Martyn Jerel Buchwald (January 30, 1942 – September 27, 2018), known as Marty Balin (), was an American singer, songwriter, and musician best known as a member of Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship.

Early life

Balin was born Martyn Jerel Buchwald in Cincinnati, Ohio, the son of Catherine Eugenia "Jean" (née Talbot) and Joseph Buchwald. His paternal grandparents emigrated from Eastern Europe. His father was Jewish and his mother was Episcopalian. Buchwald attended Washington High School in San Francisco, California.

Career

Early musical work

In 1962, Buchwald changed his name to Marty Balin By 1964, Balin was leading a folk music quartet named The Town Criers.

Balin played with Jefferson Airplane at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 and at the Woodstock Festival in 1969.

In December 1969, Balin was knocked unconscious by members of the Hells Angels motorcycle club while performing during the infamous Altamont Free Concert as seen in the 1970 documentary film Gimme Shelter. In April 1971, he formally departed Jefferson Airplane before briefly joining funk-inflected hard rock ensemble Bodacious DF as lead vocalist on their eponymous 1973 debut album. The following year, Kantner asked Balin to write a song for his new Airplane offshoot group, Jefferson Starship. Together, they wrote the early power ballad "Caroline", which appeared on the album Dragon Fly with Balin as guest lead vocalist. about a rock star who was put in jail for failing to produce a hit for his record company, based on his experiences with the lawsuits fought for years with former Jefferson Airplane manager Matthew Katz.

On July 2, 2007, the music-publishing firm Bicycle Music, Inc. announced that it had acquired an interest in songs written or performed by Balin, including hits from his days with Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship.

Honors

Balin, along with the other members of the 1966–1970 line-up of Jefferson Airplane, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. As a member of Jefferson Airplane, he was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016.

Balin resided in Florida and San Francisco with his wife, Susan Joy Balin, formerly Susan Joy Finkelstein. Balin and Finkelstein had two daughters; Finkelstein also had two daughters from a previous marriage.

Balin married Karen Deal in 1989. She died in 2010.

Health and death

While on tour in March 2016, Balin was taken to Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital in New York City after complaining of chest pains. After undergoing open-heart surgery, he was transferred to an intensive-care unit to spend time recovering. In a subsequent lawsuit, Balin alleged that neglect and inadequate care facilities on the hospital's part had resulted in a paralyzed vocal cord, loss of his left thumb and half of his tongue, bedsores, and kidney damage.

Balin died at his home in Tampa on September 27, 2018, at the age of 76.

Discography

  • Balin (1981)
  • Lucky (1983)
  • There's No Shoulder (1983) <small>(EP, Japan only)</small>
  • Better Generation (1991)
  • Freedom Flight (1997)
  • Marty Balin Greatest Hits (1999) <small>(new recordings)</small>
  • Marty Balin (2003)
  • Nashville Sessions (2008)
  • Time for Every Season (2009)
  • Blue Highway (2010)
  • The Witcher (2011)
  • Good Memories (2015)
  • The Greatest Love (2016)

;with Bodacious DF

  • Bodacious DF (1973)

;with KBC Band

  • KBC Band (1986)

;compilations

  • Balince (1990)
  • Wish I Were (1995) <small>(Europe only)</small>
  • Mercy of the Moon: The Best of Marty Balin (2009)
  • Nothin' 2 Lose: The Lost Studio Recordings (2009)
  • 415 Music: Rare Studio & Live Recordings 1980–82 (2011)

Solo singles

{| class="wikitable" style=text-align:center;

|-

!rowspan="2"|Year

!rowspan="2"|Title

!colspan="3"|Peak chart<br />positions

!rowspan="2"|Record Label

!rowspan="2"|B-side

!rowspan="2"|Album

|- style="font-size:smaller;"

!align=centre| US

!align=centre| AC

!align=centre| Rock

|-

|rowspan="2"| 1962

|align=left| "Nobody but You"

| —

| —

| —

|rowspan="2"| Challenge Records

| "You Made Me Fall"

|rowspan="1"|

|-

|align=left| "You Are the One"

| —

| —

| —

| "I Specialize in Love"

|rowspan="1"|

|-

|rowspan="2"| 1981

|align=left| "Hearts"

| 8

| 9

| 20

|rowspan="4"| EMI America Records

| "Freeway"

|rowspan="2"| Balin

|-

|align=left| "Atlanta Lady (Something About Your Love)"

| 27

| 11

| —

| "Lydia!"

|-

|rowspan="2"| 1983

|align=left| "What Love Is"

| 63

| —

| —

| "Heart of Stone"

|rowspan="2"| Lucky

|-

|align=left| "Do It for Love"

| 102

| 17

| —

| "Will You Forever"

|-

|}

;Other appearances

{| class="wikitable sortable"

!style="width:3em"|Year

!style="width:12em"|Album/single

!style="width:12em"|Artist

!class="unsortable"|Comment

|-

|1972

|Grootna

|Grootna

|producer

|-

|1977

|Goodbye Blues

|Country Joe McDonald

|vocals on "Blood on the Ice"

|-

|1978

|Jesse Barish

|rowspan="2"|Jesse Barish

|rowspan="2"|producer, vocals

|-

|rowspan="2"|1980

|Mercury Shoes

|-

|Rock Justice

|Various artists

|producer, co-writer

|-

|1993

|Ships in the Forest

|Kerry Kearney

|vocals on "Love Me Slow"

|-

|rowspan="2"|1994

|Then And Now, Vol. 1

|rowspan="2"|Various artists

|vocals on "It's No Secret" & "Summer of Love"

|-

|Then And Now, Vol. 2

|vocals & guitar on "Always Tomorrow" & "Summer of Love"

|-

|2010

|"Summer Rain"

|Brian Chris Band

|cameo in music video

|-

|rowspan="2"|2011

|"In the Sun"

|rowspan="2"|The Producers Heart and Soul

|rowspan="2"|vocals

|-

|"Let's Go"

|}

References

  • Marty Balin - JeffersonAirplane.com
  • Marty Balin Interview
  • Marty Balin (Oral History), Mill Valley Public Library, 2017
  • Tamarkin, Jeff. Jefferson Airplane biography
  • Fenton, Craig. Jefferson Airplane biography<!-- https://www.pr.com/press-release/26969 -->
  • A.D. Amorosi. Marty Balin: 5 Songs Variety (September 29, 2018)