Long John Silver
Studio album by Jefferson Airplane
Released	July 20, 1972
Recorded	March – May 1972
Studio	Wally Heider Studios, San Francisco
Genre	Psychedelic rock
Length	41:25
Label	Grunt/RCA Records
Producer	Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane chronology
Bark (1971) Long John Silver (1972) Thirty Seconds Over Winterland (1973)
Alternative cover
Paper sleeve that came with the original vinyl LP release

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Christgau's Record Guide	C+[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[3]
Rolling Stone	(not rated)[4]

Long John Silver is the seventh studio album by the American rock bandJefferson Airplane, and their last album of all new materialuntil 1989. It was recorded and released in 1972 as Grunt FTR-1007.

After several solo projects forGrunt Records, the members of Jefferson Airplane (Paul Kantner, Grace Slick, Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady, Joey Covington and Papa John Creach) came together again in March 1972 for the first time in the studio since theBark album was released in September 1971. Sessions atWally Heider Studios continued for nearly three months, but tensions were high and several songs were recorded by each member recording their own part separately.^[5]David Crosby participated in the recording sessions, but his vocals were stripped from the record at the insistence of his label.

Joey Covington left the band during the sessions, with accounts varying over whether he was fired. Veteran session drummerJohn Barbata, formerly ofThe Turtles, andHot Tuna's Sammy Piazza deputized for the rest of the recording process. Barbata ultimately replaced Covington, playing on all but three songs.

Recording was completed in May, 1972. Before the album's scheduled July release, RCA Records demanded that the band remove a line from the song "The Son of Jesus" electronically, which referred to a "bastard son of Jesus".^[6] Live performances of the song left the line intact.

Released on the band's Grunt Records imprint, the album was Jefferson Airplane's least successful effort since their1966 debut, peaking at only No. 20 on theBillboard album chart.

In July, the band began a two-month tour of the United States, their first major tour since 1970. It featured a new line-up: Kantner, Slick, Kaukonen, Casady, Creach, Barbata and formerQuicksilver Messenger Service bassistDavid Freiberg as an additional vocalist/percussionist. A close friend of Kantner from the early 1960sAmerican folk music revival scene, Freiberg took overMarty Balin's harmony parts and selected leads on ensemble efforts (most notably "Wooden Ships") and "tried to keep the band together."^[5] The tour ended in September atSan Francisco'sWinterland Ballroom, with Balin joining for an encore. Live performances from theChicago Auditorium Theatre and Winterland were released on the live albumThirty Seconds Over Winterland in 1973.

The original vinyl LP release (1972) featured an album cover that folded up into a replica of a cigar box. The record sleeve bore an image of cigars; this image was later used as cover art on CD releases. The inside bottom of the box was covered with a photograph of marijuana.

Jefferson Airplane

• Grace Slick – vocals, piano
• Jack Casady – bass
• Paul Kantner – vocals, rhythm guitar
• Jorma Kaukonen – lead guitar, vocals
• Papa John Creach – electric violin
• John Barbata – drums, tambourine, "against the grain stubble scraping"
• Joey Covington – drums on "Twilight Double Leader" and "The Son of Jesus"

Additional personnel

• Sammy Piazza – drums on "Trial by Fire"

• Jefferson Airplane – producer, arrangements
• Pat "Maurice the Magnificent" Ieraci – production coordinator
• Don Gooch – engineer
• Steve Barncard – special thanks
• Pacific Eye & Ear – album concept, album design
• Bob Tanenbaum, Propella Rotini – illustrations
• Bruce Kinch – photography
• Borris – weed. AKA Mike Trudnich
• Recorded at the Wally Heider Studios, San Francisco

• 1972 albums
• Jefferson Airplane albums
• Albums recorded at Wally Heider Studios

• CS1: unfit URL
• CS1 Japanese-language sources (ja)
• Use mdy dates from May 2012
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Articles with hAudio microformats
• Album articles lacking alt text for covers
• Album chart usages for Canada
• Album chart usages for UK2
• Album chart usages for Billboard200
• Certification Table Entry usages for United States
• Pages using certification Table Entry with shipments figures
• Pages using certification Table Entry with shipments footnote