Jefferson Airplane Guitarist Paul Kantner Dead at 74

Paul Kantner, founding member and guitarist for Jefferson Airplane and Starship, died Thursday of multiple organ failure and septic shock. He had suffered a heart attack earlier in the week, according to San Francisco Chronicle. He was 74.

The musician had been in ill health in recent years, with Kantner suffering a heart attack in March 2015, according to the paper.

With Jefferson Airplane, Kantner helped pioneer the oft-imitated psychedelic sound: simple, fuzzy guitar lines steeped in dreamlike reverb. The group formed in 1965 and, within a few years, scored hits with "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit." In their first run, five of the band's seven albums went gold, including 1967's Surrealistic Pillow and 1968's Crown of Creation.

Verging on a breakup in the early Seventies, Kantner recorded a solo album, Blows Against the Empire, with Jefferson Airplane singer Grace Slick, crediting it to Paul Kantner and Jefferson Starship. The album was nominated for a Hugo Award, a science-fiction award. After formalizing the band Jefferson Starship, the band went on to greater commercial success than Jefferson Airplane, scoring platinum and gold records, including the double-platinum 1975 record Red Octopus. He quit the group in 1984 but would rejoin in 1992 and continue to play with them until his death.

"Our condolences go out to the friends, family and fans of Paul Kantner of Jefferson Airplane on the news of his passing," members of the Doors wrote on their Facebook page. "Music would not be the same without the sounds of The Doors and Jefferson Airplane, which both contributed so heavily to the signature sound of the Sixties and Seventies."

Kantner is survived by three children: Gareth, Alexander and China.