a lighter rock vibe.

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โ€œWinds Of Changeโ€ โ€“ Winds of Change

The song that shares the name of their 1982 LP, โ€œWinds of Changeโ€ was the result of Grace Slick coming back to the group. Certainly not one of their greatest albums, the song bore resemblance to their previous anthems.

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โ€œJaneโ€ โ€“ Freedom At Point Zero

The song that showed the vocal peak of Micky Thomas, โ€œJaneโ€ does not contain the remnants of the psychedelic Jefferson Airplane in the 60s. This goes to show how wonderfully talented these rockers are.

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