Spencer Dryden nació el 7 de abril de 1938 en Nueva York, Nueva York, EE.UU.. Estuvo casado con Sally Mann y Jeannie Davis. Murió el 11 de enero de 2005 en California, Estados Unidos.
He attended the Appeal I at the San Francisco Mime Troupe's company's loft on Howard Street in San Francisco, California with Charles Perry; Sandy Bull; Allen Ginsberg; The Frogs and Jefferson Airplane were in attendance.. Bill Graham was promoter. R. G. Davis was artistic director.
After leaving Jefferson Airplane in 1971, he moved over to another Bay Area band, The New Riders of the Purple Sage, became their drummer and stayed through the late 1970s, when he stepped down from the drum kit and became their manager for several years.