In the early to mid-'60s, he was playing with bands that opened shows for the
Rolling Stones,
Dave Clark 5,
The Shangri-Las,
Lee Dorsey,
Lou Christie,
Chad and Jeremy,
Jimmy Beaumont and the Skyliners, among others. He also had a stint playing drums for
Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars featuring acts such as
the Supremes. In 1965, Covington became associated with a Pittsburgh band, The Fenways. While he was with The Fenways he played drums on 4 singles which included "I'm a Mover". Covington settled in Los Angeles in late 1966. He was quickly discovered and produced by famed producer/songwriter
Kim Fowley as a singing drummer. The single released was a cover of
The Who's "Boris The Spider" with "I'll Do Better Next Time" on the B side (the first song Covington ever wrote). He co-formed several bands in Los Angeles during that period. Tsong with Mickey Rooney Jr., and a yet-to-be-named band with
Papa John Creach,
Jimmy Greenspoon and Joe Schermie. Papa John later was brought in by Covington to Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna, Jefferson Starship and went on to a long solo recording career. Jimmy & Joe went on to become members of
Three Dog Night. A member of Jefferson Airplane, Covington at first co-formed Hot Tuna with Jefferson Airplane members Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady in late 1968 with Hot Tuna opening shows for the Airplane. In early 1969 Covington was playing in both Hot Tuna and augmenting, then ultimately replacing Airplane drummer
Spencer Dryden. Covington, whose first recording with the Airplane was on the classic 1969 album Volunteers, appeared on the group's final recordings, writing and singing "Pretty As You Feel". 1971's "Pretty As You Feel" was the last hit song of Jefferson Airplane. The bandmembers were heading in different musical directions and by 1974, Jefferson Airplane broke up. Covington performed with Jefferson Airplane at the Atlantic City (New Jersey, USA) Pop Festival in August 1969 just prior to Woodstock. He was particularly enthralled with Little Richard, as he watched from the side on stage along with Grace Slick. This led to an invitation to Little Richard to join him at a recording session in San Francisco, CA, USA, which resulted in the still-unreleased "Bludgeon of a Bluecoat aka The Man", featuring Richard on piano. It was scheduled for release in 1992 but withheld yet again due to lyric content, when rapper Ice T's "Cop Killer" was removed from record stores in 1992. Covington left Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna and turned down Jefferson Starship to record a solo album: ''Joe E. Covington's Fat Fandango
that included the single "Your Heart Is My Heart". The album was released worldwide resulting in high sales and critical acclaim. According to his official website, Fat Fandango'' was released to all online music platforms in October 2019. Never quite leaving the Airplane family, he co-wrote the award-winning and multi-platinum hit in 1976 for Jefferson Starship, "With Your Love", and Papa John Creach's only top 40 hit, "Janitor Drives A Cadillac". ==1980s to 2000s==