Photo of Marty Balin during a 2011 performance.
Marty Balin, best known as co-founder and co-lead singer of Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship, died on September 27, 2018 at the age of 76.
Jefferson Airplane was an influential psychedelic rock band who recorded several tunes which came to be associated with the protest movement of the 1960s. Their 1969 album Volunteer consisted almost exclusively of what could be viewed as protest songs. The title track was co-written by Balin and is consider a timeless anthem of resistance.
At the time that anthem was in response to Nixon and Vietnam. With the current increase in activism, especially among youths, the tune continues to resonate.
RIP Marty Balin (January 30, 1942 – September 27, 2018)