David Crosby

Born:

Aug 14, 1941

Died:

Jan 18, 2023

About

From Wikipedia:

David Van Cortlandt Crosby (August 14, 1941 – January 18, 2023) was an American musician and singer-songwriter. He first found fame as a member of the Byrds, with whom he helped pioneer the genres of folk rock and psychedelia in the mid-1960s, and later as part of the supergroup Crosby, Stills & Nash, who helped popularize the “California sound” of the 1970s. In addition to his music, Crosby was known for his outspoken personality, politics, and personal troubles; he was sometimes depicted as emblematic of the counterculture of the 1960s.

After performing in the folk music scene, Crosby co-founded the Byrds in 1964. They scored their first number-one hit in 1965 with a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man”. Crosby appeared on the Byrds’ first five albums and the original lineup’s 1973 reunion album. In 1968, he formed Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN) with Stephen Stills and Graham Nash. After the release of their debut album, CSN won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist of 1969. The group later occasionally included Neil Young. The core trio of CSN remained active from 1976 until 2016, and the duo of Crosby & Nash also recorded three gold albums in the 1970s. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (CSNY) reunions were held in each decade from the 1970s through the 2000s.

Crosby released eight solo albums, albeit sporadically, over the course of his career. His solo debut was 1971’s If I Could Only Remember My Name. The last five of his solo albums, beginning with Croz (2014), came in the last decade of his life. Additionally, he formed a jazz-influenced trio with his son James Raymond and guitarist Jeff Pevar in CPR. He also appeared frequently on recordings by other artists, including Joni Mitchell, Jefferson Airplane, Jackson Browne, James Taylor, and David Gilmour.

Crosby’s combined work with the Byrds and CSNY has sold over 35 million albums. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice: once for his work in the Byrds and again for his work with CSN. Five albums to which he contributed are included in Rolling Stone‘s list of “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time”, three with the Byrds and two with CSN(Y). […]

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From Jeff Benedict, April 16, 2017:

This actually happened.

Yesterday I was at a rehearsal with David Crosby in LA. He and his band are getting ready for the tour that starts next week. Partway through the rehearsal, David stepped outside for some air. A blue Corvette pulled up and the window went down. The driver was Paul McCartney.

“Hello, guys,” he said, smiling.

It was one of those moments where time seemed to stand still. The day before, while flying to LA, I watched Ron Howard’s new film “Eight Days a Week,” a masterful tribute to the Beatles that shows how Paul, John, George and Ringo became the biggest musical stars in history. And there I was, face to face with one of them.

Turns out Paul was rehearsing in the studio next to David’s. A couple hours later, he invites David and his band to join him in studio. I follow David. Paul greets everyone. Then he and his band go right into “Junior’s Farm.” […]

These guys are jamming and I am one of a handful of people in a studio. My feet are tapping and the hair is up on my arms. The only thing I can compare this to would be having Babe Ruth show up at my Little League game and saying he’d like to take a few swings.

But not even the Babe makes you want to twist and shout.

Next, Paul sung “Drive My Car.” […]

When he got to the signature line – “Beep Beep’m Beep Beep, Yeah,” I was struck by the fact that people around the globe – in Russia, Australia, South America, Iceland – can sing “Beep beep’m, beep beep, yeah.” Paul and John wrote lyrics that became a universal language. It’s a language that puts smiles on people’s faces. What a gift!
Then he played one of the happiest songs I know – “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da.” […]

Smiling as he played, he looked at us and invited us to sing along. […]

It is one of the most surreal moments of my life. I’m actually singing along with Paul McCartney. Ob la di, ob la da, life goes on.

David Crosby has given me one of the most memorable moments of my life – a private audience with the man whose music has shaped so much of the culture that was my upbringing.

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Last updated on March 12, 2023