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Friday, January 20, 2023

DAVID CROSBY,
1941-2023

David Crosby, a crucial force in rock as a founding member of The Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash, died on 1/19. He was 81. No cause of death was disclosed.

"It is with profound sadness that I learned that my friend David Crosby has passed," bandmate Graham Nash said in a statement to HITS. "I know people tend to focus on how volatile our relationship has been at times, but what has always mattered to David and me more than anything was the pure joy of the music we created together, the sound we discovered with one another and the deep friendship we shared over all these many long years. David was fearless in life and in music.

"He leaves behind a tremendous void as far as sheer personality and talent in this world. He spoke his mind, his heart and his passion through his beautiful music and leaves an incredible legacy. These are the things that matter most. My heart is truly with his wife, Jan, his son, Django, and all of the people he has touched in this world."

In a separate statement, Stephen Stills said: “David and I butted heads a lot over time, but they were mostly glancing blows yet still left us numb skulls. I was happy to be at peace with him. He was, without question, a giant of a musician, and his harmonic sensibilities were nothing short of genius, the glue that held us together as our vocals soared, like Icarus, towards the sun. I am deeply saddened at his passing and shall miss him beyond measure."

Neil Young wrote on his website: “David is gone, but his music lives on. The soul of CSNY, David’s voice and energy were at the heart of our band. His great songs stood for what we believed in and it was always fun and exciting when we got to play together.

“We had so many great times, especially in the early years. Crosby was a very supportive friend in my early life, as we bit off big pieces of our experience together. David was the catalyst of many things.”

Crosby was one of rock's great vocalists and a harmony singer virtually without equal, renowned for lending gorgeous, mysterious depth to songs with parts that were notoriously difficult to isolate, let alone replicate.

A two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Crosby formed The Byrds with Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, Chris Hillman and Michael Clarke in 1964. The pioneering group helped usher in the folk-rock era with albums like 1965's Mr. Tambourine Man and Turn! Turn! Turn! and 1966's Fifth Dimension.

After Crosby's departure from The Byrds in 1967, he formed CSN in 1968 with Nash—previously a member of The Hollies—and Buffalo Springfield alumnus Stills. Their self-titled 1969 debut spawned two Top 40 hits, "Marrakesh Express" and "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes."

That same year, the group expanded when Neil Young, who'd also been in Buffalo Springfield, joined the lineup to create Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. The foursome performed memorably at Woodstock, and their inaugural album, the epochal, septuple-platinum #1 Déjà Vu—delivered hits "Woodstock," "Teach Your Children" and "Our House."

While the songs Crosby wrote for The Byrds and CSN weren't the ones that dominated radio airplay, they established him as a counter-culture torchbearer and are today considered classics of the period. They include "Long Time Gone," "Triad" (which The Byrds rejected), "Almost Cut My Hair," "Wooden Ships" and the entirety of his 1971 solo debut, If I Could Only Remember My Name, recorded with Stills, Nash, The Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane. That album, largely dismissed by critics and fans at the time of its release, would influence a generation of folk-rock artists in the first two decades of the 21st century.

If I Could Only Remember My Name, CSNY’s Déjà Vu, Crosby Stills & Nash and greatest-hits sets by CSN and The Byrds shot into the Top 20 at iTunes in the hours after Crosby's death was announced.

Crosby and Nash recorded three albums together during the '70s and CSN—and sometimes Y—reunited for tours and albums over the subsequent decades. Crosby struggled with substance abuse throughout the '70s and '80s and in 1994 required a liver transplant—paid for by Phil Collins—due to a long bout with hepatitis C. He also suffered from Type 2 diabetes and heart issues.

He worked steadily as a touring artist until COVID-19 shut down live entertainment. Crosby formed the band CPR with the son he gave up for adoption, James Raymond, and Jeff Pevar. He released six solo albums between 2014 and last year, the latest being Live at the Capitol Theatre.

In early 2021, Crosby sold his publishing and recorded-music rights to Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group, and last year he announced that he would continue to record but not tour.

Known for his "spirited" personality, Crosby was active on Twitter up until Wednesday (1/18).

TAGS: David Crosby | Crosby | Stills & Nash | The Byrds | Obit | Graham Nash | Stephen Stills
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