Donald Baldwin (born June 22, 1950/1951) is an American drummer best known as a member of Jefferson Starship (1982–1984; 2008–present) and its continuation

Starship A starship, starcraft, or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for interstellar travel, traveling between planetary systems. The term is mostly found in science fiction. Reference to a "star-ship" appears as early as 188 ...

(1984–1989).

Early life

Baldwin was raised in

Palo Alto, California Palo Alto (; Spanish language, Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree kno ...

. He attended Ellwood P. Cubberley High School and graduated in 1969.

Career

Baldwin began his career as a drummer in 1971. He began playing for Elvin Bishop in 1973, where he worked with his future Jefferson Starship bandmate Mickey Thomas on the hit single " Fooled Around and Fell in Love". When the Elvin Bishop band disbanded, Baldwin joined the Santa Cruz band Snail and gigged around the Bay Area (including a stint with

Pablo Cruise Pablo is a Spanish form of the name Paul. People *Pablo Alborán, Spanish singer *Pablo Aimar, Argentine footballer * Pablo Armero, Colombian footballer * Pablo Bartholomew, Indian photojournalist *Pablo Brandán, Argentine footballer * Pablo Bren ...

) until 1982. He also played for artists such as

38 Special 38 Special may refer to: * .38 Special The .38 Special, also commonly known as .38 S&W Special (not to be confused with .38 S&W), .38 Smith & Wesson Special, .38 Spl, .38 Spc, (pronounced "thirty-eight special"), or 9x29mmR is a rimmed, cent ...

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in t ...

Eddie Money Edward Joseph Mahoney (March 21, 1949 – September 13, 2019), known professionally as Eddie Money, was an American singer and songwriter who, in the 1970s and 1980s, had eleven Top 40 songs, including "Baby Hold On", "Two Tickets to Parad ...

, and

Paul Rodgers Paul Rodgers (born 17 December 1949) is a British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He was the lead vocalist of numerous bands, including Free, Bad Company, The Firm, and The Law. He has also performed as a solo artist, and co ...

. After Aynsley Dunbar left Jefferson Starship in 1982, Baldwin replaced him and joined his old bandmate Thomas; he made his recorded debut with the band on the ''

Nuclear Furniture ''Nuclear Furniture'' is the eighth album by American rock band Jefferson Starship, released on May 30, 1984 through Grunt Records. It was the last album released by the band until 1998's ''Windows of Heaven'', and was also the final album by the ...

'' LP in 1984. He remained with the band, which soon took the name

following

Paul Kantner Paul Lorin Kantner (March 17, 1941 – January 28, 2016) was an American rock musician. He is best known as the co-founder, rhythm guitarist, and vocalist of Jefferson Airplane, a leading psychedelic rock band of the counterculture era. He cont ...

's departure, through the recording of their studio album, ''

Love Among the Cannibals ''Love Among the Cannibals'' is the third album released in 1989 by rock band Starship (band), Starship. It was the first album after Grace Slick's departure from the band, and their last full-length studio release until ''Loveless Fascination'' ...

''. In September 1989, Baldwin assaulted Thomas while Starship was on tour in

Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U ...

. Thomas's injuries required reconstructive surgery on his face and head, and Baldwin was fired from the band. From February 1994 until its demise in April 1995, Baldwin drummed for the

Jerry Garcia Band The Jerry Garcia Band was a San Francisco Bay Area rock band led by Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead. Garcia founded the band in 1975; it remained the most important of his various side projects until his death in 1995. The band regularly tour ...

. Baldwin rejoined Kantner's reformed Jefferson Starship in 2008, replacing

Prairie Prince Charles Lempriere "Prairie" Prince (born May 7, 1950) is an American drummer and graphic artist. He came to prominence in the 1970s as a member of the San Francisco–based rock group The Tubes, was a member of Jefferson Starship from 1992 to ...

, and he performed on the tour in support of the 2008 studio album ''

Jefferson's Tree of Liberty ''Jefferson's Tree of Liberty'' is the tenth album by Jefferson Starship, released on September 2, 2008.[] It is the band's first studio album since 1999's ''Windows of Heaven''. The new album includes cover songs from Irish, American, English, ...

''. Baldwin tours with Jefferson Starship as well as playing drums for Lydia Pense as a member of Cold Blood. In 2017, former Jefferson Starship band member

Craig Chaquico Craig Clinton Chaquico (or Chaquiço, ; born September 26, 1954) is an American guitarist, songwriter, and composer. From 1974 to 1990 he was lead guitarist for the rock bands Jefferson Starship and Starship. In 1993, he started a solo career as ...

filed suit against the other remaining members of the band, including

David Freiberg David Freiberg ( ; born August 24, 1938) is an American musician best known for contributing vocals, keyboards, electric bass, rhythm guitar, viola and percussion as a member of Quicksilver Messenger Service, Jefferson Airplane, and Jefferson ...

and Baldwin, over the use of the Jefferson Starship band name on tour billings and merchandise, citing a 1985 agreement to retire the band name. On December 4, 2018, the lawsuit concerning the use of the name Jefferson Starship was dismissed after an undisclosed settlement was reached between Chaquico and the current members of the band.

References

External links

Starship biography on MP3.com
* Donny Baldwin on Allmusic* ttps://us.imdb.com/name/nm2684358/ Donny Baldwin on the Internet Movie Database American rock drummers Living people Pablo Cruise members Jefferson Starship members Year of birth missing (living people) Jerry Garcia Band members JGB (band) members 20th-century American drummers {{US-rock-drummer-stub