Joey Covington Dead: Jefferson Airplane Drummer Dies In Car Crash

Jefferson Airplane Drummer Dies In Car Crash

Jefferson Airplane drummer Joey Covington died in a car crash in Palm Springs, Calif., this week. He was 67.

According to local newspaper the Desert Sun, Covington, who had not been wearing a seat belt, crashed his car into a retaining wall at a curve in the road on Tuesday. The impact reportedly propelled his Honda Civic onto an elevated driveway "several feet above the crash site."

A guest at a nearby hotel attempted to resuscitate Covington, but the musician died at the scene, the paper notes.

Covington, who played with Jefferson Airplane from 1970-72, was a self-taught drummer, Rolling Stone reports. Recently described as a "very kind, considerate [and] jovial" person by his friend -- and renowned drummer -- Alvin Taylor, Covington was also one of the founding members of the band Hot Tuna and a member of Jefferson Airplane successor Jefferson Starship.

On Wednesday, Jefferson Starship posted “Rest in peace, Joey,” on its Facebook page.

Jefferson Airplane, with Covington at the drums, performs "Somebody to Love" in the early 1970s:

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