Paul Kantner dies at 74

Paul Kantner, a founding member of psychedelic rock band Jefferson Airplane, died Thursday of multiple organ failure, his publicist told the San Francisco Chronicle. He was 74. Kantner had suffered a heart attack earlier in the week. He had also suffered a heart attack in March 2015.

Paul Lorin Kantner was born on March 17, 1941, in San Francisco. He broke into the business in the early 1960s as a folk musician who idolised Pete Seeger. He was the first band member recruited by Marty Balin to form Jefferson Airplane in San Francisco in 1965. The band pioneered the psychedelic sound by combining folk, rock and blues, mixing in reverb and fuzzy guitar lines. The Airplane became the first San Francisco rock group of that era to achieve mainstream success.

Kantner was a singer and rhythm guitarist in the group's most notable lineup, which lasted three years, with co-lead singers Slick and Balin, lead guitarist Jorma Kaukonen, drummer Spencer Dryden and bass player Jack Casady. The Jefferson Airplane was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.