been more awake, but part of the charm
of rock ’n’ roll is that sometimes you’re
ragged.” As Lang remembered, “They
were exhausted, as were we all. Our
newly created city was cast off into
some crazy dreams by their trippy
morning lullaby.”AFTER WOODSTOCK: Fraught with
personal tensions—the disillusioned
Dryden was essentially kicked out of
the band—the Airplane hung on for
a couple more years before break-
ing up. Kaukonen and Casady formed
Hot Tuna; from 1969 to 1979, mean-
while, Jefferson Airplane morphedinto Jefferson Starship. With varying
membership—including Slick, Kantner,
and Balin—it logged a hit single, 1985’s
“We Built This City,” which would
top a Rolling Stone readers poll of the
worst songs of the 1980s. (GQ magazine
ordained it the worst song of all time.)
Kantner died of multiple organ failure
and septic shock at 74 on January 28,
2016—on the same day and at the same
age as another founding member, singer
Signe Toly Anderson, died. Balin died
at 76 in 2018. One of rock’s great divas,
Slick retired from the music business in
the late 1990s and at 79 devotes herself
to painting and drawing. lTHE LODGING AT THE FESTIVAL
campgrounds was a motley
assortment of tents, tarps, and
tepees. And those were the
luxury accommodations. Many,
of course, made do with no
shelter at all.