There’s cool and then there’s Marty Balin at the Monterey Pop Festival cool! 

Marty Balin, Jefferson Airplane, Monterey Pop Festival, CA, 1967 

Photographer: Elaine Mayes

Lovely unexpected appreciation of Marty Balin this morning over at Big O on their main pages which are usually reserved for politics but this is no exception really but whilst so many are feeling defeated by the meat heads and crass conservative capitalist monsters like Trump there are still a few old school hippies left who Marty sang for

Marty Balin at Big O

LOVE AND REVOLUTION: AN APPRECIATION OF MARTY BALIN

REMEMBERING MARTY BALIN

by Jorma Kaukonen

A must read . . . . . . not sure where this is from and hope he doesn't mind my sharing but this popped up on a blog I visit

From Jorma Kaukonen:

Now We Are Three

Requiem For A Friend

Marty Balin

30 Jan. 1942/27 Sept. 2018

Life is a thin thread
It’s a thin little hand on a hospital bed
It’s all the things you’ve left unsaid
Life is a thin thread

It’s a fine line between loving and not
Between holding it back or giving all that you’ve got
Feeling you’re free, thinking you’re caught
It’s a fine line

(Thin Thread by Connie Kaldor)

"I was more than saddened yesterday to hear of Marty Balin’s passing. Jack and I were in Northampton, Mass. at the Academy Of Music and we were just getting ready to do our sound check. I knew that Marty had been sick and I knew in a general way that he had grievous issues but I did not really know what they were. Marty always kept a lot of shade on himself. I stood there in the little room in the wings, stage left… struck dumb. What can you say? We always say and hear, ‘I’m sorry for your loss,’ but what does that really mean? We say it. We have to say it and then in the confines of our hearts we try to process the sorrow and search for the words that really convey what we feel. It is an imperfect process."

Jorma & Marty

"Marty and I were young together in a time that defined our lives. Had it not been for him, my life would have taken an alternate path I cannot imagine. He and Paul Kantner came together and like plutonium halves in a reactor started a chain reaction that still affects many of us today. It was a moment of powerful synchronicity. I was part of it to be sure, but I was not a prime mover. Marty always reached for the stars and he took us along with him.I always felt that he was somewhat guarded… the quiet one. Perhaps that’s because I was one of the noisy ones… I don’t know. It’s probably not for me to say. His commitment to his visions never flagged. He was always relentless in the pursuit of his goals. He wrapped those he loved in sheltering arms. He loved his family. Times come and go but his passion for his music and his art was never diminished. He was the most consummate of artists in a most renaissance way. I always felt that he perceived that each day was a blank canvas waiting to be filled.It was fortuitous that we were able to stay connected in a loose way over the years. He and his friends graced our stage at the Fur Peace Station in Ohio and he was able to join us at the Beacon Theater in NYC the year we celebrated Jack’s 70th birthday.Very good stuff!"

Jorma by Jay Blakesberg

"Coming to grips with reality is a process that starts at birth. I am always stunned when one of my friends passes and yet, it would seem that at some point we will all take that journey. It’s almost like, ‘How can this be? There are things I need to say.’ There were indeed things I needed to say and the fault for that lack lies on me and me alone. I don’t think any of us really think that we will live forever yet often that thought lies dormant in the back of our minds. At my age my world is starting to be surrounded by passing. I will miss my friends who rest on the banks of the River Of Time and I am reminded to make the most of every moment as I am swept downstream! Marty’s passing reaffirms the power of love, the power of family, the power of possibilities.So many of our brothers and sister from that time are gone. Skip Spence, Spencer Dryden, Joey Covington, Paul Kantner, Signe Anderson and now Marty have all joined the Heavenly Band as Rev. Davis would say.We were young together. I would like to think we made a difference. As for Grace Slick, Jack Casady and myself…Now we are three…"

Jorma Kaukonen at 75

MARTY BALIN 

+ + + + +

MARTY BALIN R.I.P. 1942-2018

Marty Balin, a co-founder of the legendary rock band Jefferson Airplane whose soulful tenor contributed to the band’s distinctive sound, has died at the age of 76, his representative said on Friday. The guitarist and singer, who co-founded the psychedelic group in San Francisco in 1965, died on September 27, with his wife, Susan Joy Balin, by his side, spokesman Ryan Romenesko said in a statement. The cause of death was not announced.

Jefferson Starship, the splinter band that Balin also played in for a number of years, paid tribute to their former bandmate on its official Facebook site. “With heavy hearts, we learn today of the passing of Marty Balin. He was a true talent and inspiration to many. We send his family and friends our deepest condolences,” the group said. Balin teamed up with the guitar player Paul Kantner in San Francisco and the band launched its debut album, Jefferson Airplane Takes Off, in 1966. Kantner died in 2016.

The band, best known for their hits sung by the vocalist Grace Slick, including Somebody to Love and White Rabbit, played at the Woodstock music festival in 1969. It was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. Balin also wrote songs like Volunteers and Today for the band, as well as contributing to hits for Jefferson Starship, including Runaway and Miracles. The band went through various line-ups, and Balin left Jefferson Starship in 2008 to focus on a solo career. - theguardian.com

+ + + + +

From his website:

Marty Balin

Michelangelo claimed that he did not create a sculpture. Rather, the form was contained within the block of marble; he merely removed the excess, revealing the work of art. “I feel the same way about music, and about all the projects I’m involved in. The projects do themselves; the music comes through me.” The same vision Marty had when he launched the Jefferson Airplane is present today. In fact, nearly everything he has worked on over the years has been fueled with his vision of art and music as vehicles for expressing a positive message. “I still have the same attitude. “I still love the positive, uplifting songs, and I believe in songs with those qualities. I believe that music can help change the world for the better.”

Know I love you baby yes I do!

Grace and Marty

peaking . . . . . 

Marty web here . . . .