''Earth'' is the fourth album by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Jefferson Starship Jefferson Starship is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1974 by a group of musicians including former members of Jefferson Airplane. Between 1974 and 1984, they released eight gold or platinum-selling studio albu ...

. The album was recorded in 1977, with the same band lineup as the previous album, ''

Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Griff ...

'' and released in 1978. The band had not toured in 1977, partly due to

Marty Balin Martyn Jerel Buchwald (January 30, 1942 – September 27, 2018), known as Marty Balin (), was an American singer, songwriter, and musician best known as the founder/leader and one of the lead singers and songwriters of Jefferson Airplane and ...

's reluctance to commit to the band. The song " Count on Me" became a Top 10 single, peaking at No. 8. The album hit No. 5 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' charts. A US and European tour followed. A riot in West Germany occurred after the band decided not to play without

Grace Slick Grace Slick (born Grace Barnett Wing; October 30, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter, artist, and painter. Slick was a key figure in San Francisco's early psychedelic music scene in the mid-1960s. With a music career spanning four decades, s ...

, who was inebriated. They lost their guitars and equipment during the riot and played one more tense show on West German TV in Hamburg, after which Slick left the band for one album. Marty Balin led the band for one more show at a Genesis concert at the Knebworth Festival in England using rented equipment. When they returned to the US, drummer

John Barbata John Barbata (born April 1, 1945) is an American drummer who was active especially in pop and rock bands in the 1960s and 1970s, both as a band member and as a session drummer. Barbata has served as the drummer for The Turtles, Crosby, Stills, ...

left the band after a serious car accident. This would be the end of the 1970s line-up and several new members joined the band, as well as a new record producer. Success of this album led to Jefferson Starship being contracted to provide a song for the ''

Star Wars Holiday Special The ''Star Wars Holiday Special'' is a 1978 American television special that originally aired on November 17, 1978, on CBS. It is set in the universe of the sci-fi-based ''Star Wars'' media franchise. Directed by Steve Binder, it was the first ' ...

''.

Track listing

Personnel

– lead (2, 4, 6, 8) and backing vocals *

– lead (1, 3, 5, 7) and backing vocals, piano (7) *

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 ...

– lead (9) and backing vocals, rhythm guitar *

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 ...

– lead guitar, rhythm guitar (1, 4, 5, 7) *

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 S ...

– bass (1-4, 6, 7), organ (5, 8, 9), backing vocals *

Pete Sears Peter Roy Sears (born 27 May 1948) is an English rock musician. In a career spanning more than six decades, he has been a member of many bands and has moved through a variety of musical genres, from early R&B, psychedelic improvisational rock o ...

– bass (5, 8, 9), electric piano (1), organ (1-4, 6, 7), Moog (1, 5, 9), synthesizer (1), piano (2-4, 6), celeste (2), clavinet (4, 6), backing vocals *

– drums, congas, percussion, backing vocals

Additional Personnel

Gene Page Eugene Edgar Page Jr. (September 13, 1939 – August 24, 1998) was an American conductor, composer, arranger and record producer, most active from the mid-1960s through the mid-1980s. His sound can be heard in the arrangements he did for Jeffer ...

– strings, horns *

Jesse Barish Jesse Barish is a musician and composer, most notable for writing the song " Count On Me" for Jefferson Starship; and several songs for Marty Balin, the former lead vocalist of Jefferson Starship including: " Hearts", " Atlanta Lady (Something Abo ...

– background vocals

Production

*Jefferson Starship – producer, arrangements, art direction *Larry Cox – producer, engineer *David Frazer – assistant engineer *Steve Hall – recordist *Pat Ieraci (Maurice) – production coordinator, art coordination *Nat Quick – illustration *Bill Thompson – manager *Paul Dowell – amp consultant *Cynthia Bowman – art coordination *Bill Laudner – art assistant *Gribbitt (Tim Bryant) – art director * Don Davis – Earth dust sleeve illustration, Earth label illustration *Roger Rossmeyer – photography *Recorded and Mixed at Wally Heider, San Francisco *Strings and Horns arranged by Gene Page, Whitney Recording Studio, Glendale *Mastered by John Golden at Kendun Recorders, Burbank

Singles

*"Count on Me" (3/11/78) #8 US *"Runaway" (5/27/78) #12 US *"Crazy Feelin'" (9/9/78) #54 US

Charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1978 albums Albums recorded at Wally Heider Studios Grunt Records albums Jefferson Starship albums Albums arranged by Gene Page