David Crosby was a true icon of the music world.
According to Variety, 81-year-old David Crosby, a renowned songwriter and former member of The Byrds and Crosby Stills Nash and Young, has passed away.
After a protracted illness, “it is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved David (Croz) Crosby,” his wife said in a statement. He was devotedly surrounded by his soulmate Jan, his wife, and their son Django. Even though he is no longer among us, his kindness and humanity will serve as a constant example for us. Through his legendary music, he will continue to leave a lasting legacy. To everyone who knew David and the people he impacted, peace, love, and harmony. He will be sorely missed. We respectfully and humbly request privacy at this time while we grieve and work to come to terms with our great loss. I appreciate the prayers and love.
The Childhood
The second child of Academy Award-winning cinematographer Floyd Crosby, Crosby was born on August 14, 1941. After leaving school, he established himself as a solo performer in California’s blossoming folk scene before joining The Byrds teammates Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, Chris Hillman, and Michael Clarke in 1964, which forever altered rock history.
With their cover of Bob Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man,” the group scored a No. 1 hit and debuted the layered vocal harmonies that would become their trademark. During a productive three-year period, Crosby contributed to five albums, but his unyielding character hurt people’s feelings. He and the other members of The Byrds decided to split after a contentious engagement with Buffalo Springfield at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, during which he disseminated rumors regarding the killing of John F. Kennedy, Jr.
Emergence of supergroups
With Graham Nash of The Hollies and Stephen Stills of Buffalo Springfield, he co-founded Crosby Stills and Nash in 1968, a lineup that is frequently credited with popularising the supergroup in rock & roll. The trio’s 1969 self-titled debut earned them a Grammy for Best New Artist and that same year Neil Young started performing with them live, including at Woodstock. They were known as CSNY as a foursome, and starting with the album Deja Vu in the 1970s, they had a significant impact on both music and the broader counterculture movement.
Even though the band’s hard-partying lifestyle in the glitzy Laurel Canyon scene may have contributed to their short tempers, Crosby started to get on his bandmates’ nerves once more. Over the intervening years, CSN and CSNY took several breaks before reuniting on occasion to tour, record music, and fight once more.
Independent artist and savage icon
If I Could Only Remember My Name, the first of Crosby’s eight solo albums, which has been called a tentpole of the early freak-folk genre, was published in 1971. He frequently disagreed with Stills and Young, but he stayed close to Graham Nash, with whom he recorded three albums: Wind on the Water in 1975, Whistling Down the Wire in 1976, and Crosby & Nash in 2004.
He first released Oh Yes I Can as a solo artist in 1989. Thousand Roads was his next studio album, published in 1993. He underwent a liver transplant in 1994 after years of alcohol and cocaine misuse along with Hepatitis C-related liver illness. Phil Collins covered the cost of the procedure.
In honor of himself, guitarist Jeff Pevar, and his long-estranged son, pianist James Raymond, he established CPR after getting better. CPR launched its self-titled debut album in 1998, and Just Like Gravity was released in 2001.
In the course of his protracted and complicated career, he played the pirate Tickles in Steven Spielberg’s Hook, got into a fight with Spotify, and gave advice to aspiring musicians like “Don’t become a musician.”
Crosby was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice: once in 1991 while a member of The Byrds and again in 1997 while performing with Crosby Stills and Nash.
His death was lamented by people in the entertainment industry. He will be much missed, Jason Isbell wrote. David was a fantastic singer and songwriter with an extraordinary gift. A wonderful person, too. I just don’t know what to say,” Brian Wilson continued. More tributes to Crosby can be found here.
He will be deeply missed by his family, friends, and fans, but his music will continue to inspire and uplift us for years to come. Rest in peace, David Crosby.