REST IN POWER
Musician David Crosby dead at 81Thu, January 19, 2023
Musician David Crosby performs onstage on April 5, 2014, in Los Angeles. Crosby has died at the age of 81. (Imeh Akpanudosen/Getty Images for LUTB - image credit)
David Crosby, whose soaring harmonies with two different iconic bands elevated him to musical stardom in the 1960s even as his famously volatile temper often fractured relations with his bandmates, has died at the age of 81, his family said.
A statement from Crosby's wife released to Variety magazine confirmed the musician's death "after a long illness" and said that he had died "lovingly surrounded by his wife and soulmate Jan and son Django."
In a career extending six decades, Crosby first spent three years with the Roger McGuinn-led Byrds, who scored No. 1 hits in the mid-60s with Mr. Tambourine Man and Turn, Turn, Turn.
Soon after he joined up with Stephen Stills, Graham Nash and, on occasion, Neil Young. Both configurations yielded mellow hits like Teach Your Children, Just A Song Before I Go and Wasted On the Way, as well as impassioned protest fare such as Wooden Ships, Almost Cut My Hair and Ohio.
Crosby also released eight solo albums, beginning with the acclaimed If I Could Only Remember My Name in 1971 and as recently as 2021's For Free.
Keystone/Getty Images
Crosby, more often than not sporting a walrus mustache, built a reputation over his career as one of rock's most colourful characters, a hedonistic connector of the artists who lived and amassed in the Laurel Canyon area of Los Angeles in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
"I couldn't shake the guy from my mind," Nash recalled of an early meeting, at the house of Cass Elliott of the Mamas and Papas, in his 2013 book Wild Tales: A Rock & Roll Life. "He was such a free spirit, so irreverent … the energy he put out was incredible."
Also, Nash noted, Crosby "had the best dope in Hollywood."
Crosby proselytized to his famous friends about a young Canadian singer-songwriter he'd seen, Joni Mitchell, and dated her for a time as her career ascended.
Peter Morgan/Reuters
Success and friction
However, he could exasperate bandmates with his undisciplined, opinionated ways. The Byrds fired him from the band and he burned bridges with his Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young partners near the end of his life.
"David had become insufferable," McGuinn said in the Cameron Crowe-directed documentary on Crosby's life, 2019's Remember My Name. "He was hard to hang out with."
Crosby admitted to having a volcanic temper and lamented the bridges burned in the same documentary.
"I still have friends, but all of the guys I made music with won't even talk to me," he said. "One of them hating my guts could be an accident. But McGuinn, Nash, Neil and Stephen all really dislike me, strongly."
Bandmate Graham Nash posted an Instagram tribute to Crosby late Thursday featuring a photo of their guitar cases side by side.
"I know people tend to focus on how volatile our relationship has been at times," he wrote, "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."
Nash said that Crosby was "fearless in life and in music. He leaves behind a tremendous void as far as sheer personality and talent in this world."
Crosby was also at a loss to explain how he had not become another young rock and roll casualty, with indulgences threatening to overcome him in the 1970s and 1980s.
He was arrested multiple times for drugs and weapons offences and served a prison sentence, while in the 1990s the accumulated toll on his health necessitated a liver transplant.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Pioneers of folk rock to Woodstock stage
Crosby was born Aug. 14, 1941 in Los Angeles, to a mother he described as doting and a father — Oscar-winning cinematographer Floyd Crosby — he found distant. Not an academic, Crosby found expression on stages, trying both acting and music.
After some earlier, unsuccessful attempts to establish himself as a folksinger, Crosby met McGuinn and early Byrds songwriter Gene Clark, with Michael Clarke and Chris Hillman also joining.
The Byrds electrified the songs of Bob Dylan and Pete Seeger alongside their original material, hailed in their evolving career as being pioneers of folk-rock and country-rock.
Crosby contributed the songs Ladyfriend, Why and Draft Morning to the band's catalogue but was shown the door in 1967, not long after angering his bandmates with an off-the-cuff onstage rant about the John F. Kennedy assassination at the 1967 Monterey Pop festival.
He more than landed on his feet the following year by joining Nash of Hollies fame and Stills from the defunct Buffalo Springfield.
The debut album of Crosby, Stills & Nash in 1969 was one of the iconic albums of its era, with Crosby earning songwriting credits on Wooden Ships, Long Time Gone and Guinnevere to go along with the smashes Suite: Judy Blue Eyes and Marrakesh Express.
The trio performed just their second-ever gig in front of hundreds of thousands at Woodstock in August 1969.
"We're scared shitless," Stills said from the stage by way of intro.
'Forever the catalyst, always intense'
In order to augment their stage act, Young was invited and reunited with his former Springfield bandmate Stills as a result.
Crosby wrote the title track to the quartet's 1970 smash Déjà Vu, which included the hits Teach Your Children, Our House and Helpless. The recording was a gut-wrenching affair for him, as his girlfriend, Christine Hinton, had been killed in a car accident in September 1969.
Young remembered Crosby's imprint on CSNY decades later in his 2012 book Waging Heavy Peace.
"Crosby was forever the catalyst, always intense, driving us further and further," said Young. "Just looking in those eyes made me want to deliver from the heart."
Crosby's anguished wails colour Young's contribution, Ohio, released as a single just weeks after four young people were killed at Kent State University in Ohio after national guardsmen fired indiscriminately as protesters demonstrated against U.S. military involvement in Vietnam and Cambodia.
CSNY embarked on one of rock's earliest stadium tours in 1974, and without Young recorded the well-received CSN album in 1977, featuring the top 10 hit Just A Song Before I Go.
But Crosby was soon on a downward spiral, with Timothy B. Schmit singing the part meant for him on the 1982 single Wasted on the Way.
"When he started to take a dive it was terrible to see. There was nothing we could do to stop him," wrote Young in his 2012 book, going on to describe an incident on an otherwise idyllic sailing excursion where Crosby felt the compulsion to freebase cocaine.
Reuters
Revelations, honours in the '90s
Crosby, wan and severely overweight, was sentenced to five years in prison in 1983, his lawyer unsuccessfully arguing he was in illegal possession of a gun because of fears for his safety after John Lennon's assassination three years earlier.
Crosby ultimately served seven months behind bars before moving to a halfway house, years later saying prison "saved my life," along with his 1987 marriage to wife Jan and subsequent drug recovery meetings. He would also form a bond and a professional relationship as a musician with an adult son, James, whose existence he had been unaware of until the 1990s.
Reuters
The Byrds were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1991, with Crosby, Stills & Nash getting that same honour six years later.
"For a guy who was supposed to be dead a couple years ago, I'm doing pretty well," Crosby said at the latter ceremony.
Meanwhile, it was learned a few years later, Crosby had been the sperm donor for two children born in the 1990s to singer Melissa Etheridge and her then-partner Julie Cypher.
CSNY had released albums in 1986 and 1999 that had received a muted response.
The group's 2006 Freedom of Speech tour came at a time of heightened passions over the U.S. military operation in Iraq. While most fans welcomed them back, Nash later wrote in his book it was also the first time the group "experienced people walking out of a CSNY concert" due to politics.
While Crosby collaborated in more recent years with artists such as Jason Isbell, Jonathan Wilson and John Mayer, his old friends swore off rejoining.
Crosby was caught publicly disparaging Young's wife, actor Daryl Hannah, who had a tumultuous end to her relationship with Crosby's friend, Jackson Browne. Nash commented soon after in an interview that Crosby had "tore the heart out of CSN and CSNY" as a result.
He continued to be up for benefits for a host of environmental and charitable causes, and lent his name to a marijuana business venture.
Folk-rock pioneer David Crosby dies at 81
Maggy DONALDSON
Thu, January 19, 2023
David Crosby, the trailblazing singer-songwriter whose time with The Byrds and later Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young expanded rock's range, has died, his publicist said Thursday. He was 81.
Citing a family member, his publicist confirmed the death to AFP but did not provide a cause. The singer's wife Jan Dance had earlier told entertainment outlet Variety that Crosby passed following a long illness.
"Although he is no longer here with us, his humanity and kind soul will continue to guide and inspire us. His legacy will continue to live on through his legendary music," read his wife's statement.
"Peace, love, and harmony to all who knew David and those he touched. We will miss him dearly."
The two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Famer -- known as much for his alternative guitar tunings, lush harmonies and abstract lyrics as for his pacifist activism, brutal honesty and living dangerously -- remained a prolific artist throughout his life.
Over the course of six decades in the music industry, the vocalist, guitarist and composer at the forefront of countercultural rock penned a rich array of heartfelt ballads and knife-edged bangers.
Tributes quickly poured in honoring the beloved musician with a signature walrus mustache.
"I don't know what to say other than I'm heartbroken to hear about David Crosby," tweeted Brian Wilson, co-founder of the Beach Boys.
"David was an unbelievable talent -- such a great singer and songwriter. And a wonderful person."
In a statement provided to AFP via a publicist, Stephen Sills said that while he and his former bandmate had their differences over the years -- Crosby was notoriously headstrong -- "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," Stills said of Crosby. "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."
- 'Tremendous void' -
Crosby first found fame as a member of The Byrds, who jumped into the public consciousness with their cover of Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man" before delivering classic hits including "Turn! Turn! Turn!"
But the famously blunt Crosby had a number of run-ins with his bandmates and was fired in 1967.
He struck up jam sessions with Stills, the artist who first found success with Buffalo Springfield.
Graham Nash joined the pair to form a supergroup that quickly jumped onto the charts with hits including "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" and "Our House," which Nash wrote while living with Joni Mitchell in Los Angeles' Laurel Canyon.
Neil Young eventually joined to form the best-known iteration of the group, producing some of the 1960s' top hits including "Ohio."
Crosby's sparring with both Young and Nash was well-documented, but the latter was quick to react to news of his bandmate's death, expressing "deep and profound sadness" while praising his "beautiful music" and "incredible legacy."
"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," Nash said in a statement. "David was fearless in life and in music."
"He leaves behind a tremendous void as far as sheer personality and talent in this world."
- 'A true treasure' -
For decades Crosby struggled with drug addiction and myriad health problems, but eventually got clean and got a liver transplant -- keeping only his penchant for weed.
He found a creative renaissance working with younger artists, including his son James.
"Normally, as you get older, you sort of peter out. You write less," he told AFP during an interview in 2021.
But writing with peers "extended my life as a writer tremendously," he said. "I just love making music."
Jason Isbell, who the artist collaborated with in his final decade, also voiced his sadness: "Grateful for the time we had with David Crosby. We'll miss him a lot."
Crosby also helped Melissa Etheridge, the rocker who found fame in the 1990s, and her partner conceive their children via sperm donation.
"He gave me the gift of family," Etheridge tweeted upon news of Crosby's death. "His music and legacy will inspire many generations to come. A true treasure."
In his twilight years Crosby became an avid tweeter, delighting fans with frenetic, often humorous missives, including reviews of their joints.
He loved answering fan questions, proclaiming his political opinions and skewering posts he thought were particularly dumb.
On his last day active on the platform, January 18, Crosby responded to one user's tweet sorting out who's allowed into heaven.
"I heard the place is overrated....cloudy," Crosby quipped.
Maggy DONALDSON
Thu, January 19, 2023
David Crosby, the trailblazing singer-songwriter whose time with The Byrds and later Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young expanded rock's range, has died, his publicist said Thursday. He was 81.
Citing a family member, his publicist confirmed the death to AFP but did not provide a cause. The singer's wife Jan Dance had earlier told entertainment outlet Variety that Crosby passed following a long illness.
"Although he is no longer here with us, his humanity and kind soul will continue to guide and inspire us. His legacy will continue to live on through his legendary music," read his wife's statement.
"Peace, love, and harmony to all who knew David and those he touched. We will miss him dearly."
The two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Famer -- known as much for his alternative guitar tunings, lush harmonies and abstract lyrics as for his pacifist activism, brutal honesty and living dangerously -- remained a prolific artist throughout his life.
Over the course of six decades in the music industry, the vocalist, guitarist and composer at the forefront of countercultural rock penned a rich array of heartfelt ballads and knife-edged bangers.
Tributes quickly poured in honoring the beloved musician with a signature walrus mustache.
"I don't know what to say other than I'm heartbroken to hear about David Crosby," tweeted Brian Wilson, co-founder of the Beach Boys.
"David was an unbelievable talent -- such a great singer and songwriter. And a wonderful person."
In a statement provided to AFP via a publicist, Stephen Sills said that while he and his former bandmate had their differences over the years -- Crosby was notoriously headstrong -- "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," Stills said of Crosby. "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."
- 'Tremendous void' -
Crosby first found fame as a member of The Byrds, who jumped into the public consciousness with their cover of Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man" before delivering classic hits including "Turn! Turn! Turn!"
But the famously blunt Crosby had a number of run-ins with his bandmates and was fired in 1967.
He struck up jam sessions with Stills, the artist who first found success with Buffalo Springfield.
Graham Nash joined the pair to form a supergroup that quickly jumped onto the charts with hits including "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" and "Our House," which Nash wrote while living with Joni Mitchell in Los Angeles' Laurel Canyon.
Neil Young eventually joined to form the best-known iteration of the group, producing some of the 1960s' top hits including "Ohio."
Crosby's sparring with both Young and Nash was well-documented, but the latter was quick to react to news of his bandmate's death, expressing "deep and profound sadness" while praising his "beautiful music" and "incredible legacy."
"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," Nash said in a statement. "David was fearless in life and in music."
"He leaves behind a tremendous void as far as sheer personality and talent in this world."
- 'A true treasure' -
For decades Crosby struggled with drug addiction and myriad health problems, but eventually got clean and got a liver transplant -- keeping only his penchant for weed.
He found a creative renaissance working with younger artists, including his son James.
"Normally, as you get older, you sort of peter out. You write less," he told AFP during an interview in 2021.
But writing with peers "extended my life as a writer tremendously," he said. "I just love making music."
Jason Isbell, who the artist collaborated with in his final decade, also voiced his sadness: "Grateful for the time we had with David Crosby. We'll miss him a lot."
Crosby also helped Melissa Etheridge, the rocker who found fame in the 1990s, and her partner conceive their children via sperm donation.
"He gave me the gift of family," Etheridge tweeted upon news of Crosby's death. "His music and legacy will inspire many generations to come. A true treasure."
In his twilight years Crosby became an avid tweeter, delighting fans with frenetic, often humorous missives, including reviews of their joints.
He loved answering fan questions, proclaiming his political opinions and skewering posts he thought were particularly dumb.
On his last day active on the platform, January 18, Crosby responded to one user's tweet sorting out who's allowed into heaven.
"I heard the place is overrated....cloudy," Crosby quipped.
David Crosby: the outspoken trailblazer of US folk-rock
Maggy DONALDSON
Thu, January 19, 2023
David Crosby, an influential musical pioneer of the 1960s and 1970s who created a distinctly American brand of folk-rock with the Byrds and later with Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, has died. He was 81.
The two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Famer -- known as much for his alternative guitar tunings, lush harmonies and abstract lyrics as for his pacifist activism, brutal honesty and living dangerously -- remained a prolific artist throughout his life.
Over the course of six decades in the music industry, the vocalist, guitarist, and composer at the forefront of countercultural rock penned a rich array of heartfelt ballads and knife-edged bangers.
Famous for his walrus mustache and his laid-back stage presence, often in jeans paired with flannels, he crafted subtle acoustic guitar riffs and multi-layered harmonies on tracks including CSNY's "Guinnevere," a gentle song rife with allusions to medieval myth.
But on other hard-hitting rock tracks like "Almost Cut My Hair" -- whose lyrics underscore the anti-establishment sentiment of the era's youth -- he showcased biting lyrics and almost caustic guitar work.
- 'Breaking the fourth wall' -
Born on August 14, 1941 in Los Angeles, Crosby was the second son of Oscar-winning cinematographer Floyd Crosby, while his mother, Aliph Van Cortlandt Whitehead, came from New York's prominent Van Cortlandt family.
Far from a straight-A student, Crosby participated in high school musicals and later studied drama at Santa Barbara City College, but quickly left academics behind to pursue music.
He found limited solo success before meeting Chicago musician Terry Callier, who introduced him to multi-instrumentalist Jim McGuinn -- a founding member of the Byrds.
The band soared to fame after putting out a cover of Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man," debuting what would become the Byrds' trademark 12-string sound.
The Byrds went on to produce hits including "Turn! Turn! Turn!" and "Eight Miles High," but Crosby's friction with his fellow rockers, not least due to his political conspiracy theorizing, led them to fire him in 1967.
"I was a difficult cat," Crosby said of the split in the raw, intensely introspective 2019 documentary "David Crosby: Remember My Name."
"And not easy. Big ego, no brains. Goofy."
Following a solo sailing trip, he began jamming with Stephen Stills, the singer-songwriter who started out with Buffalo Springfield. The duo were later joined by Graham Nash, who left the Hollies to join the supergroup.
Crosby, Stills and Nash found quick acclaim and released a number of Top 40 hits, including "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" and "Marrakesh Express."
Neil Young joined up shortly thereafter, and the band put out some of the most notable hits of the 60s, including "Ohio" -- about the US National Guard murder of four anti-war protesters at Kent State -- and their cover version of the generation's anthem, "Woodstock."
Crosby's talent was sometimes overshadowed by the guitar heroics of Stills and Young, but he is widely credited as a musician's musician who influenced scores of artists who followed.
"What I do isn't just guitar playing and singing. I'm not the best at either one of those," he told AFP in an interview in January 2021.
"What I'm really good at is breaking the fourth wall. Taking you on a little trip," he continued.
"Making you laugh, so then I can make you cry. That's my job."
- 'Love making music' -
CSNY faded in and out of popularity and underwent several reincarnations, with Young occasionally breaking off and going his own way. Other members also did some solo work or linked up in various duet combinations.
But the band never recovered from personal fallout between Crosby and both Nash and Young. As the four aged, Stills was the only one still speaking with Crosby.
"I think CSNY was a very good thing," Crosby told AFP in 2021. "And I'm very proud of it. And I think it's very finished."
Crosby had a successful solo career, releasing eight studio albums and a number of live and compilation records.
"Normally, as you get older, you sort of peter out. You write less," he said.
Writing with friends and his son James "extended my life as a writer tremendously," he told AFP. "I just love making music."
Crosby had a vibrant working relationship with folk legend Joni Mitchell, producing her debut record, 1967's "Song to a Seagull."
The pair had a brief, tumultuous romance, eventually rekindling a friendship that endured well into their twilight years.
- Crossing boundaries -
For all of his musical influence, Crosby was perhaps just as known for his extraordinarily large life -- one brimming with tragedy, love affairs, romantic bad blood, addiction and an ultimate return from the edge.
"I think I didn't have a clue," he said of his young life in the 2019 documentary. "I don't think I was a good lover. I don't think I was a good person, companion. I think I was selfish. And wacko. And I got more wacko as time went on."
"There was boundaries I crossed that you haven't thought of yet."
His girlfriend Christine Hinton died in a car crash in 1969 while taking their cats to the vet, a devastating event that triggered Crosby's spiral into cocaine and heroin addiction.
"Addiction takes you over like fire takes over a burning building," he said. "I went completely off the rails."
In 1983, a court convicted him of cocaine possession and carrying a loaded pistol. He served five months behind bars before release on parole.
A litany of health problems accompanied his hard living, including diabetes, several heart attacks and a liver transplant due to Hepatitis C in 1994.
But he weaned himself off hard drugs and spent his last several decades experiencing a creative renaissance, swinging between touring and enjoying life in California with his wife since 1987, Jan Dance.
He only smoked weed -- and found Twitter fame for both his pithy quips and social media reviews of fans' joints.
"Time is the final currency. And so how do you spend it?" he said in the documentary. "I want to be a guy who is loving... that's what I'm striving for."
"I like loving my children and my wife and my dogs," he continued.
"And my music."
Maggy DONALDSON
Thu, January 19, 2023
David Crosby, an influential musical pioneer of the 1960s and 1970s who created a distinctly American brand of folk-rock with the Byrds and later with Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, has died. He was 81.
The two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Famer -- known as much for his alternative guitar tunings, lush harmonies and abstract lyrics as for his pacifist activism, brutal honesty and living dangerously -- remained a prolific artist throughout his life.
Over the course of six decades in the music industry, the vocalist, guitarist, and composer at the forefront of countercultural rock penned a rich array of heartfelt ballads and knife-edged bangers.
Famous for his walrus mustache and his laid-back stage presence, often in jeans paired with flannels, he crafted subtle acoustic guitar riffs and multi-layered harmonies on tracks including CSNY's "Guinnevere," a gentle song rife with allusions to medieval myth.
But on other hard-hitting rock tracks like "Almost Cut My Hair" -- whose lyrics underscore the anti-establishment sentiment of the era's youth -- he showcased biting lyrics and almost caustic guitar work.
- 'Breaking the fourth wall' -
Born on August 14, 1941 in Los Angeles, Crosby was the second son of Oscar-winning cinematographer Floyd Crosby, while his mother, Aliph Van Cortlandt Whitehead, came from New York's prominent Van Cortlandt family.
Far from a straight-A student, Crosby participated in high school musicals and later studied drama at Santa Barbara City College, but quickly left academics behind to pursue music.
He found limited solo success before meeting Chicago musician Terry Callier, who introduced him to multi-instrumentalist Jim McGuinn -- a founding member of the Byrds.
The band soared to fame after putting out a cover of Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man," debuting what would become the Byrds' trademark 12-string sound.
The Byrds went on to produce hits including "Turn! Turn! Turn!" and "Eight Miles High," but Crosby's friction with his fellow rockers, not least due to his political conspiracy theorizing, led them to fire him in 1967.
"I was a difficult cat," Crosby said of the split in the raw, intensely introspective 2019 documentary "David Crosby: Remember My Name."
"And not easy. Big ego, no brains. Goofy."
Following a solo sailing trip, he began jamming with Stephen Stills, the singer-songwriter who started out with Buffalo Springfield. The duo were later joined by Graham Nash, who left the Hollies to join the supergroup.
Crosby, Stills and Nash found quick acclaim and released a number of Top 40 hits, including "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" and "Marrakesh Express."
Neil Young joined up shortly thereafter, and the band put out some of the most notable hits of the 60s, including "Ohio" -- about the US National Guard murder of four anti-war protesters at Kent State -- and their cover version of the generation's anthem, "Woodstock."
Crosby's talent was sometimes overshadowed by the guitar heroics of Stills and Young, but he is widely credited as a musician's musician who influenced scores of artists who followed.
"What I do isn't just guitar playing and singing. I'm not the best at either one of those," he told AFP in an interview in January 2021.
"What I'm really good at is breaking the fourth wall. Taking you on a little trip," he continued.
"Making you laugh, so then I can make you cry. That's my job."
- 'Love making music' -
CSNY faded in and out of popularity and underwent several reincarnations, with Young occasionally breaking off and going his own way. Other members also did some solo work or linked up in various duet combinations.
But the band never recovered from personal fallout between Crosby and both Nash and Young. As the four aged, Stills was the only one still speaking with Crosby.
"I think CSNY was a very good thing," Crosby told AFP in 2021. "And I'm very proud of it. And I think it's very finished."
Crosby had a successful solo career, releasing eight studio albums and a number of live and compilation records.
"Normally, as you get older, you sort of peter out. You write less," he said.
Writing with friends and his son James "extended my life as a writer tremendously," he told AFP. "I just love making music."
Crosby had a vibrant working relationship with folk legend Joni Mitchell, producing her debut record, 1967's "Song to a Seagull."
The pair had a brief, tumultuous romance, eventually rekindling a friendship that endured well into their twilight years.
- Crossing boundaries -
For all of his musical influence, Crosby was perhaps just as known for his extraordinarily large life -- one brimming with tragedy, love affairs, romantic bad blood, addiction and an ultimate return from the edge.
"I think I didn't have a clue," he said of his young life in the 2019 documentary. "I don't think I was a good lover. I don't think I was a good person, companion. I think I was selfish. And wacko. And I got more wacko as time went on."
"There was boundaries I crossed that you haven't thought of yet."
His girlfriend Christine Hinton died in a car crash in 1969 while taking their cats to the vet, a devastating event that triggered Crosby's spiral into cocaine and heroin addiction.
"Addiction takes you over like fire takes over a burning building," he said. "I went completely off the rails."
In 1983, a court convicted him of cocaine possession and carrying a loaded pistol. He served five months behind bars before release on parole.
A litany of health problems accompanied his hard living, including diabetes, several heart attacks and a liver transplant due to Hepatitis C in 1994.
But he weaned himself off hard drugs and spent his last several decades experiencing a creative renaissance, swinging between touring and enjoying life in California with his wife since 1987, Jan Dance.
He only smoked weed -- and found Twitter fame for both his pithy quips and social media reviews of fans' joints.
"Time is the final currency. And so how do you spend it?" he said in the documentary. "I want to be a guy who is loving... that's what I'm striving for."
"I like loving my children and my wife and my dogs," he continued.
"And my music."
Neil Young drops rift to praise Crosby as 'soul' of CSNY
Issued on: 20/01/2023 -
New York (AFP) – Neil Young hailed the late David Crosby as "the soul" of their supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, paying homage Friday to the former bandmate he shared a decade-long feud with.
Crosby, the singer-songwriter who pushed past rock's confines as a co-founder of CSNY as well as The Byrds, died this week at the age of 81.
Crosby's head-butting with Young as well as Graham Nash and even at times Stephen Stills was well-documented, and was cited as a reason the band behind hits including "Ohio" broke up -- multiple times.
Their final appearance as a quartet was in 2013 at a benefit, after which Young and Crosby became estranged over disparaging comments the notoriously brash Crosby made about Young's partner.
Crosby made attempts to apologize, but the damage was done.
But following Crosby's death, Young focused on his longtime collaborator's artistry and their band's legend.
"David's voice and energy were at the heart of our band," Young wrote on his website. "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," the "Heart of Gold" singer continued. "David was the catalyst of many things."
"Thanks David for your spirit and songs, Love you man. I remember the best times!"
When news of Crosby's death broke one day prior, Nash had also put aside his falling out with his collaborator to honor his legacy: "David was fearless in life and in music."
"He leaves behind a tremendous void as far as sheer personality and talent in this world."
And Stills, the only bandmate still speaking to Crosby at the time of his death, called him "a giant of a musician."
"The glue that held us together as our vocals soared, like Icarus, towards the sun."
For years fans had hoped for a CSNY reunion, a door that officially closed with Crosby's passing.
"I think CSNY was a very good thing," Crosby told AFP in 2021. "And I'm very proud of it."
"And I think it's very finished."
Issued on: 20/01/2023 -
New York (AFP) – Neil Young hailed the late David Crosby as "the soul" of their supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, paying homage Friday to the former bandmate he shared a decade-long feud with.
Crosby, the singer-songwriter who pushed past rock's confines as a co-founder of CSNY as well as The Byrds, died this week at the age of 81.
Crosby's head-butting with Young as well as Graham Nash and even at times Stephen Stills was well-documented, and was cited as a reason the band behind hits including "Ohio" broke up -- multiple times.
Their final appearance as a quartet was in 2013 at a benefit, after which Young and Crosby became estranged over disparaging comments the notoriously brash Crosby made about Young's partner.
Crosby made attempts to apologize, but the damage was done.
But following Crosby's death, Young focused on his longtime collaborator's artistry and their band's legend.
"David's voice and energy were at the heart of our band," Young wrote on his website. "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," the "Heart of Gold" singer continued. "David was the catalyst of many things."
"Thanks David for your spirit and songs, Love you man. I remember the best times!"
When news of Crosby's death broke one day prior, Nash had also put aside his falling out with his collaborator to honor his legacy: "David was fearless in life and in music."
"He leaves behind a tremendous void as far as sheer personality and talent in this world."
And Stills, the only bandmate still speaking to Crosby at the time of his death, called him "a giant of a musician."
"The glue that held us together as our vocals soared, like Icarus, towards the sun."
For years fans had hoped for a CSNY reunion, a door that officially closed with Crosby's passing.
"I think CSNY was a very good thing," Crosby told AFP in 2021. "And I'm very proud of it."
"And I think it's very finished."
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