Tollbooth was formally reborn as Jefferson Starship in early 1974. Kantner, Slick and the three remaining late-Airplane holdovers (vocalist/bassist/keyboardist David Freiberg, drummer John Barbata, and fiddler Papa John Creach) were joined by Chaquico and Pete Sears, a contributor to previous solo efforts by Creach and Slick who alternated with Freiberg on bass and keyboards. Following a long sabbatical, Marty Balin began to work with Jefferson Starship while their first album, Dragon Fly, was still in the works, co-writing the early power ballad "Caroline" with Kantner and performing the song on the album. Although "Caroline" failed to chart, the album peaked at No. 11, better than any Jefferson Airplane-related effort in three years. By 1975's bestselling Red Octopus (including the No. 3 hit "Miracles"), Balin was a full member and had ensconced himself as a major creative force in the group with the epochal song. Both Red Octopus and 1976's Spitfire (which featured another Balin-penned hit in the No. 12 "With Your Love") saw Kantner amalgamate his usual songwriting approach with the soft rock ethos favored by the group in such songs as "I Want To See Another World," "St. Charles" (a minor hit that peaked at No. 64 in 1976) and the "Song to the Sun" suite. Although Earth (1978) – to which Kantner contributed just one song – duplicated the success of Red Octopus and Spitfire with two major Balin-sung soft rock hits (Jesse Barish's "Count on Me" [No. 8] and N. Q. Dewey's "Runaway" [No. 12]), Jefferson Starship saw major personnel changes before year's end. Slick had left Kantner in 1975 to marry Skip Johnson, a Jefferson Starship roadie. Despite the dissolution of their romantic relationship, she remained with the band through June 1978, when she left the group to seek rehabilitation for her alcoholism after Kantner asked for her resignation following two disastrous concerts in Germany. Shortly thereafter, Balin quit the group in October 1978 to pursue a solo career. While no attempt was made to replace Slick, Balin was soon replaced by Mickey Thomas, who had previously achieved success as a member of the Elvin Bishop Group. Freedom at Point Zero, a hard rock album dominated by Kantner compositions, was released in November 1979; it marked the band's last Top Ten album (peaking at No. 10) and included the No. 14 "Jane", a collaboration between Freiberg, musician Jim McPherson, Kantner and Chaquico. Kantner's new wave-inspired "Girl