Veteran US rocker Paul Kantner dies at age 74

comments     dpa     Published     Updated

California rocker Paul Kantner, a founder of the seminal psychedelic blues-rock band Jefferson Airplane, has died, the San Francisco Chronicle confirmed yesterday.

Kantner, who was 74, died on Thursday after suffering a heart attack earlier in the week.

The music world has lost a “true icon”, Recording Academy head Neil Portnow wrote in a statement. The academy, which oversees the Grammy awards, announced earlier in January that Jefferson Airplane would receive an honourary Grammy for lifetime achievement.

Kantner started the legendary band in San Francisco in the mid-1960s along with musicians Marty Balin and Grace Slick. They were known for hits such as Somebody to Love and White Rabbit. The band played the Woodstock music festival in 1969 with such rock luminaries as Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Joan Baez and The Who.

- dpa



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