21 Facts About Skip Spence

Alexander "Skip" Spence was born on Alexander Lee Spence, Jr.

Skip Spence had started his career as a guitarist in an early line-up of Quicksilver Messenger Service, and was the drummer on Jefferson Airplane's debut album, Jefferson Airplane Takes Off.

Alexander Lee Spence was born in Windsor, Ontario, Canada on April 18,1946.

Skip Spence's father, Alexander Lett "Jock" Spence, was a machinist, a salesman, and played Route 66 as a solo singer-songwriter and piano player.

Skip Spence was a decorated Canadian World War II bomber pilot, having been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Skip Spence's parents gave him his first guitar when he was 10.

Skip Spence was a guitarist in the band The Other Side before Marty Balin recruited him to be the drummer for Jefferson Airplane.

Skip Spence wrote the song "My Best Friend", which was released on Jefferson Airplane's second album Surrealistic Pillow and as a single, although Spence didn't play on the song.

Skip Spence tried to chop down the hotel room door with a fire axe to kill Don [Stevenson] to save him from himself.

Skip Spence went up to the 52nd floor of the CBS building where they had to wrestle him to the ground.

In June 1968 Skip Spence was admitted to Bellevue Hospital in New York; during his six-month stay he was diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Skip Spence had been similarly remembered by Jefferson Airplane, whereby his song "My Best Friend" was included on the group's Surrealistic Pillow album, despite his departure from the group.

Skip Spence hadn't been all there for years, because he'd been into heroin all that time.

Skip Spence had a little white rat named Oswald that would snort coke too.

Mental illness, drug addiction, and alcoholism thus prevented Skip Spence from sustaining a career in the music industry.

Skip Spence spent many of his years in third-party care, as a ward of the State of California, and either homeless or in transient accommodations in his later years.

Skip Spence remained in and around San Jose and Santa Cruz.

Skip Spence died of lung cancer on April 16,1999, two days short of his 53rd birthday.

Skip Spence was survived by his four children, eleven grandchildren, half-brother Rich Young, and sister Sherry Ferreira.

Skip Spence is interred at Soquel Cemetery in Santa Cruz County.

Skip Spence has been described on the Allmusic website as "one of psychedelia's brightest lights".