David Crosby, The Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash Founder, Dies at 81

Two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer David Crosby, has died, a source close to the family confirmed to Billboard. He was 81. Cause of death is unknown.

Crosby was a seminal figure in the folk-rock scene for more than six decades as a member of The Byrds,  Crosby, Stills & Nash and then Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. He also had a prolific solo career, especially in recent years, releasing new music at an almost frenetic pace. ‘

His contemporaries and former bandmates took to social media to laud his talents.

“It is with a deep and profound sadness that I learned that my friend David Crosby has passed,” Graham Nash posted on Instagram. “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. David was fearless in life and in music. He leaves behind a tremendous void as far as sheer personality and talent in this world. He spoke his mind, his heart, and his passion through his beautiful music and leaves an incredible legacy. These are the things that matter most. My heart is truly with his wife, Jan, his son, Django, and all of the people he has touched in this world.

“I don’t know what to say other than I’m heartbroken to hear about David Crosby. David was an unbelievable talent – such a great singer and songwriter,” tweeted Brian Wilson. “And a wonderful person. I just am at a loss for words. Love & Mercy to David’s family and friends.”

Crosby, a Los Angeles native and son of Academy Award-winning cinematographer Floyd Crosby, joined the Byrds in 1964 and in 1965, the band, known for its jangling guitars and layered harmonies, took two songs to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100: the Bob Dylan-penned “Mr. Tambourine Man” and Pete Seeger’s “Turn!Turn!Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season).”

Due to feuding with his bandmates Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman,” Crosby left the Byrds in 1967. In 1968, after meeting Stephen Stills and Graham Nash, the trio formed Crosby, Stills & Nash, appearing at Woodstock in August, 1969, for only their second gig. 

Their self-titled debut album spawned two top 40 Hot 100 hits — “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” (No. 21) and “Marrakesh Express” (No. 28) — and the trio won the Grammy for best new artist in 1969. (He is one of only two individuals in Grammy history to have received two Grammy nominations for best new artist. He was nominated for that award as part of The Byrds (1965) before his CSN win.)

In 1969, Neil Young joined the trio, bringing them to greater heights with their 1970 album, Deja Vu, which reached No. 1 on the Billboard 100. Crosby contributed such songs as “Guinevere,” “Almost Cut My Hair,” “Long Time Gone” and “Wooden Ships” to the group, but was best known for his tight harmonies and rhyme guitar playing.

Similar to his tenure with the Byrds, Crosby’s time with CSN and CSN&Y was marked by bitter infighting with Young leaving the band in 1970. Unable to control the bickering in the studio, CSN didn’t release another album until 1977, with a self-titled set that included the hit, “Just A Song Before I Go.” 1982’s Daylight Again included “Wasted On the Way” and “Southern Cross.”

Crosby struggled with substance abuse issues for decades, resulting in a jail stint in 1985 for drug possession, a liver transplant in 1994 and another short jail sentence in 2004 due to drug and weapons possession.

In 2019, Cameron Crowe produced a documentary about the cantankerous rock icon called Remember My Name. In an interview about the warts-and-all doc, Crosby explained to Billboard why it made sense that his Byrds bandmate McGuinn called him “insufferable.”

“I can be contentious. Opinionated. I’m comfortable with that,” Crosby conceded. “When you’re in a relationship like that in a band, it’s like a marriage… you start out, you love each other, you love each other’s music. You’re thrilled that you’re doing this, and every time you play music, you feel brotherhood with the other guys. In CSNY with Neil [Young] and Graham [Nash] and Stephen [Stills], we were a competitive band. Not cooperative/competitive. We were also very shitty to each other over and over and over again, unkind and disloyal.”

Nash and Young had cut off contact with Crosby and were not believed to have reconciled by the time of his death. Stills was still in touch with Crosby, telling Billboard last summer that he had talked with his former bandmate, “not that long [ago].”

Hard hit by the inability to tour during the pandemic, Crosby sold his recorded music and publishing rights to Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group in 2021. The deal included both his solo works and his works with groups.

“Given our current inability to work live, this deal is a blessing for me and my family and I do believe these are the best people to do it with,” Crosby said in a statement at the time.  

Crosby was aware the clock was ticking, telling Consequence in a 2021 interview, “I don’t know how much time I have. I could have two weeks, I could have 10 years. I’m sort of at the end of my life. We know that. However much time I got isn’t really the significant thing — it’s what I do with that time, right? And it looks to me that the only contribution I can make, the place where I can help, is to make more music and do it really well. And spend whatever time I do have, trying to make it better. Trying to make more music. So that’s what I’m doing.”

A prolific and often opinionated  tweeter on Twitter, Crosby was posting as recently as Tuesday. 

Crosby earned 10 Grammy nominations in his lifetime — including a best music film nod for Remember My Name — but the CSN best new artist prize was his lone win.

Crosby, who was MusiCares’ inaugural person of the year recipient in 1991, is survived by his wife Jan, and sons Django and James Raymond.

Assistance in preparing this story provided by Katie Atkinson, Keith Caulfield and Paul Grein