During the transitional period of the early 70s, Paul Kantner (a founding m… Read Full Bio ↴During the transitional period of the early 70s, Paul Kantner (a founding member of Jefferson Airplane) recorded Blows Against the Empire, a concept album featuring an ad hoc group of musicians that he dubbed "Jefferson Starship", marking the first use of that name. This edition of Jefferson Starship (such as it was) included members of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (David Crosby and Graham Nash) and members of Grateful Dead (Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann, and Mickey Hart), as well as some of the remaining members of Jefferson Airplane (Grace Slick, Marty Balin, Joey Covington, and Jack Casady).

By 1973, after the breakup of Jefferson Airplane, with Kaukonen and Casady now devoting their full attention to Hot Tuna, several of the musicians who worked on Kantner, Slick, and Freiberg's album "Baron von Tollbooth & the Chrome Nun" formed the core of a new lineup that was formally reborn as "Jefferson Starship" in 1974. Kantner, Slick, and Freiberg were charter members. The line-up also included late-Airplane holdovers drummer John Barbata, Marty Balin,and fiddler Papa John Creach (who also played with Hot Tuna), along with Pete Sears (who, like Freiberg, played bass and keyboards) and twenty-year-old guitarist Craig Chaquico.

Eventually, Slick's alcoholism became a problem, which led to two nights of disastrous concerts in Germany in 1978. The first night, fans ransacked the stage when Slick failed to appear. The following night, Slick, in a drunken stupor, shocked the audience by using profanity and sexual references throughout most of her songs. She also reminded the audience that their country had lost during World War II , repeatedly asking "Who won the war?", and implied that all residents of Germany were responsible for the wartime atrocities. After the debacle, she left the band.

The band soon cribbed vocalist Mickey Thomas from the popular Elvin Bishop Group. After the 1979 release of 'Freedom at Point Zero' (which spawned the hit single "Jane"), Slick returned to the band. She joined in time to contribute one song, "Stranger", on the group's next album, Modern Times (1981). Modern Times also included the notorious "Stairway to Cleveland," in which the band defended the numerous changes it had undergone in its musical style, personnel, and even name. One noted personnel change in the group was when Dunbar left and was replaced by Donny Baldwin (also of the Elvin Bishop Group). Slick remained in the band for Jefferson Starship's final two albums, Winds Of Change (1982) and Nuclear Furniture (1984).

Around this time, the band began enthusiastically embracing rock's video age. Grace Slick would appear frequently on MTV and such music-oriented television shows as Solid Gold, giving the band a high visibility in the MTV era. However, the Jefferson Starship albums of this era were only modestly successful, yet the band remained a gold-selling (and thus commercially credible) act, and a popular concert draw.

In 1984, Kantner (the last remaining founding member of Jefferson Airplane) left the group, but not before taking legal action over the Jefferson name against his former bandmates, who wanted to continue as Jefferson Starship. Kantner settled out of court and signed an agreement that neither party would use the names "Jefferson" or "Airplane" unless all members of Jefferson Airplane, Inc. (Bill Thompson, Paul Kantner, Grace Slick, Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady) agreed. The band used the titles "Starship Jefferson" and "Jefferson Starship" during the proceedings, but ultimately settled on the shortening 'Starship'.

In 1992, Kantner restarted Jefferson Starship as Jefferson Starship - The Next Generation before returning simply to Jefferson Starship after a couple of years. This incarnation of the band continues to perform and record to this day.

sunrise
Jefferson Starship Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Sunrise
Surprise
Civilized Man
You were keeper to me
Now your animal is free
And you're free to die
Die
You're old and your hands are gray

Your old go home and
We've all heard you dirty stories
Two thousand years
Two thousand years
Two thousand years
Of your

God damn
Glory

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Jefferson Starship's song Sunrise seem to be about the deterioration of society over time due to the freedom of the "animal" within people. The opening lines express surprise at this sunrise and this civilization and then turn to address "civilized man," who was once a keeper but now is free to be wild and will ultimately die. The singer then turns to the old, gray hands of this person and tells them to go home, addressing their dirty stories and the two thousand years of their god damn glory. These lyrics seem to suggest that civilization has been slowly unraveling since its beginning, with the primal nature of humanity eventually overcoming all attempts at control.

Line by Line Meaning

Sunrise
The beginning of a new day

Surprise
Something unexpected or shocking

Civilized Man
A person who has been domesticated and lives in a society

You were keeper to me
You were responsible for taking care of me

Now your animal is free
Now your primal instincts have taken over and you act without restraint

And you're free to die
You have nothing left to live for and can die without regret

Die
A demand for someone to pass away

You're old and your hands are gray
You are elderly and your physical abilities are declining

Your old go home and
Your age has caught up to you, it's time to retire

We've all heard your dirty stories
We are familiar with your scandalous past

Two thousand years
A very long time