Marty Balin
Without question, when MARTY BALIN’S name is mentioned, you know you are in the presence of Music Royalty. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Icon, founding member of Jefferson Airplane, and hit song maker of Jefferson Starship, MARTY BALIN was there when it all started. MARTY BALIN is an original from the era of Mick & Keith, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and John & Paul, Jerry Garcia, San Francisco, Woodstock, and Monterey Pop.
MARTY'S storied career goes back to the days of his folk band, The Town Criers. From that 1963/1964 ensemble to the stages of the Monterey Pop Festival, Woodstock and Altamont, MARTY and Jefferson Airplane performed at the three major rock festivals that occurred between 1967 and 1969.
MARTY met singer/guitarist Paul Kantner at a local San Francisco club, The Drinking Gourd, and together they formed Jefferson Airplane. Initially a folk-rock venture, the group came to epitomize the psychedelic scene, scoring a gold record with their 1967 second album, Surrealistic Pillow. With vocalist, Grace Slick, the focal point of hits such as "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit," BALIN'S soulful tenor proved a pivotal element of their sound. He also wrote key compositions including “It’s No Secret” "Today," “Comin’ Back to Me” “Plastic Fantastic Lover” "Share a Little Joke," and "Volunteers."
While remaining best known for his contributions to the pioneering San Francisco psychedelic band Jefferson Airplane, MARTY BALIN also enjoyed a successful solo career, scoring a Top Ten hit in 1981 with "Hearts." Born Martyn Jerel Buchwald in Cincinnati, OH, on January 30, 1942, he was raised in the Bay Area and later attended San Francisco State University; though he initially pursued a career as a painter, after appearing in a production of West Side Story, BALIN turned to music, issuing the solo singles "Nobody But You" and "I.”
In early 1975 he rejoined the newly rechristened Jefferson Starship, contributing perhaps his most memorable effort with the smash single "Miracles." BALIN also sang lead on the hits "With Your Love" and "Count on Me," but he again left the group in 1978, penning the rock opera Rock Justice before mounting a solo career with 1981's “Balin,” which generated "Hearts" and its follow-up, "Atlanta Lady." Next he joined Kantner and fellow Airplane alum Jack Casady in the K.B.C. Band; in 1989, all three participated in a Jefferson Airplane reunion that yielded a new studio album and tour.
Writing and performing “Miracles” for Jefferson Starship, was MARTY BALIN at his best. BALIN'S highlight as a solo artist emerged with “Hearts” which sealed his style in absolute granite. His soulfulness was and is in everything he does and is everything he is.
MARTY BALIN was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 with Jefferson Airplane, the same year as Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Gladys Knight & the Pips, The Shirelles, Little Willie John and The Velvet Underground. MARTY has had 5 top Twenty Hits: "Miracles" - "Hearts" - "Count on Me" - "With Your Love" - "Runaway." Spend an evening at a MARTY BALIN concert and you walk away understanding what it’s all about.
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