Added: 3 years ago
From: skotk
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  • i got so lucky. a couple of days ago i got hold of the spitfire vinyl for like 6$...an unused copy too :)

  • No song moves me as much as this. It was true in the 70s, as it still is today. Some of the stuff I liked then sounds silly now, but this song stands the test of time. Too bad the band was on the verge of shameless commercialism. If you doubt me ask Paul Kantner. We Built This City...... yeah, right.

  • One of my very favourite clips on Youtube!

    Paul Kantner, what a unique talent.

    Not to mention the just as or even more unique Grace, Marty and the others....

  • Balin & Slick... boy that is the

    true Starship sound!

  • Even though MTV came along six years later and blew the door open, there were really no "music videos" when this album came out. This film is one of those things you would just happen onto during some late night TV thing.. and you only saw it ONCE..bit it really, really impressed you and you remembered it for the rest of your life. Music videos today are dine-a-dozen.. like frozen dinners.. you want to forget them before they are even over. This was art. It made contact and it mattered.

  • You do know that Craig Chaquico "borrowed" a rather large chunk of the solo

    from The Isley Brothers' "Who's That Lady" in this song.I don't think Ernie Isley

    minded,though.

  • Thanks, skotk for putting this song up! It has always held special meaning for me. I used to own the album Spitfire. Its out of print now and I am grieved I cant get it back...

  • @missdebbielee The CD you can get at Amazon.com

  • Dam sexy song.

  • wow.. naked grace!!! :)

  • Regarding other JS videos from this era: supposedly, there was a performance video shot in 1975 for broadcast on a San Francisco TV station (B&W). I'm not sure if it was filmed in front of an audience, or just in a studio. I don't know if it ever aired, and I haven't been able to find a copy of it. Anyone out there know anything about it? There was also something from German TV called "Rockpalast", but that, too, is a mystery. It may be related to the debacle at Lorelei in 1978...

  • I fight my brother (we're in our 40s) after dinner every Thanksgiving for the best grip on the turkey wishbone. My wish has been the same since 1978- - that the people in this version of JS bury their differences and create more of the magic that fate allowed them to all those years ago. I can't believe how lucky I am to have seen this band live many, many times. I 'm not a huge fan of the 70s, just this band (and this song, as you can see by my login name). Thanks for the great video!

  • @sawitinadream --Your wishbone wish and your YouTube name... yeah.. I truly do believe that you have been wishing for that on Thankgivings for years. Your story is one of the coolest things I have ever read on a comment board.

  • @FromMyEyesToYours-- Thanks for the sweet words. Your "late night TV thing" comment took me back to those prehistoric days. I recall (somewhat painfully) the mad dash I'd make to the VCR to hit the "record" button when under sneak attack by the late night video beast. After a couple of times, I got pretty good at leaping over my sleeping Great Dane, and I actually didn't miss out on too much of the videos. Thank God for remote control!

  • what a good music these 70 lets be happy to have had the chance to live other atmospheres under sunny sumertimes with flower power.

  • I got to say agin how beautiful Grace is here in her 1970's jumpsuit. Paul Kantner was (and is) one cool dude! Craig a freak guitar player and was soooo young!!!? What Friebergs vocals added to the band is unmeasurable. The song "thats for sure''! soo glad he is in the band again. his bg vocals make the record and Cathy Richardson is killer! good line up now! best in years! Come back Jack! And Craig! ....ha was that naked Grace in the water in the vid?" I thinks! killer! oh Grace!!!xoxo

  • Jefferson Starship the most underated band ever! Amazing band. John Barbata!!!! Airplane lucky to have gotten him when they did! His work Baron Von, Manhole, 30 seconds!!! Grace young and beautiful in this promo. Met her in 98 in toronto when i was 20! St Charles a masterpiece and i love this promo. Thanks fer puttin this up. Started listening to them in 1989 when i bought Red Octopus on vinyl> i though.....this album is only 14 years old. Now Nirvanas nevermind is 20!!!!! ahhhhhh.

  • I guess they had stopped using all drugs and were completely sober by then.

  • Wow, great old song, brings back memories, craig chaquico's soaring guitar (like the seagulls in the video). Grace AND Marty in the same stage is cool. Great singers and great-looking people.

  • Excellent song, excellent video. Thanks for posting!!

  • This song describes about the Chinese lady on the cover of the album.

  • Manson? St Charles is a love song IMHO----------------which hit home once I read they lyrics.

  • This seems a little over thought or something. Lacks groove.

  • Just beautiful!

  • I was in love with Grace too, but at about this time she was just starting to show the effects of all the booze and drugs. There are just a few crows feet and she looks more like 40 than mid 30's. Doesn't take away from her brilliance, but she wasn't quite the Goddess that we all fell in love with when Surrealistic Pillow came out. Anyway, Marty was always the glue that held this band together. When he left they were never the same.

  • Thank you sooooo much. to share it with us. And sooo 70's.

  • Is this the ONLY video from 74-78????

  • @ItalianIrishDude This is the only video as such from that period that I know of...apart from the band's 1978 TV appearance in The Star Wars Holiday Special, performing "Light The Sky On Fire". I think the "St. Charles" film only exists because it was created as an entry into a film festival of some sort.

  • @skotk No TV appearances? No concert footage? Nothing??? That sounds unbelievable.

  • @ItalianIrishDude In all fairness: videos were relatively rare till MTV came along ca. 1980. Although there was a precursor to MTV (forgot the name of the show) aired on a TV station in the Wash DC back in the early/mid 1970's. Whether it was nationwide or not I'm not sure.

  • Saw this tour. Heart was the backup band....I remember Pete giving about a 15 minute bass solo (while the rest of the band must have went for refreshments) with that cast on.....Probably the best bass solo I ever saw.....Dragonfly might be one of the most underrated albums ever...

  • Saw this tour. Heart was the backup band....I remember Pete giving about a 15 minute bass solo (while the rest of the band must have went for refreshments) with that cast on.....Probably the best bass solo I ever saw.....Dragonfly might be one of the most underrated albums ever.....

  • yes very rare i like this video please keep it on youtube thx

  • I saw the St. Charles tour here in Michigan, at an outdoor pavilion with both covered and lawn seating... before the concert began, a typical Michigan rain started up, gathering strength and blowing in on an angle. An announcer let us know that the Jefferson Starship wanted to still play the full night's concert; they took the stage and opened, appropriately, with "Song to the Sun/Ozymandias/Don't Let it Rain" in one of those totally in sync moments between music and life. So glad I was there!

  • In 1978 I met a rather mysterious man at the Greyhound Station in Santa Cruz. I was returning to Los Angeles after spending Easter Weekend with my brother, his girlfriend and best friend. We spent the whole night talking. He said he was a musician and his name was Charles. He said he spent some time with the Jefferson Starship and that he was the guy referred in the song as St. Charles. My part of the story is true. Whether or not he was BSing me was another matter. He did talk a lot about love.

  • yes........count on me.

  • The Spitfire album was a sadly overlooked gem, this is a wonderous tune, but hey folks.....where in the world is Song To The Sun off this LP on You Tube ????

    That tune is a beautiful next step for this one. I wore out 2 vinyl copies of this back in the day.

    WUNDERBAR!

  • The best!!!

  • This is an incredible song. So complex. To think they did this live without prerecorded tracks, autotuning, etc. They did this nightly on tour. Children, watch and learn....

  • @jlaws63

    You´ve listened this song live many times? Man, how you make me jealous!..

  • to the young people of today, THIS IS REAL MUSIC. Listen and learn

  • amazing video and song....Marty Balin's voice is just wonderful on this tune...

  • Holy shit, what I wouldn't have given to see this line-up in concert back in the day. Classic.

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  • Thanx for posting this. As I said on the other post I saw JS live at the Boton Garden when they toured on this album. The concert was outstanding. Vocal harmonies and Craig Chaquico on lead guitar were the standouts. Of course I must say also that Grace was very sexy still on stage at the time. We were all in high school and had a ball. So cool to see some actual concert film of this great song.

  • please dont ever take this vid off youtube ; thx its a great vid i;ve loved this song for a long long time and never thought i would hear it again

  • JS could pick U up & carry U away at this time in their career. At 36 Grace still was a fox . Timeless music and great memories at a time when I thought my youth would last forever How wrong was I. The closest we will come to a time machine is U tube. Peace everyone.

  • Even at age 70, one can still see Grace's beauty :)

  • Bearhawke.......You should hv been with me and seen her in Chicago in 67! She was STUNNING in her own Paisly 60's psychodillic (spelling) way.Peace!

  • @dbrinkm1

    In 1967 I was only 9 years old :(

  • @dbrinkm1 Hello, I am an Italian boy, and I envy your youth, and the message that your generation has given us, I wanted to live in that 'era

  • Seriously, it's like a spiritual orgasm!!!..I love this ^%%#&ing song and the Vid is Great!!

  • Dam sexy video and song.

  • Great video.

    I loved this song when I was young and still love it!

    Thank you.

  • mystical song. i was 12 when this came out and still love it. this and Miracles were fantastic! great vid thx for posting.

  • Comment removed

  • excellent tune.takes me back to 1984 i then17 discovered it on the best of album "gold'. it was right after "with your love" which was our ( me and my girlfriend)song.still love you kelly.

  • One of the best Starship songs ever. The music truly sweeps you up and carries you away. I've listened to it hundreds of times and still love it. What a fantastic band they were, and the Kantner-Slick-Balin lineup couldn't be beat. Thank you for posting this!

  • Man! you said it. This vid showes them at the best and top of their game. Thanks you tube! I have always wondered what they used to look like and to see them like that is the treat of a life time. That IS their best song.

  • Great song (and priceless video). i wish they would post some video of the new stuff DARK AGES, MILLENNIUM, etc online.

  • This is the most underated songs of the JS.I never heard it on radio .The triple threat of Balin,Slick,and Kanter were at the top of their game with all factions perfectly intertwined. I am heartbroken that this lineup,this band is no more.

  • Thank you so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!My favorite Js song,,,been looking for it and have found it!!!!!!!!Such fantastic guitar work by Craig,,you just made my day!!!

  • Nice post, seems such a long time ago....

  • Great stuff ! Thx so much for posting !

  • What lyrics and vocals! One of the sexiest songs ever!

  • I've always loved this track. I remember falling asleep once to it and having just the loveliest dream. (Can't believe anyone would even THINK about Manson in this context! St. Charles sings about love, not violent murder.)

  • ditto DickMedockle's post. Same experience here. Just sublime. A JS masterpiece - all the organic elements of the Airplane, high in spirituality and Marty and Grace are gelled. I feel so "high" and the bliss is off the happy meter on this videoclip. Thank you for posting.

  • This is one of the best things I've ever seen posted on Youtube. Thanks!

    I forgot about this song for over 20 years. I used to listen to it on the LP almost daily in the late 70's. Thanks for the memory.

  • i was fortunate to see this terrific band two consecutive nights out at nassau veterans' memorial colliseum in june of 1978. they were touring in support of the album, "earth." craig did a great job on the song, "skateboard." thanks for the treat!

  • That has to be one of the most beautiful videos i´ve ever seen. Not to mention the song..

  • Listen Close For The Total Ernie Isley Influence

    ala "Who's That Lady"

  • Arguably one of the best videos on YouTube. Thanks for posting.

  • Lost musical treasures like this keep me coming back to YouTube. What an unexpected delight to see for the very first time what I consider the best Jefferson Starship lineup. You just can't beat Paul and Marty and Grace singing together. A million thanks to skotk for finding and posting this clip.

  • First heard "we should be together" in a shopping mall in Md in the 70s. Blew me away, been a fan ever since. This one is over the top. Saw them three times and came away carried away.

  • No others that I am aware of. This one was special; it was done as an entry into a film festival at the time. It's a shame it didn't make it onto the video collection DVD, but it probably got forgotten about!

  • Thanks for posting this clip!

  • I don´t know if anyone shares my opinion, but i´m just uncapable of listening to the rest of "Spitfire".

    This song is one of the best, most beautiful and amazing songs i know, but the rest of the album is just impossible... (and i´m a huge fan of Jefferson Airplane/Starship)

    To me "Spitfire" is a masterpiece single of this track

  • Yeah I think you hit it on the head about the rest of the album, it's not bad but they definitely put their best effort into this track, such a dreamy, trippy song.

  • I found my dad's copy of Spitfire on vinyl recently and now know how great Jefferson Starship are. I wish I could have seen them live, but thankfully there is this video. Thank you for posting it!

  • Nice Post. This song is like a carnival ride. The video part w/ the boat, 'Shanghi far away, hypnotized by things she would say'...this seems to transcend: why does this work - Grace do you know?

  • Man, I seen these guys do this in Central Park...

    Time flies

  • Definitely not about Charles Manson, according to guitarist Craig Chaquico. But this isn't the first time this has been wondered about.

  • One of my favs from"Spitfire".Any clips of "Hot Water"?I saw this tour twice.First at the free concert in Central Park,then later in the summer @ Nassau Coliseum.Grace and Marty sounded great!

  • opps! i just replied to your comment in the wrong spot. :)

  • Really interesting and enjoyable now that i've almost forgotten how this cheesy, coked up, egotistical period broke my little jefferson airplane cult rock heart. Sorry folks,but it was a big loss at the time, the Airplane made important art....this is just pretty fluff .

  • i come in peace :) :) Yes...we know JA were kings! ... but maybe u could listen to this song again... i really wonder why you would put it in the fluff category?! ;)

  • No doubt Grace and Marty had their vocals razor sharp and this song is pretty. Still, this is pretty empty headed and what was to follow was horrid. It was time to decamp with Hot Tuna. Everything from the first Airplane album through Blows against the Empire is a masterpiece!

  • ya right, truly masterpieces..i love listening to those!

  • your stupid , and dont know talent... 3 number ones for starship... ha ha

  • Thanks for posting! I attended this concert tour in Las Cruces N.M. It rates up there with one of the best concerts I've ever seen. This particular group was the best Starship band put together

  • This is such a beautiful and interesting love song....." cast a spell by a demon and can't get away"... :)

  • : )

  • Love the Jefferson Starship, Loved them since the 70's with Red Octopus - Miracles, Seen them at the Beacon Theater in NYC in 1992 with Daby Gould as the lead singer, then seen Marty Balin in Central Park at a free concert... Great memories. Brings me back to the great times when life was good & innocent.. Not like now.. Keep rocking Jefferson Starshp!!!!!

  • Wow..... Thanks, these were good songs

  • te amo graceee slick claudio rodriguez tengo 22 años desde argentina.aguante Jefferson Starship y Jefferson airplane

  • thanks soooo much from fellow starship freak

  • I was luckey enough to see them twice in the mid-seventies after the Red Octopus and Spitfire albums. Pete Sears is an amazing bassist. One of the best live bands ever.

  • great song, grace slick's voice is amazing!!!!

  • Smooth tune. Gets you in the heart.

  • Great stuff, thanks!

  • Why are Jefferson Starship 70s clips so rare?? I would definitely interested in viewing some more classic clips.

  • Thank you dude for putting this out. I never knew this promo ever existed. So fucking cool!!!!!!!

  • Yeah it's weird. Because they were hugely popular during this time.

  • Thank you, this is amazing. So very hard to find any videos of Jefferson Starship in the 1974-1978, Dragonfly/Red Octopus/Spitfire/Earth era. Would love to see more. This is magnificent!

  • Sweet, thanks for posting

  • Thanx for posting this. There arn't a lot of 70's Jeffersons videos on here...very cool.

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