David Miner (musician)
A foundational voice in the San Francisco psychedelic scene who co-created the band that launched Grace Slick toward rock immortality.
Born 1942 (age 84)·American singer·Birthday: July 24·The Silent Generation
Biography
In the mid-1960s, as San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district began to buzz, David Miner was there helping to wire the sound. He was a co-founder of The Great Society, a band that became a crucial incubator for the era's psychedelic folk-rock. In the band's early days, before Grace Slick's powerful voice dominated, Miner was often the lead singer and a primary songwriter, contributing key original material. His role was instrumental in shaping the group's initial identity, which blended social commentary with burgeoning psychedelic experimentation. While The Great Society's legacy is often overshadowed by the meteoric rise of Jefferson Airplane—where Slick and guitarist Darby Slick found fame—Miner's work provided the essential raw material. Songs he wrote or co-wrote in that fertile period became part of the bedrock of the San Francisco sound, capturing the hopeful and chaotic spirit of the moment before the major labels arrived.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
David was born in 1942, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When David Was Born
The biggest hits of 1942
#1 Movie
Bambi
Best Picture
Mrs. Miniver
David's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1942Born
Battle of Midway turns the tide in the Pacific
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $3,175Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"White Christmas" — Bing CrosbyBest Picture: Mrs. Miniver
1947Started school
India gains independence; the Dead Sea Scrolls found
Gas: $0.23/galHome: $6,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Near You" — Francis CraigBest Picture: Gentleman's Agreement
1955Became a teenager
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $9,550Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Rock Around the Clock" — Bill Haley & His CometsBest Picture: Marty
1958Could drive
NASA founded
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Volare" — Domenico ModugnoBest Picture: Gigi
1960Could vote
Kennedy-Nixon debates become first televised presidential debates
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,900Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Theme from A Summer Place" — Percy FaithBest Picture: The Apartment
1963Turned 21
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1972Turned 30
Watergate break-in; last Apollo Moon mission
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $19,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" — Roberta FlackBest Picture: The Godfather
1982Turned 40
Michael Jackson releases Thriller
Gas: $1.22/galHome: $55,200Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Physical" — Olivia Newton-JohnBest Picture: Gandhi
1992Turned 50
LA riots after Rodney King verdict
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $84,300Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"End of the Road" — Boyz II MenBest Picture: Unforgiven
2002Turned 60
Euro currency enters circulation
Gas: $1.36/galHome: $137,800Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"How You Remind Me" — NickelbackBest Picture: Chicago
2012Turned 70
Curiosity rover lands on Mars; Sandy Hook shooting
Gas: $3.64/galHome: $143,200Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Somebody That I Used to Know" — GotyeBest Picture: Argo
2022Turned 80
Russia invades Ukraine; Queen Elizabeth II dies
Gas: $3.97/galHome: $348,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"As It Was" — Harry StylesBest Picture: Everything Everywhere All at Once
2026Age 84 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Co-founded the influential San Francisco psychedelic band The Great Society in 1965.
- Wrote several of the band's early songs, including 'That's How It Is' and 'You Can't Cry'.
- Performed lead vocals on many of The Great Society's early recordings and live shows.
Did You Know?
After The Great Society, he performed with a band called 'David Miner and His Friends.'
Some of his songwriting credits on early Great Society recordings are listed under the name 'David Minor.'
The Great Society's song 'Somebody to Love,' written by his bandmate Darby Slick, became a massive hit for Jefferson Airplane.
“We were just trying to catch the sound we heard in the air.”
