Singer-songwriter David Crosby has passed away at the age of 81.

By Maggie On Jan 20, 2023

Singer-songwriter David Crosby has passed away at the age of 81. His family reported on Thursday that folk-rock pioneer David Crosby has passed away. Crosby was a founding member of both The Byrds and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

He was 81.

We mourn the loss of our much loved David (Croz) Crosby, who went away after a lengthy illness. According to a statement released by the Crosby family, “he was warmly embraced by his wife and soulmate Jan and son Django.” Although he is no longer physically present among us, his humanism and kind spirit will always serve as an inspiration and a guide. Those that listen to his excellent music today will be listening to his legacy forever.

In 1991, Crosby and the Byrds were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in 1997, Crosby, Stills, and Nash—featuring Stephen Stills and Graham Nash—were given the same honor.

“May peace, love, and harmony find all those who knew David and were affected by him,” the message said. “All of we’ll sorely miss him.”

Achieved from a humble beginning.

Crosby, born in Santa Barbara and the son of Oscar-winning cinematographer Floyd Crosby, relocated to Los Angeles in 1960 to pursue an acting career.

But music was calling him, so in 1963 he joined forces with Roger McGuinn and Gene Clark to establish the rock band The Byrds.

In 1965, the group was among the nominees for the Grammy Award for Best New Artist.

The Byrds had a smash with “Turn! Turn! Turn!” in 1965, and the movie Forrest Gump brought it back into the spotlight in the mid-1990s.

As a member of the band Crosby, Stills, and Nash, Crosby received a Grammy Award for best new artist in 1970.

Woodstock 1969 featured performances by Crosby, Stills, and Nash. Their meteoric rise to fame began with only their second-ever live performance as a group.

With songs like “Marrakesh Express” and “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes,” the debut album by Crosby, Stills, and Nash (1969) was an instant sensation.

After adding Neil Young in 1970, the band produced “Déjà Vu,” which featured the top 40 hit “Woodstock,” under their new moniker Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

Although most known for his solo work, Crosby recorded with Carole King, Joni Mitchell, the Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia, Bill Kreutzmann, and Phil Lesh.

Crosby is often cited as the person who first found Mitchell, whom he later dated.

A person who is “very pleased with life.”

This rock star has a history of drug abuse and was incarcerated for five months due to drug and weapon offenses. After serving time for drug offenses, he was released in 1986.

He told the Guardian in 2021, “They confined me in a box, and I got off drugs, and trust me, it changes you utterly.” When you stop dying yourself and start caring for your family, acting like an upstanding citizen, and pursuing your artistic passions, “you move from not wanting to live to be quite proud of existing.”

And in recent years especially, Crosby has been very candid about his health issues.

He had a liver transplant in 1994. In addition to openly dealing with his diabetes treatment and several heart operations, he has also undergone these.

Crosby told NME in 2021 that keeping his musical career going was what kept him “alive.”

‘My family and the music are the two (centers) of my existence,’ he continued. To have the opportunity to create music at my elderly age is nothing short of a miracle.

They tied the knot in 1987. Django was the couple’s only child.

He made me a member of the family.

Melissa Etheridge, who used Crosby as a sperm donor to have two daughters with ex-partner Julie Cypher, expressed her sadness at his passing in an Instagram post, writing, “grieving the loss of my friend.”

They were a family because of him, she wrote.

Nash, Crosby’s former bandmate, paid tribute to him on Facebook on Thursday, saying, “what has always important to David and me more than anything was the pure joy of the music we created together,” despite their “volatile” relationship.

“David was bold in life and in music,” the statement continued. There will be a massive hole in the realm of pure personality and talent that he leaves behind. He left behind wonderful music that conveyed his thoughts, feelings, and passions. This is the crux of the situation.

In a Facebook post, Stills, the other member of Crosby, Stills & Nash, wrote, “it is only the memory of such a distinctive and complete life so well lived that must sustain us through this period of terrible sadness.”

An additional quote from the statement reads, “David lived a life of profound and enduring gratitude and was an outstanding, richly sentient human,” and declares that “his music will live on through us all.”

The news was met by a Facebook post from Carole King, who had performed “You Got a Buddy” with Crosby and Nash in 1994: “my old friend David is gone, but he left us with his words, his music, and his lovely voice.”

The leader of the Beach Boys, Brian Wilson, also expressed his sadness online, writing that he was “heartbroken.”

“David was a brilliant musician, songwriter, and singer. And a great human being,” he said.