David Crosby, American singer-songwriter and founding member of The Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash, has died at the age of 81.
The news was first shared with the public by his wife Jan Dance, who wrote:
“It is with immense sadness that I have to announce that my beloved David (Croz) Crosby has passed away after a long illness. He was surrounded by family and by love, with his son Django and me at his side. Though he is no longer here with us, his humanity and gentle soul will continue to be our inspiration. His legacy will live on through his legendary music.”
“To everyone who knew David or was touched in any way by his music and poetry, I send peace, love and harmony. We will miss him dearly. In these hard moments of immense grief, we kindly and respectfully ask for a little privacy. Thank you for your prayers and love.”
David Crosby was born David Van Cortlandt Crosby in 1941 in Los Angeles. He studied drama at college in Santa Barbara, but dropped out to throw himself into music. Together with Jim (later Roger) McGuinn, Chris Hillman, Gene Clarke and Michael Clarke, he founded The Byrds in 1964. They became famous almost overnight, having started out playing covers of artists like Bob Dylan and Pete Seeger, before McGuinn even got around to writing original material. Crosby left his co-writing mark on, for example, the psychedelic classic Eight Miles Out in 1966, but two years later he was kicked out of the band.
Next came Crosby, Stills & Nash. Keeping him company were Stephen Stills, who came over from Buffalo Springfield, and former Hollies member Graham Nash. Only their second-ever gig took them to the unforgettable Woodstock festival in August 1969, and later that same year they released their self-titled studio debut.
In 1970 Neil Young joined the trio, and the band meaningfully expanded its name to Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. They put out their first album, “Deja Vu,” that same year, and three singles from it brought them commercial success: Woodstock, Teach Your Children and Our House.
Crosby released his solo studio debut, let’s just call it a cult classic, “If I Could Only Remember My Name,” in 1971, with guest appearances from Neil Young, Graham Nash, Joni Mitchell, Jerry Garcia of The Grateful Dead, Micky Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, and members of Santana and Jefferson Airplane.
David Crosby was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice: as a member of The Byrds in 1991, and later as a member of Crosby, Stills & Nash in 1997.
As a musician and artist, he was probably best known for his distinctive high vocals, which built a kind of harmony all on their own within the songs. Nearly as much notoriety came from his fragile, short-lived collaborations with musical partners, and above all from his battles with alcohol and drug addiction.
Thanks to his use of various substances, led by cocaine and psychotropics, David Crosby spent nine months in prison in 1985, convicted of drug and weapons possession. That same year he was also convicted of drunk driving after crashing his car into a fence. Cops found cocaine in his car, along with a hidden .45-caliber pistol. Convictions for drug and weapons possession came up again in 2004.
Once David Crosby managed to kick drugs, it became more than obvious that he’d started getting along better with the world around him. That sparked a rebirth of his solo career, with a string of critically acclaimed solo and live albums, including last year’s “David Crosby & The Lighthouse Band Live at the Capitol Theatre.” In 2019, director Cameron Crowe produced the film “David Crosby: Remember My Name,” a documentary covering Crosby’s long and colorful musical career.
