Beech Tree News Network

This past Friday, Marty Balin passed away on the way to the hospital. You may be asking, “who is he”? You may not know his name but you know what he’s done.  He is the founder and one of the lead singers and founders of Jefferson Airplane/Starship  He was writer and lead singer of the song “Miracles”.  The song couldn’t help but strike a chord with listeners.  The song peaked at #3, making it the higher charting song than any the band recorded under their previous incarnation, Jefferson Airplane.  They would later have three #1’s (“We Built This City and Sara-1985) and “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now (1987) under the name Starship.  Balin released a new version of “Miracles” on his 1999 solo album, Greatest Hits.

With Jefferson Airplane, Balin was a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee and Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award recipient.  He was a platinum and gold solo artist.  Born Martyn Jerel Buchwald in Cincinnati, Ohio, Balin was raised in the San Francisco Bay area by parents Joe and Jean Buchwald. 

I didn’t know he was Jefferson Airplane co-founder.  In fact, I’d only heard of him from his 1981 single “Hearts” that got a lot of play on SiriusXM Yacht Rock Radio.  That song reached #8 on U.S. Billboard Hot 100(#41 on the year-end chart), #9 on U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary, #20 on the mainstream Rock chart and #9 on Cashbox (#56 on the year-end chart).  My biggest takeaway was wondering who considered this song mainstream Rock. It’s Pop at best.  It was 1981, though.  A lot of things were different.

A short-lived Bay Area funk band called Bodacious DF, a Rock Opera he composed called Rock Justice, a brief reunion with Paul Kantner and bassist Jack Casady in an outfit dubbed KBC and a reboot of Airplane in the mid-80’s failed to catch fire; those are just a few things Balin has done over his long career. 

His music has been enjoyed for years.  There’s no doubt it will be enjoyed for years to come.  #RIP