Spencer Dryden

Spencer Dryden (April 7, 1938 – January 11, 2005) was an American musician best known as drummer for Jefferson Airplane and New Riders of the Purple Sage. He also played with The Dinosaurs, and The Ashes (later known as The Peanut Butter Conspiracy).\n', '

Spencer Dryden was born in New York City to Alice Chapple (1911–2005) and George Dryden Wheeler Jr. (1892–1957). Alice Chapple was a ballet dancer with Anna Pavlova\'s dance company, and a member of the Radio City Ballet Company; Dryden was an English-born American actor and director, who was a half-brother of Charlie Chaplin. Dryden carefully concealed his relationship to his world-famous half-uncle, not wanting to be judged on his name.\n', '

While Dryden was an infant, the family moved to Los Angeles and his father went to work as an assistant director for Chaplin. His parents divorced in 1943, but Spencer fondly recalled playing…