He rose to prominence as the lead singer and guitarist of the influential Los Angeles folk-rock band The Byrds.
David Crosby, of The Byrds and the supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, died on Thursday 19 in California, aged 81.
“It is with great sadness that our beloved David (Croz) Crosby passed away after a long illness,” Crosby’s wife Jan said in a statement. “He was lovingly surrounded by his wife and soulmate Jan and their son Django. While 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. Peace, love and harmony to all who knew David and those he touched. He will be greatly missed. At this time, we respectfully and graciously ask for privacy as we grieve and try to cope with our profound loss. Thank you for your love and your prayers.”
David Van Cortlandt Crosby was born on August 14, 1941 in Los Angeles. He rose to fame as the lead singer and guitarist of The Byrds, the influential Los Angeles folk-rock band that combined an innovative guitar sound with rousing, psychedelic melodies. He spent four years with the group, from 1964 to 1968, singing their many hits, including the hits “Mr. Tambourine Man” and “Turn! Turn! Turn!”.
The songs also gave their names to the band’s first two albums, with “Mr. Tambourine Man” reaching the US Top 10. The Byrds were a major influence on the Los Angeles folk-rock scene of the late 1960s and early 1970s, and were responsible for reinventing Bob Dylan, transforming the singer’s acoustic songs into electrified rock – which led Dylan himself to follow this path since 1965.
But Crosby achieved much greater commercial success with another band. He teamed up with Stephen Stills (ex-Buffalo Springfield) and Graham Nash (ex-The Hollies) to form Crosby, Stills & Nash, whose self-titled debut album, released in 1969, reached the Top 10. Featuring brilliant harmonies, the record it included such classics as “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” and “Marrakech Express”, and sold over 4 million copies in the United States alone.
In 1970, Neil Young joined the group, forming the quartet Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, which released three consecutive No. 1 albums: the studio album “Déjà Vu” (1970), the live “4-Way Street ” (1971) and the compilation “So Far” (1974). Considered one of the most important records in rock history, “Déjà Vu” spawned such classics as “Our House”, “Teach Your Children”, “Ohio”, “Helpless”, “Country Girl” and “Woodstock”, a cover of singer Joni Mitchell, who was Crosby’s girlfriend at the time.
But relations between the band’s well-known members were strained, and the group soon disbanded, though they would occasionally reunite in different configurations over the next few decades.
Crosby, Stills & Nash reformed their original lineup in 1977 when they released the album “CSN,” which spent four weeks at No. 2 and spawned the trio’s first Top 10 single, “Just a Song Before I Go.” It has also been certified quadruple platinum. But his next album came out only in 1982, “Daylight Again”, which reached number eight, including the hit “Wasted on the Way”.
The group still released “Allies” (1983), but at the time Crosby began to face several problems. Convicted of multiple weapons and drug charges, he spent nine months in Texas State Prison in 1985. That same year he was arrested again on DUI, hit and run and other charges.
Amidst these issues, Neil Young rejoined the trio for the release of ‘American Dream’ in 1988, which brought them back to rock radio in a big way. The title track reached the Top 5 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, and the follow-up single, “Got It Made”, spent two weeks at the top.
The original CSN still released three albums between 1990 and 1998, and Young spun them back into CSN&Y in 1999, when the quartet released “Looking Forward,” the artists’ last collective studio album, which went on to playing in concerts until 2016.
Crosby also had an extensive solo career, releasing his first solo album in 1971, ‘If Only I Could Remember My Name’ – it peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard 200. But his releases were sparse – the second album, ‘Oh Yes I Can”, which only came out in 1989 – and have only become more frequent in recent years – there have been four albums since 2014. The latest release was the album “For Free”, which came out in July last year.
Besides being a singer, Crosby has also made several appearances in films and series. He even became one of the pirates in Steven Spielberg’s “Hook, the Return of Captain Hook” (1991). He also played a hippie in Ron Howard’s “Curtain of Fire” (1991) and a bartender in Michael Apted’s “Heart of Thunder” (1992), and appeared as himself in several television productions, such as “The Simpsons”, “Ellen” and “Chicago Hope”.
It was also the subject of a documentary by director Cameron Crowe titled ‘Remember My Name’ in 2019.
Crosby garnered 10 Grammy nominations in his lifetime, including a Best Music Film nomination for “Remember My Name,” but the Best New Artist award for CSN’s debut album was his only win.
In return, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, for his work in the Byrds and for Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.
Remember one of the great CSN&Y classics sung by David Crosby.
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Source: Terra
Amanda Larkin is a celebrity journalist at Gossipify, known for her in-depth interviews and unique perspectives on the entertainment industry. She covers celebrity news and gossip, providing readers with engaging and informative content, and understanding of the inner workings of the industry. She’s respected for keeping readers up to date with the latest trends and providing a fresh perspective on the celebrity world.
