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Jefferson Airplane Drummer Joey Covington Dies
Former Jefferson Airplane drummer Joey Covington has died in a Palm Springs car crash.
A Riverside County coroner’s report says the 67-year-old Palm Springs resident wasn’t wearing a seat belt when his car hit a retaining wall at about 5 p.m. Tuesday. He died at the scene.
The Palm Springs Desert Sun says police don’t believe alcohol or drugs were involved.
A friend, Keith McCormick, tells the paper that Covington’s wife, Lauren, suspects he had a stroke or heart attack before the accident.
Covington replaced Spencer Dryden as the Airplane’s drummer from 1970-72. Before that, he was with the Airplane offshoot Hot Tuna and played congas on the 1969 Airplane album Volunteers.
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Photo: JoeyCovington.com/Belinda Serata
Drumming for Bo Diddley at a 2006 benefit for Hurricane Katrina victims.
Covington co-wrote several Airplane songs, including “Pretty as You Feel” and the 1976 tune “With Your Love.”