Grace Slick Click to see full answer. Also asked, who was the lead singer of Jefferson Airplane? Grace Slick Additionally, who are the singers in starship? Mickey Thomas Similarly one may ask, why did Jefferson Airplane changed their name to Jefferson Starship? I think the simpler answer is that they changed name and style to reflect the times. Jefferson Airplane officially broke up after the “Long John Silver” album in 72. Paul Kantner did a solo album “Blows Against The Empire” that used the Jefferson Starship name, but there was no real official band at that point.Who is still alive from Jefferson Airplane?28, 2016, that Paul Kantner, a founding member of both Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship, had passed away at age 74. Kantner, who played rhythm guitar, sang and wrote songs for both bands, had suffered a heart attack earlier that week (and had experienced a previous one in March 2015).