Spencer Dryden est né le 7 avril 1938 dans l'état de New York, États-Unis. Il était marié à Sally Mann Romano et Jeannie Davis. Il est mort le 11 janvier 2005 en Californie, États-Unis.
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.