Signe Toly Anderson

Signe Toly Anderson
Background information
Birth name	Signe Toly
Born	September 15, 1941 (1941-09-15)
Origin	Seattle, Washington, USA
Genres	Folk rock, Blues
Occupations	Singer
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1965–1997
Associated acts	Jefferson Airplane, KBC, Jefferson Starship

Signe Toly Anderson (born 15 September 1941) is an American singer who was one of the founding members of the American rock band Jefferson Airplane.

Biography

Early life and joining Jefferson Airplane

Anderson was raised in Portland, Oregon, and was a locally known and well-respected jazz and folk singer before joining Jefferson Airplane after a trip to San Francisco. Soon after joining the Airplane, she married one of the Merry Pranksters, Jerry Anderson, a marriage that lasted from 1965 to 1974. She sang on the first Jefferson Airplane album, Jefferson Airplane Takes Off, most notably on the song "Chauffeur Blues". Anderson distrusted the Airplane's original manager, Matthew Katz, and refused to sign a contract with him until he inserted a special escape clause freeing her from him if she left the band for any reason.

Departure from Jefferson Airplane

Her departure in late 1966 following the birth of her first daughter brought The Great Society vocalist Grace Slick to the band. Though the birth of her daughter, Lilith, was largely the cause of her departure, there were other factors such as the hostility of other band members towards her husband (see the book Got A Revolution - The Turbulent Flight of Jefferson Airplane).

Signe's Last

Signe Anderson's last live performances with the Jefferson Airplane were two sets on October 15, 1966 at The Fillmore. Both performances were recorded (as were most Fillmore shows) and have surfaced on some bootleg albums. In August, 2010, Collector's Choice music in cooperation with Sony finally released the second show on a legitimate CD issue. At what seemed to be the end of the second set, Marty Balin returned to announce that Anderson was leaving the group. Her goodbye to the fans, recorded for posterity, was as follows: "I want you all to wear smiles and daisies and box balloons. I love you all. Thank you and goodbye." At several fans' request, Anderson and the band performed her signature number, "Chauffeur Blues." They finished the night with "High Flying Bird," and thus ended Anderson's tenure with the Airplane. Without missing a beat, the band returned to play two more shows the following night with Grace Slick on board for the first time.

This entire performance will be officially released on October 26, 2010 as "Jefferson Airplane: Live At The Fillmore Auditorium 10/15/66 Signe's Farewell". The tracklisting is the following:

Track listing

1. "Jam" (Signe Anderson, Paul Kantner, Marty Balin, Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady, Spencer Dryden)
2. "3/5 of a Mile in 10 Seconds" (Balin)
3. "Runnin Round This World " (Balin, Kantner)
4. "Tobacco Road" (John D. Loudermilk)
5. "Come Up The Years" (Balin, Kantner)
6. "Go To Her" (Kantner, Irving Estes)
7. "Fat Angel" (Donovan Leitch)
8. "And I Like It" (Balin, Kaukonen)
9. "In the Midnight Hour" (Wilson Pickett, Steve Cropper)
10. "Goodbye To Signe 1" (Balin)
11. "Chauffeur Blues" (Lester Melrose)
12. "High Flyin' Bird" (Billy Edd Wheeler)
13. "Goodbye To Signe 2" (Bill Graham)

Life after Jefferson Airplane

After leaving the Airplane she returned to Oregon where she sang for nine years with a ten-piece band, Carl Smith and the Natural Gas Company. In the mid 1970s she recovered from cancer. In the mid 1990s she suffered further serious health problems. While she recovered from these ailments her family faced serious financial problems from the costs involved.

In 1997 she married local building contractor Michael Alois Ettlin and retired from singing. In recent years she has made guest appearances with the KBC Band and Jefferson Starship.

References

• http://concerts.wolfgangsvault.com/dt/jefferson-airplane-concert/51719-3230.html
• Got a Revolution!: The Turbulent Flight of Jefferson Airplane by Jeff Tamarkin
• http://www.jeffersonairplane.com/others.html