This US band was formed by two members of the Jefferson Airplane, Jack Casady (John William Casady, 13 April 1944, Washington, DC, USA; bass) and Jorma Kaukonen (b. 23 December 1940, Washington, DC, USA; guitar/vocals). The band evolved as a part-time extension of the Jefferson Airplane with Kaukonen and Casady utilizing the services of colleagues Paul Kantner (guitar) and Spencer Dryden (drums) and other guests, displaying their talents as blues musicians. Stage appearances were initially integrated within the Airplane’s performances on the same bill. During one of the Airplane’s rest periods, the duo began to appear in their own right, often as a rock trio with the then Airplane drummer, Joey Covington. Having had the name Hot Shit rejected (Kaukonen has since refuted this), they settled on Hot Tuna and released a self-titled debut as a duo, with a guest appearance from harmonica player Will Scarlett. The set was drawn largely from traditional blues/ragtime material by Jelly Roll Morton and the Rev. Gary Davis, with Casady’s booming and meandering bass lines interplaying superbly with Kaukonen’s fluid acoustic guitar. By the time of their second album, another live set, they were a full-blown rock quartet with the addition of violinist Papa John Creach (b. John Henry Creach, 28 May 1917, Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, USA, d. 22 February 1994, Los Angeles, California, USA) and Sammy Piazza on drums. This line-up nailed the perfect combination of electric and acoustic rock/blues for which Casady and Kaukonen had been looking.
Creach had departed by the time The Phosphorescent Rat was recorded, and Piazza, who had left to join Stoneground was replaced by Bob Steeler in 1974. The music became progressively louder, so that by the time of their sixth album they sounded like a rumbling heavy rock traditional ragtime blues band. Kaukonen’s limited vocal range added to this odd concoction, but throughout all this time the band maintained a hardcore following. In 1978 the duo split, resulting in Casady embarking on an ill-advised excursion into what was perceived as punk with SVT. Kaukonen continued with a solo career combining both electric and acoustic performances. At best Hot Tuna were excitingly different, at worst they were ponderous and loud. Selected stand-out tracks from their erratic repertoire were ‘Mann’s Fate’ from Hot Tuna, ‘Keep On Truckin’’ and ‘Sea Child’ from Burgers, ‘Song From The Stainless Cymbal’ from Hoppkorv, and ‘Hit Single #1’ from America’s Choice. Casady and Kaukonen reunited in the mid-80s, and returned to recording in 1991 with a workmanlike album that found little favour with the record-buying public. Since 1984, Relix Records have released several archival and contemporary live albums.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin. Licensed from Muze.
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This US band was formed by two members of the Jefferson Airplane, Jack Casady (John William Casady, 13 April 1944, Washington, DC, USA; bass) and Jorma Kaukonen (b. 23 December 1940, Washington, DC, USA; guitar/vocals). The band evolved as a part-time extension of the Jefferson Airplane with Kaukonen and Casady utilizing the services of colleagues Paul Kantner (guitar) and Spencer Dryden (drums) and other guests, displaying their talents as blues musicians. Stage appearances were initially integrated within the Airplane’s performances on the same bill. During one of the Airplane’s rest periods, the duo began to appear in their own right, often as a rock trio with the then Airplane drummer, Joey Covington. Having had the name Hot Shit rejected (Kaukonen has since refuted this), they settled on Hot Tuna and released a self-titled debut as a duo, with a guest appearance from harmonica player Will Scarlett. The set was drawn largely from traditional blues/ragtime material by Jelly Roll Morton and the Rev. Gary Davis, with Casady’s booming and meandering bass lines interplaying superbly with Kaukonen’s fluid acoustic guitar. By the time of their second album, another live set, they were a full-blown rock quartet with the addition of violinist Papa John Creach (b. John Henry Creach, 28 May 1917, Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, USA, d. 22 February 1994, Los Angeles, California, USA) and Sammy Piazza on drums. This line-up nailed the perfect combination of electric and acoustic rock/blues for which Casady and Kaukonen had been looking.