Artist · chart history · #131 in indie & aaa artist polls
Jefferson Airplane
Band San Francisco United States Active 1965–1973
Jefferson Airplane formed in 1965 in San Francisco, United States and was active until 1973. Jefferson Airplane has 115 chart appearances on 75 radio countdowns from 26 stations on RockLists, spanning 1976–2026. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “White Rabbit”, which appears on 53 lists with a best position of #10. The station that charted Jefferson Airplane most often is WXPN (Philadelphia, PA), with 13 appearances.
Jefferson Airplane took off from San Francisco in 1965, and by the time the Summer of Love rolled around they were the city's sound made flesh: one of the first bands to push psychedelic rock out into the world, and the first from the Bay Area to strike it big internationally. Marty Balin sang, Paul Kantner played rhythm guitar, Jorma Kaukonen's lead lines snaked and stung, and Jack Casady's bass rumbled like an earthquake in the making. In October 1966 Grace Slick and drummer Spencer Dryden came aboard, and Slick gave them a voice that could cut through steel.
Surrealistic Pillow, in 1967, is the record that caught the moment: "Somebody to Love" with its urgent, pounding demand, and "White Rabbit", a slow, hypnotic crescendo that builds and builds until it bursts. They played Monterey Pop in 1967, headlined the first Isle of Wight Festival in 1968, and were there for Woodstock and Altamont in 1969, the year of Volunteers.
Balin left in 1971, and after 1972 the band split in two, with Kaukonen and Casady off to Hot Tuna and Slick and Kantner regrouping as Jefferson Starship in 1974. The classic lineup went into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996, and the Grammys gave them a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs by Jefferson Airplane on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | White Rabbit | 53 | #10 | – | – | |
| 2 | Somebody to Love | 49 | #3 | – | – | |
| 3 | Today | 4 | #554 | – | – | |
| 4 | Miracles | 1 | #293 | – | – | |
| 5 | Jane | 1 | #388 | – | – | |
| 6 | Volunteers | 2 | #853 | – | – | |
| 7 | Comin' Back To Me | 1 | #1423 | – | – | |
| 8 | 3/5's Of A Mile In Ten Sec. | 1 | #675 | – | – | |
| 9 | Good Shepherd | 1 | #744 | – | – | |
| 10 | Wooden Ships | 1 | #1891 | – | – |
Albums with charting songs
Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.
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