Editing Jefferson Starship (section)

===1979–1984: Changing personnel and sound===
[[File:Jefferson Starship 19.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Mickey Thomas, Pete Sears, and Aynsley Dunbar of Jefferson Starship in 1981]]
In early 1979, the band regrouped. Barbata was replaced on drums by [[Aynsley Dunbar]], who had previously played with [[Journey (band)|Journey]], in January 1979.<ref name="allmusic"/> [[Mickey Thomas (singer)|Mickey Thomas]] (who had sung lead on Elvin Bishop's "Fooled Around and Fell in Love") was invited to audition and then joined the group in April 1979.<ref name="allmusic"/> 

[[File:Jefferson Starship 22.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.1|Pete Sears and Craig Chaquico of Jefferson Starship in Central Park in 1981]]
In 1979, the band released their first album without Marty Balin or Grace Slick, the gold-selling ''[[Freedom at Point Zero]]''.<ref name="RIAA"/> The album was produced by [[Ron Nevison]], who would also produce two of the band's following three albums. The single "[[Jane (Jefferson Starship song)|Jane]]" (Freiberg, McPherson, Chaquico and Kantner) peaked at No. 14 on the ''[[Billboard Hot 100]]'' and spent three weeks at No. 6 on the ''[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cash Box]]'' Top 100.<sup>[[Freedom at Point Zero#cite note-3|[3]]]</sup><ref name="Billboard-H100"/> The new lineup toured, augmented by saxophonist Steve Schuster. Schuster, along with horn player David Farey, had previously played on Jefferson Starship's 1978 tour, and he had also appeared on ''Freedom at Point Zero''.

[[File:Starship Onstage 1985 - Slick, Thomas, Sears, Chaquico, Baldwin, Freiberg - Great America (John Lushenko).jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.1|Jefferson Starship onstage at Great America, June 23, 1984, shortly before the evolution into [[Starship (band)|Starship]] (l-to-r Grace Slick, Mickey Thomas, Pete Sears, Paul Kantner, Craig Chaquico, Donny Baldwin, and David Freiberg).]]

In early 1981, Grace Slick returned to the band, rejoining in time to sing on one song, "Stranger," (No. 48 on the ''Billboard Hot 100'' chart), on the group's next album, ''[[Modern Times (Jefferson Starship album)|Modern Times]]'' (1981).<ref name="Billboard-H100"/> ''Modern Times'', which also went gold, included the song "Find Your Way Back" (No. 29), as well as the humorous "Stairway to Cleveland", in which the band defended the numerous changes it had undergone in its musical style, personnel, and even name.<ref name="RIAA"/><ref name="Billboard-H100"/> ''Modern Times'' also featured the promo single, "Save Your Love", (No. 104). Slick remained in the band for Jefferson Starship's next album, ''[[Winds of Change (Jefferson Starship album)|Winds of Change]]'' (1982), which was certified gold.<ref name="RIAA"/> ''Winds of Change'' featured the singles "Be My Lady," which reached No. 26 in the US, and "Winds of Change" (No. 38).<ref name="Billboard-H100"/> By August 1982, after the recording of ''Winds of Change'' but prior to the supporting tour, Dunbar was replaced by [[Donny Baldwin]], who had performed with Thomas in the Elvin Bishop Group. Paul Kantner's 1983 solo album, ''[[Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra (album)|Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra]]'', included the track "Circle of Fire", which had been recorded by Jefferson Starship during the ''Winds of Change'' sessions in 1982. Other members of the band also appeared on additional tracks on this effort.<ref name="PERRO-Allmusic">{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/planet-earth-rock-and-roll-orchestra-mw0000855723 |title=Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra |last=Ruhlmann |first=William |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=October 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220301031500/https://www.allmusic.com/album/planet-earth-rock-and-roll-orchestra-mw0000855723 |archive-date=March 1, 2022 |url-status=live |language=en-US |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

Around this time, the band began enthusiastically embracing the rock-video age, making elaborate videos typical of the era's superstar bands. They would appear frequently on [[Music Television|MTV]] and other music-oriented television shows such as ''Solid Gold'', and 1984's ''Super Night of Rock and Roll'', giving the band a high visibility in the MTV era. Their next album, ''[[Nuclear Furniture]]'' (1984), reached No. 28 and was also certified gold.<ref name="RIAA"/><ref name="Billboard_200"/> It featured the singles "No Way Out" (a [[Top 40]] hit, reaching No. 23), "Layin' It On the Line" (No. 66), and "Sorry Me, Sorry You".<ref name="Billboard-H100"/>