Spencer Dryden

Spencer Dryden
Dryden in 1970s
Background information
Birth name	Spencer Charles Dryden
Born	(1938-04-07)April 7, 1938 New York City,U.S.
Died	January 11, 2005(2005-01-11)(aged 66) Petaluma, California,U.S.
Genres	Psychedelic rock,acid rock,country rock,jazz
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instrument(s)	Drums
Years active	1966–1995
Formerly of	Jefferson Airplane New Riders of the Purple Sage The Peanut Butter Conspiracy Dinosaurs
Parents	Wheeler Dryden Alice May Chapple Dryden Judd
Relatives	Hannah Chaplin(paternal grandmother) Sydney Chaplin(uncle) Charlie Chaplin(uncle)

Spencer Charles Dryden(April 7, 1938 – January 11, 2005) was an American musician best known as the drummer forJefferson AirplaneandNew Riders of the Purple Sage.He also played withDinosaurs,and the Ashes (later known asthe Peanut Butter Conspiracy). He was inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Famein 1996 as a member of Jefferson Airplane.

Life and career

Early life

Spencer Charles Dryden was born in 1938 in New York City to Alice Chapple andGeorge Dryden Wheeler Jr.Alice Chapple was a ballet dancer withAnna Pavlova's dance company, and a member of theRadio CityBallet Company; Wheeler Dryden was an English-born actor who was also a half-brother ofCharlie Chaplin.After becoming an American citizen in 1936 he later worked as a director. When Spencer Dryden was growing up, he carefully concealed his relationship with his world-famous half-uncle, not wanting to be judged on his name.

When Dryden was an infant, the family moved toLos Angeleswhere his father went to work as an assistant director for Chaplin.His parents divorced in 1943. His mother later remarried, so Spencer would later have either two half- or 2 step-sisters: Ginny and Marilyn. He attendedGlendale High School (Glendale, California),and in 1955 he graduated from theArmy and Navy AcademyinCarlsbad, California.

In interviews, Dryden has fondly recalled playing at his famous uncle's Hollywood studio as a child when visiting his father. Dryden's father was a jazz fan, and exposed him to the jazz scene by taking him to Los Angeles jazz clubs during the 1950s. These inspired Dryden's musical ambitions.

During that time, Dryden became friends withLloyd Miller,also born in 1938, who lived down the street on Royal Boulevard in the Rossmoyne neighborhood ofGlendale, California.Because they both liked jazz, Miller suggested that the two start a band, and encouraged Dryden to play drums. Since Dryden didn't have a drum set, Miller fashioned an instrument by thumb-tacking an old inner tube over a wooden barrel with no ends. Miller would pump his player piano, play cornet or clarinet and Dryden would bang out beats on the drum.

One day Miller walked to Dryden's house and heard him playing on a full drum set. He was playingBaby Dodds' solos to perfection, even the difficult nerve sticks. Soon they had recruited trumpet player Buzz Leifer, a Glendale High acquaintance of Dryden's, a trombone player, Miller's friend Faith Jackson on piano, and a banjo player. The band, called the Smog City Six, would rehearse in Miller's garage. After his parents complained, they played on neighborhood lawns for short concerts until they had to flee from cops.

Soon they were sought-after for their lawn jams. Their final New Orleans-style jazz gig was for the spring festival at Miller's school,Flintridge Prep.After that Dryden 'went modern' and began playingcool jazzin Hollywood and Los Angeles. Miller also added modern jazz to his styles, and the two jammed a few more times at Miller's before losing contact. Both musicians made their mark in different ways.

In 1952, after Chaplin moved to Switzerland, Dryden's father managed Chaplin's business affairs in the U.S. until his studios were sold in 1954. His father died in 1957, when Dryden was 19 years old.

Jefferson Airplane

Dryden (far left) with Jefferson Airplane in 1967

In mid-1966 Dryden was recruited to replaceSkip Spenceas the drummer inJefferson Airplane,a leading San Francisco psychedelic band. Together with bassistJack Casady,he helped create an exceptional rhythm section.A feature of live Airplane sets at the time were free-form improvisational jams, with Dryden's licks complementing Casady's fluid style, examples of which can be heard on "Thing" and "Bear Melt" fromBless Its Pointed Little Head.During this period, he had an affair withGrace Slick.

The song "Lather",appearing on the Airplane'sCrown of Creation,is said to have been written by Grace Slick on the occasion of Dryden's thirtieth birthday. Its lyrics tell of a boy who stays as young as possible until one day when he is shattered by having to finally grow up.

Founding editor ofRolling Stoneand music critic,Ralph J. Gleason,publishedThe Jefferson Airplane and the San Francisco Soundin 1969. The book included an engaging forty-four-page interview with Dryden.

Dryden quit Jefferson Airplane in February 1970. This followed the group's violent experiences at the notoriousAltamont Festival,where lead singerMarty Balinwas knocked unconscious byHells Angelsbikers, and a festival patron,Meredith Hunter,was fatally stabbed.Dryden seemed to have some sense of foreboding about the concert, as he initially did not want to play there, saying the "vibes" were wrong.

New Riders of the Purple Sage, Dinosaurs

Dryden left the music business for a short period, but returned to drumming as a member of theNew Riders of the Purple Sage.He performed and recorded with them from late 1970 until 1977, at which point he became the manager of the band. After leaving the New Riders, Dryden went on to play a lengthy stint withDinosaursandBarry Melton's band before retiring from drumming in 1995.

Later life

Dryden did not participate in Jefferson Airplane's 1989 reunion. In 1996, Dryden was inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Famealong with the rest of Jefferson Airplane. He played with the band in a special event for the first time since 1970.In 2003 Dryden joined the group onstage for the last time, in the Jefferson Starship Galactic Reunion.

He lived in relative obscurity, reportedly in a small house on rented property with a few acres inPenngrove, California.He lost his home due to a fire in 2003.A few years before his death, Dryden neededhip replacementand heart surgeries. In May 2004, a benefit concert that included performances byBob Weirof theGrateful DeadandWarren Hayneswas held, raisingUS$36,000 to help pay Dryden's medical expenses.Later, in 2004, he was diagnosed with cancer.The benefit re-kindled Dryden's friendship with Jefferson Airplane band memberJorma Kaukonen,who remembered him fondly for the way he said "Aww, MAN!"It was not until shortly before Dryden's death that Kaukonen learned that Dryden was the nephew of Charlie Chaplin.Dryden's last public appearance was in 2004 with Jefferson Airplane band members, at aDVDparty for the release of the group'sFlydocumentary.

Dryden died from metastasizedcolon canceron January 11, 2005. Married three times, he was survived by his three sons, Jeffrey, Jesse, and Jackson Dryden, six grandchildren, and his mother, Alice May Chapple Dryden Judd. She died on December 25, 2005, at the age of 94.

At the news of his death, Grace Slick and other band members wrote tributes to Dryden that appeared on the group's website. Slick's ends with this: "Lather was 30 years old today, they took away all of his toys." – Grace Slick (January 13, 2005).

Legacy and honors

• In 1996 Dryden was inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame.

External links

• Spencer Dryden memorial page
• Alice Chapple Judd, ednapurviance.blogspot
• Devenish, Colin. "Jefferson Airplane's Spencer Dryden Dies",Rolling Stone,January 13, 2005
• Spencer Dryden interview