Hot Tuna is an American

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre that combines elements of blues and rock music. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electric blues and rock (electric guitar, electric bass guitar, and drums, sometimes w ...

band formed in 1969 by former Jefferson Airplane members Jorma Kaukonen (guitarist/vocals) and Jack Casady (bassist). Although it has always been a fluid aggregation, with musicians coming and going over the years, the band's center has always been Kaukonen and Casady's ongoing collaboration.

History

1969–1973: beginnings

Hot Tuna began as a side project to Jefferson Airplane, intended to mark time while

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, ...

recovered from vocal cord nodule surgery that had left her unable to perform. The band's name came from someone Jorma Kaukonen referred to as a "witty wag" who called out "hot tuna" after hearing the line "What's that smell like fish, oh baby", from the song "Keep On Truckin'". Kaukonen, Jack Casady,

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 ...

and new drummer Joey Covington played several shows around San Francisco, including the Airplane's original club, The Matrix, before Jefferson Airplane resumed performing to support ''

Volunteers Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

''. (Although Covington had been hired by Jefferson Airplane, he only performed at select engagements, with Spencer Dryden continuing to perform as the band's principal drummer until his 1970 dismissal). Once the Airplane had resumed touring, Tuna found itself opening for the Airplane. Their early repertoire derived mainly from Kaukonen's Airplane material and covers of American country and blues artists such as Reverend Gary Davis, Jelly Roll Morton, Bo Carter and Blind Blake. In September 1969, Kaukonen and Casady employed the moniker for a week of acoustic-based concerts at the New Orleans House in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and E ...

; recordings culled from this engagement were released as the band's eponymous debut album in 1970. This album has become affectionately known by the group's fans as the "breaking glass album", because of the sound of breaking beer glasses during the recording of "Uncle Sam Blues". Some tracks included Will Scarlett on

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica in ...

. After the album was recorded, Jorma's brother Peter Kaukonen soon replaced Kantner on rhythm guitar and Jefferson Airplane co-lead vocalist Marty Balin joined on vocals for the electric songs. In 1970, the younger Kaukonen was replaced by Paul Ziegler. Hot Tuna 1972

That summer, RCA paid for the band to go to

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...

to record their next album, but the album was never finished, in part due to a financial dispute between Balin (who left both bands shortly thereafter) and Kaukonen and Casady. Violinist Papa John Creach joined Hot Tuna and Jefferson Airplane in October 1970. Both bands finished a joint tour in November 1970 with shows at the Fillmore East. In September 1970, Kaukonen and Casady performed two acoustic-based shows as Hot Tuna without Jefferson Airplane at Pepperland (a large dance hall in

San Rafael, California San Rafael ( ; Spanish for " St. Raphael", ) is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's popula ...

) and received good reviews, further signifying that Hot Tuna could survive without the other band to support it. As Jefferson Airplane wound down and stopped regularly touring for over eighteen months (save for a handful of concerts in the summer of 1971 and winter of 1972) after the Fillmore East shows, Hot Tuna became an independent group. In this era, Hot Tuna's members were Kaukonen, Casady, drummer Sammy Piazza, and Creach, moving fully to the electric band format. This lineup was first documented on the album ''

First Pull Up, Then Pull Down ''First Pull Up, Then Pull Down'' is the second album by Hot Tuna, released in 1971 as RCA Victor LSP-4550. The album was recorded live with electric instruments, instead of the acoustic instruments used on the previous album, ''Hot Tuna''. The ...

'' (1971), which was recorded live at the Chateau Liberte, an obscure club located near

Los Gatos, California Los Gatos (, ; ) is an incorporated town in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population is 33,529 according to the 2020 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area just southwest of San Jose in the foothills of th ...

, in the Santa Cruz Mountains that was favored by the band throughout the era. The group also appeared on three tracks from Papa John Creach's debut solo album, as well as "Walking the Tou Tou" from his second album, '' Filthy!'' The studio albums '' Burgers'' (1972) and ''

The Phosphorescent Rat ''The Phosphorescent Rat'' is the fourth album by the blues rock group Hot Tuna, released in early 1974 as Grunt BFL1-0348. This was the first Hot Tuna album recorded after guitarist Jorma Kaukonen and bass player Jack Casady had left Jefferso ...

'' (1974) followed, with Creach leaving before the latter was recorded. These two albums featured mostly Kaukonen compositions. On the former album, David Crosby sang supporting vocals on "Highway Song", while keyboardist Nick Buck (who frequently guested with the group in the studio for the next five years before serving as a touring member in 1977) contributed to two tracks.

1974–1977: Power trio

As the band prepared for its 1974 tour in support of ''The Phosphorescent Rat'', Kaukonen laid off Piazza after deciding to have the band return to its semi-acoustic repertoire. Kaukonen and Casady then proceeded to record Kaukonen's first solo album, '' Quah''. However, July 1974 marked a departure from their primarily bluesy, acoustic style when Hot Tuna dropped their acoustic sets completely and morphed into a heavy rock band. In October 1974, the group performed on '' The Midnight Special''. The albums '' America's Choice'' (1975), ''

Yellow Fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. ...

'' (1975), and '' Hoppkorv'' (1976) showcase a

power trio A power trio is a rock and roll band format having a lineup of electric guitar, bass guitar and drum kit (drums and cymbals), leaving out a second rhythm guitar or keyboard instrument that are often used in other rock music bands that are quart ...

with the addition of new drummer Bob Steeler. Jeff Tamarkin's liner notes on the RCA "Platinum Gold Hot Tuna Collection" characterize this trilogy as being emblematic of the band's "rampage years." Kaukonen is quoted as saying the change of focus was due to the fact that "it was just fun to be loud." During this period, Kaukonen's electric guitar playing was multi-layered, prominently showcasing such effects as the Roland Jet phaser. His "rampage" style is typified by the solos on "Funky #7" and "Serpent of Dreams" on ''America's Choice'' and "Song for the Fire Maiden," "Sunrise Dance with the Devil," and "Surphase Tension" on ''Yellow Fever''. Live performances throughout the epoch were distinguished by free-flow improvisational jams and very long sets (up to six hours uninterrupted) with extended versions of their studio material. A November 1976 concert at the Palladium in New York City featured a 16-minute version of "Invitation." However, producer

Harry Maslin Harry Maslin is an American record producer, recording/mixing engineer, and studio owner/designer. In the mid-1970s, he engineered No. 1 hits for Barry Manilow (" Mandy"), and Dionne Warwick & The Spinners (" Then Came You"). As a producer, his c ...

did not appreciate the group's style and held them to a more traditional rock format (including several cover songs) for ''Hoppkorv''. In 1977, Kaukonen began to perform solo sets before the band would perform. The trio stopped touring at the end of 1977 and performed its final concert at the Palladium on November 26, with keyboardist Nick Buck and saxophonist "Buffalo" Bob Roberts. Although live performances from all iterations of the group enjoyed a notable

cult following A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

for much of the 1970s, Hot Tuna failed to rival or eclipse Jefferson Airplane and

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 ...

from a commercial standpoint. All but two Hot Tuna albums from the era reached the '' Billboard'' Top 100, ''America's Choice'' was their only post-1972 album to chart for more than ten weeks, peaking at No. 75.

1978–1985: hiatus and brief reunion

Due to emergent tensions between Kaukonen and Casady, a planned 1978 tour was canceled, with Kaukonen filling these dates by performing solo. A double live album, '' Double Dose'', was released that year as a document of the previous year's tour. Casady and Kaukonen went their separate ways and pursued short-lived careers in the new wave bands SVT and

Vital Parts ''Barbeque King'' is an album that Jorma Kaukonen of Hot Tuna and Jefferson Airplane recorded in 1980 with his then-current band Vital Parts. It was the last album Kaukonen recorded for RCA, as the company dropped him from the label due to poor s ...

, respectively. In 1979, Kaukonen released his second solo album and Grunt Records released the Hot Tuna compilation '' Final Vinyl''. Rhythm guitarist Michael Falzarano and drummer Shigemi Komiyama joined Kaukonen and Casady for a Hot Tuna reunion tour in 1983. The group played a mix of new material alongside the classic Hot Tuna songs. This, combined with the group's hard rock and heavy metal approach, were not well received, with reports of fans walking out of shows.

1986–present

Hot Tuna again reformed in 1986, with producer Joey Balin joining on rhythm guitar until 1987. Kantner joined the band in 1987 and 1988, adding some old Jefferson Airplane songs to the setlist.

appeared with them for one show at

The Fillmore The Fillmore is a historic music venue in San Francisco, California. Built in 1912 and originally named the Majestic Hall, it became the Fillmore Auditorium in 1954. It is in Western Addition, on the edge of the Fillmore District and Upper Fil ...

in March 1988. The band continued into 1989 and Kaukonen and Casady joined the 1989 Jefferson Airplane reunion album and tour, performing acoustic Hot Tuna sets in the middle of each show. At the end of the Airplane tour, Hot Tuna resumed their electric performances, adding Falzarano and drummer Joey Stefko. Shortly thereafter, New Yorker Harvey Sorgen replaced Stefko on drums and Galen Underwood joined on keyboards for their first album of all new material in almost 14 years, 1990's ''

Pair a Dice Found ''Pair a Dice Found'' is an album by the American blues rock band Hot Tuna. Released in 1990, it was their first studio album since ''Hoppkorv'' in 1976. Background In 1989, Jefferson Airplane reunited for a tour and eponymous album on Epic R ...

''. Kaukonen and Falzarano both contributed original songs. Throughout the 1990s, Hot Tuna again alternated between acoustic and electric styles. The two ''Sweetwater'' albums were predominantly acoustic sets with guests such as Bob Weir, Maria Muldaur and former Jefferson Starship bassist-keyboardist Pete Sears; the latter was to join the group on a permanent basis on the latter instrument during the decade. The 1997 release ''Live in Japan'' was in many ways reminiscent of the very first Hot Tuna album, having a minimalistic sound and being recorded live at a tiny venue (Stove's in Yokohama). Falzarano and Sears stayed with the band until the early 2000s. In 2004, Casady and Kaukonen were joined by mandolinist

Barry Mitterhoff Barry Mitterhoff is a musician who plays mandolin. He is a former member of Skyline, Silk City, Bottle Hill, and Hot Tuna. Played with Peter Rowan, Tex Logan and Lamar Greer in The Green Grass Gringos. Mitterhoff is also known as a film score p ...

and drummer Erik Diaz. In August 2009, following the departure of Diaz,

Skoota Warner Ra is an American alternative metal band from Los Angeles, taking their name from the Ra, Egyptian sun god, Ra. The band was formed in 1996, and took off around 2002, when their song "Do You Call My Name" from their album ''From One'' was relea ...

officially joined the band as drummer. In November 2010, Hot Tuna performed as a semi-acoustic trio: Casady, Kaukonen and Mitterhoff at a Midnight Ramble at Levon Helm's Barn studio in Woodstock, New York. In the same month, Kaukonen announced on his blog that Hot Tuna had begun recording its first studio album in 20 years. The album, '' Steady as She Goes'', was released by Red House Records on April 5, 2011. For the first half of 2011, guitarist

Jim Lauderdale James Russell Lauderdale (born April 11, 1957) is an American country, bluegrass, and Americana singer-songwriter. Since 1986, he has released 31 studio albums, including collaborations with artists such as Dr. Ralph Stanley, Buddy Miller, a ...

and harmonica player

Charlie Musselwhite Charles Douglas Musselwhite (born January 31, 1944) is an American electric blues harmonica player and bandleader, one of the white bluesmen who came to prominence, along with Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield, and Elvin Bishop, as a pivotal ...

toured with them; later in the year they were joined by Musselwhite, guitarists David Bromberg, Larry Campbell, Steve Kimock, and G. E. Smith, and vocalist Teresa Williams. Both Campbell and Williams, who guested on the ''Steady as She Goes'' album, have remained with the band in a touring capacity. In 2014, Justin Guip, who had engineered the album in addition to Kaukonen's recent solo work, took over drumming duties from Warner.

Personnel

Members

The band has performed live as Hot Tuna between 1969 and 1977; in 1983; and from 1986 to present:

Current members

* Jack Casady – bass (1969–1977, 1983, 1986–present) * Jorma Kaukonen – lead guitar, vocals (1969–1977, 1983, 1986–present) ;Touring musicians * Larry Campbell – rhythm guitar, vocals, violin, lap steel guitar (2011–present) *Teresa Williams – vocals (2011–present) *Justin Guip – drums (2014–present) ;Studio musicians *Robert McCrimlisk – mandolin (2014–present) *Christopher McGrath – banjo (2014–present)

Former members

* Joey Covington – drums (1969–1970; died 2013) *

– rhythm guitar (1969, 1987–1988; died 2016) * Marty Balin – vocals (1969–1970; died 2018) * Peter Kaukonen – rhythm guitar (1969–1970, 1989–1990) *Paul Ziegler – rhythm guitar (1970) * Papa John Creach – electric violin (1970–1973; died 1994) *Sammy Piazza – drums (1970–1973) *Bob Steeler – drums (1974–1977) * Michael Falzarano – rhythm guitar, vocals (1983, 1989–2002) *Shigemi Komiyama – drums (1983) *Joey Balin – rhythm guitar (1986–1987) *Joey Stefko – drums (1989–1990) *Harvey Sorgen – drums (1990–2000) *Galen Underwood – keyboards (1990) * Pete Sears – keyboards (1992–2001) *Barry Mitterhoff – mandolin (2002–2014) *Erik Diaz – drums (2004–2009) *

– drums (2009–2014) ;Studio and touring musicians *Will Scarlett – harmonica (1969–1971) *Nick Buck – keyboards (1976–1978) *

– rhythm guitar (2011) *

– harmonica (2011) * David Bromberg – rhythm guitar (2011) * Steve Kimock – rhythm guitar (2011) * G. E. Smith – rhythm guitar (2011)

Timeline

ImageSize = width:1000 height:400 PlotArea = left:100 bottom:80 top:10 right:10 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1969 till:31/12/2020 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Colors = id:vocals value:red legend:Lead_vocals id:strings value:drabgreen legend:String_instruments id:lead value:green legend:Lead_guitar id:rhythm value:brightgreen legend:Rhythm_guitar id:keyboards value:purple legend:Keyboards id:bass value:blue legend:Bass id:drums value:orange legend:Drums id:lines1 value:black legend:Albums Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:1 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:2 start:1970 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:1969 BarData = bar:Jorma text:Jorma Kaukonen bar:Marty text:Marty Balin bar:PaulK text:Paul Kantner bar:Peter text:Peter Kaukonen bar:PaulZ text:Paul Ziegler bar:Michael text:Michael Falzarano bar:JoeyB text:Joey Balin bar:Papa text:Papa John Creach bar:Barry text:Barry Mitterhoff bar:Galen text:Galen Underwood bar:Pete text:Pete Sears bar:Jack text:Jack Casady bar:JoeyC text:Joey Covington bar:Sammy text:Sammy Piazza bar:Bob text:Bob Steeler bar:Shigemi text:Shigemi Komiyama bar:JoeyS text:Joey Stefko bar:Harvey text:Harvey Sorgen bar:Erik text:Erik Diaz bar:Skoota text:Skoota Warner bar:Justin text:Justin Guip PlotData= width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Jorma from:01/01/1969 till:26/11/1977 color:Lead bar:Jorma from:01/01/1983 till:01/01/1984 color:Lead bar:Jorma from:01/01/1986 till:end color:Lead bar:Jorma from:01/01/1969 till:26/11/1977 color:Vocals width:3 bar:Jorma from:01/01/1983 till:01/01/1984 color:Vocals width:3 bar:Jorma from:01/01/1986 till:end color:Vocals width:3 bar:Marty from:01/10/1969 till:01/01/1971 color:Vocals bar:Jack from:01/01/1969 till:26/11/1977 color:Bass bar:Jack from:01/01/1983 till:01/01/1984 color:Bass bar:Jack from:01/01/1986 till:end color:Bass bar:PaulK from:01/01/1969 till:01/10/1969 color:Rhythm bar:Peter from:01/10/1969 till:01/01/1970 color:Rhythm bar:PaulZ from:01/01/1970 till:01/01/1971 color:Rhythm bar:Michael from:01/01/1983 till:01/01/1984 color:Rhythm bar:Michael from:01/01/1983 till:01/01/1984 color:Vocals width:3 bar:JoeyB from:01/01/1986 till:01/01/1987 color:Rhythm bar:PaulK from:01/01/1987 till:01/01/1988 color:Rhythm bar:Michael from:01/01/1989 till:01/01/2002 color:Rhythm bar:Michael from:01/01/1989 till:01/01/2002 color:Vocals width:3 bar:JoeyC from:01/01/1969 till:01/01/1971 color:Drums bar:Sammy from:01/01/1971 till:01/01/1974 color:Drums bar:Bob from:01/01/1974 till:26/11/1977 color:Drums bar:Shigemi from:01/01/1983 till:01/01/1984 color:Drums bar:JoeyS from:01/01/1989 till:01/01/1990 color:Drums bar:Harvey from:01/01/1990 till:01/01/2000 color:Drums bar:Erik from:01/01/2004 till:01/01/2009 color:Drums bar:Skoota from:01/01/2009 till:01/01/2014 color:Drums bar:Justin from:01/01/2014 till:end color:Drums bar:Papa from:01/10/1970 till:01/01/1973 color:Strings bar:Barry from:01/01/2004 till:01/01/2014 color:Strings bar:Galen from:01/01/1990 till:01/01/1991 color:Keyboards bar:Pete from:01/01/1992 till:01/01/2001 color:Keyboards LineData= at:01/05/1970 color:lines1 layer:back at:01/06/1971 at:01/02/1972 at:03/01/1974 at:01/05/1975 at:01/11/1975 at:11/10/1976 at:13/03/1978 at:02/11/1990 at:01/01/1992 at:01/01/1993 at:01/01/1997 at:12/10/1999 at:05/04/2011

Lineups

Discography

* ''

Hot Tuna Hot Tuna is an American blues rock band formed in 1969 by former Jefferson Airplane members Jorma Kaukonen (guitarist/vocals) and Jack Casady (bassist). Although it has always been a fluid aggregation, with musicians coming and going over the y ...

'' (1970) * ''

'' (1971) * '' Burgers'' (1972) * ''

'' (1974) * '' America's Choice'' (1975) * ''

'' (1975) * '' Hoppkorv'' (1976) * '' Double Dose'' (1978) * ''

'' (1990) * ''

Live at Sweetwater ''Live at Sweetwater'' is a live Hot Tuna album recorded in 1992 at Mill Valley, CA. It was their first new recording made for Relix Records, although they had previously released older performances with Relix ( Splashdown, Historic Hot Tuna). ...

'' (1992) * ''

Live at Sweetwater Two ''Live at Sweetwater Two'' is a live Hot Tuna album recorded at the same time as the album, Live at Sweetwater, but contains no tracks from the previous release. The live performances feature Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead, blues-singer Maria ...

'' (1993) * ''

Live in Japan ''Live in Japan'' can refer to one of the following albums or videos: Albums * ''Live in Japan'' (21st Century Schizoid Band album) * ''Live in Japan'' (22-20s album) * ''Live in Japan'' (B.B. King album) * ''Live in Japan'' (Beck, Bogert & Appice ...

'' (1997) * '' And Furthurmore...'' (1999) * '' Steady as She Goes'' (2011)

References

External links

*
Hot Tuna official live downloadsTunaBase.com
{{Authority control 1969 establishments in California 1977 disestablishments in California 1986 establishments in California American blues musical groups American blues rock musical groups Jam bands Jefferson Airplane Rock music groups from California Musical groups from San Francisco Musical groups established in 1969 Musical groups disestablished in 1977 Musical groups reestablished in 1983 Musical groups reestablished in 1986 RCA Records artists Relix Records artists