R.I.P.: David Crosby, Two-Time Rock Hall of Famer

 

Two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer David Crosby, has died, sources confirm 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. 

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.”

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.”