One of the more interesting stories in rock music is the continuum of bands with variations of Jefferson, Airplane and Starship in their names.

It's also one of the most confusing, a point that was amply illustrated a few years ago when I attended a concert by the band billed as Jefferson Starship.

As I sang along with tunes called "She Has Funny Cars" and "Eskimo Blue Day," many of my fellow audience members eyed the stage with blank expressions. Between songs, they shouted, "We Built This City"! And the band members totally ignored their requests.

I tried to explain to one particularly insistent fellow near me that he was seeing a completely different band than the one that registered a string of MOR megahits in the mid- to late '80s. But he was as uncomprehending about my ramblings as he was when the band struck up "Three-Fifths of a Mile in 10 Seconds."

So, with Jefferson Starship scheduled to return to the Pittsburgh area (Feb. 19 at the Palace Theater in Greensburg), I thought I'd present a little history lesson. Let's call it Airship 101:

In the beginning, there was Jefferson Airplane, formed by Paul Kantner and Marty Balin, and joined shortly thereafter by Jorma Kaukonen. The name of the band, which was very unusual for 1965, came from a convoluted joke name for Jorma if he were one of those old delta bluesmen - instead of Blind Lemon Jefferson, he was "Blind Thomas Jefferson Airplane." (You'd be surprised at how many band names come from musicians' in-jokes.)

At any rate, Jefferson Airplane was one of the hottest acts going by 1967, when it scored two hits that stand among the upper crust of classic rock: "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit." Ironically, neither was an Airplane original. Both were performed by Grace Slick when she was in a short-lived (but highly innovative) band called the Great Society, and she brought the tunes to the Airplane's repertoire when she switched groups in October 1966.

With several lineup shuffles, most notably Marty's departure in 1970, Jefferson Airplane continued as an active unit through a tour that wrapped up in September 1972. Rather than formally break up, members just kind of went their separate ways. Jorma and bassist Jack Casady already had been playing in their own band, Hot Tuna, for a few years. Paul and Grace recorded some solo albums in various configurations before putting together a touring band that included ex-Airplaners Papa John Creach on violin and David Freiberg (who made his name with Quicksilver Messenger Service) on bass and keyboards.

To name the new group, Paul drew on his 1970 album "Blows Against the Empire," which was credited to "Jefferson Starship." And when Marty joined the Starship crew in late '74, his presence cemented the relationship between the new band and the old.

Jefferson Starship almost immediately eclipsed the Airplane's successes of the previous decade, registering a No. 1 album, "Red Octopus," and No. 3 single, "Miracles," in 1975. Subsequent chart success in the next few years came with the songs "With Your Love," "Count On Me" and "Runaway," all sung by Marty.

But both of the Jefferson projects always had been rather volatile situations, and both Marty and Grace were gone by 1979. Replacing them as featured vocalist was Mickey Thomas, whose voice was heard on a consistent basis a few years earlier when he sang Elvin Bishop's hit "Fooled Around and Fell in Love." Despite a radical change not only to Jefferson Starship's lineup but its sound, the band scored major hits with the album "Freedom at Point Zero" and the single "Jane."

Despite Grace eventually rejoining, Jefferson Starship saw its fortunes decline through the early '80s, with such albums as "Wind of Change" and "Nuclear Furniture" drawing neither critical nor commercial interest. By 1984, Paul decided he'd had enough and departed as the last original Jefferson Airplane member still with the organization. As part of his settlement, he took the "Jefferson" with him, and those who remained christened themselves Starship.

In 1985, Starship did something neither of its predecessors had done: score a No. 1 hit with "We Built This City." The band kept it up for a few years with other songs in a similar vein. But Grace eventually bailed out again, and for whatever reasons, Mickey didn't keep the ball rolling on his own.

Meanwhile, on the Jefferson side ...

Jorma and Jack, after splitting up Hot Tuna in 1977, got back together in the mid-'80s and continued the act, usually as an acoustic duo. They'd often have guest performers, and on several dates in 1987 and '88, it was none other than Paul Kantner - who meanwhile had teamed up with Marty Balin, Jack Casady and guitar player Mark "Slick" Aguilar on a project called the KBC Band. And when Grace left Starship, they got the band back together again for an album simply called "Jefferson Airplane" in 1989.

The reunion lasted for just that one album and a brief tour, and when Starship folded a short while later, fans thought they might have heard the last of the story. But in 1992, Paul unveiled a group called Jefferson Starship - the Next Generation, combining new originals with a good bit of Airplane material that hadn't been heard live since the '60s. ("She Has Funny Cars," "Eskimo Blue Day" and "Three-fifths of a Mile in 10 Seconds" all fall into the latter category.)

Paul later has condensed the name back to Jefferson Starship, and under that designation the band continues to perform. He's had Slick Aguilar on guitar since he started it back up, and at various times it has brought back into the fold people like Marty (who still occasionally performs), Jack, and David, who is a full-time member these days at age 67. Tom Constanten, the Grateful Dead's keyboard player in the late '60s, also is lending his considerable talents and experience to the cause these days.

And one more meanwhile ...

A band called Starship Featuring Mickey Thomas also is active. And if you want to hear "We Built This City," that's where to go.

OK, you've just graduated from Airship 101.

Feed your head.