Jefferson Airplane drummer Joey Covington dies Former Jefferson Airplane drummer Joey Covington has died in a Palm Springs car crash. A Riverside County coroner's report says the 67-year-old Palm Springs resident wasn't wearing a seat belt when his car hit a retaining wall at about 5 p.m. Tuesday. He died at the scene. The Palm Springs Desert Sun says police don't believe alcohol or drugs were involved. A friend, Keith McCormick, tells the paper that Covington's wife, Lauren, suspects he had a stroke or heart attack before the accident. Covington replaced Spencer Dryden as the Airplane's drummer from 1970-72. Before that, he was with the Airplane offshoot Hot Tuna and played congas on the 1969 Airplane album "Volunteers." Covington co-wrote several Airplane songs, including "Pretty as You Feel" and the 1976 tune "With Your Love."