The influential American singer-songwriter David Crosby is dead. The musician (“Mr. Tambourine Man”) died at the age of 81 “after a long illness”, like his wife told the magazine Variety communicated. The TV station NBC also confirmed the death on Thursday (local time), citing a source close to the family.
“Though he is no longer here with us, his humanity and kind soul will continue to guide and inspire us. His legacy will live on through his legendary music,” the statement said.
The singer and guitarist was born in Los Angeles in 1941 and for his two bands The Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash twice inducted into the “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame”. His early days as a folk-rock musician took him to new heights with the Byrds, which he co-founded with Roger McGuinn and Gene Clark.
Crosby was also at the legendary Woodstock Festival
From 1964 to 1967 he recorded five key US folk rock albums and had several hits (alongside “Mr. Tambourine Man”, “Turn! Turn! Turn!” and “So You Want to Be a Rock ‘n’ Roll Star”). Quarrels, constant companions of his career and his life, led to Crosby’s expulsion. But he fell softly and formed with Stephen Stills (Buffalo Springfield) and Graham Nash (The Hollies) soon became the supergroup Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN).
At times, Canadian Neil Young joined as the fourth studio and live member, including at the famous Woodstock Festival in 1969 Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (CSNY). Blessed with a wonderfully clear, bright voice, Crosby concentrated on his solo debut “If I Could Only Remember My Name…” in the early ’70s. Other records with his companions Stills, Nash and Young, some of whom were in a love-hate relationship, followed sporadically.
Drug escapades and his personal life often got in the way of Crosby. One halfway documented anecdote from the great fog of his life is a liver he had to have transplanted – paid for by none other than Phil Collins. And a scene where he bribed the Mexican Coast Guard, $7 a head, to keep the drugs that a vigilante had previously stashed on his yacht to get him. When he landed a guest role on The Simpsons, the creators scripted this dialogue between him and the always-drunk Barney Gumble.
Barney: “You are my hero!”
Crosby: “Oh, you like my music?”
Barney: “Oh, you’re a musician?”
Nevertheless, Crosby later wrote remarkable albums. The five most recently presented solo works are among the most beautiful and noble things David Crosby has done in his long career – from “Croz” (2014) to “For Free” (2021) an impressive late work. Last year he finally announced that he was now too old for concerts and that he lacked the strength.