Best Known As: Singer/guitarist for Crosby, Stills & Nash
David Crosby is one of the best-known musicians of the Woodstock generation. He was twice inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a member of The Byrds (1991) and once as a member of the rock supergroup Crosby Stills & Nash (1997). With The Byrds he recorded 1960s folk-rock hits like "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Turn Turn Turn." With CSN (sometimes known as CSNY when joined by Neil Young) he played at Woodstock and wrote and performed on landmark albums like Deja Vu (1970). In the 1980s his personal struggles with drug addiction were much in the news, and in 1985 he served time in jail for drug offenses. He had a liver transplant in 1994, necessitated in part by his past drug abuse. He began recording with a new group, CPR, in 1998; one partner in the group, James Raymond, was a son Crosby had given up for adoption many years before. In January of 2000 rock star Melissa Etheridge announced that Crosby was the biological father of two children she and her partner Julie Cypher had conceived by artificial insemination.
Crosby's father Floyd won an Academy Award as the cinematographer of Tabu (1931) and also shot the movies High Noon (1952, with Gary Cooper) and Beach Blanket Bingo (1965)... Crosby was introduced to Graham Nash by Cass Elliot... Crosby is no relation to crooner Bing Crosby.
The singular odyssey of David Crosby remains one of the more remarkable tales in the annals of music history. As a founding member of the pioneering American groups the Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash, he helped create and popularize the highly influential folk-rock sound, forging the richly harmonic, radiantly acoustic approach which defined the West Coast music scene for years to follow; he also sold millions of records and enjoyed a cultural impact equaled by few of his contemporaries. Yet despite his often overwhelming success, Crosby is recognized far less for his artistic achievements than for his larger-than-life off-stage exploits, specifically a long and fantastically excessive battle with drug abuse which seemingly kept him teetering on the brink of death for over a decade; that he not only survived but remained as colorful and newsworthy a character as before is a testament to his continued creativity and unpredictability.
Crosby was born in Los Angeles on August 14, 1941; the son of Academy Award-winning cinematographer Floyd Crosby, he dropped out of drama school to pursue a career in music, touring the folk club circuit and recording as a member of the Les Baxter Balladeers. Under the auspices of producer Jim Dickson, Crosby cut his first solo session in late 1963; early the following year he formed the Jet Set with Jim McGuinn and Gene Clark, and with the additions of bassist Chris Hillman and drummer Michael Clarke, the group was rechristened the Byrds. Although McGuinn chiefly pioneered the Byrds' trademark 12-string guitar sound, Crosby was the architect of their shimmering harmonies; his interests in jazz and Indian music also influenced their subsequent excursions into psychedelic. However, creative differences plagued the group throughout its career, and in 1967 Crosby -- reportedly rankled by his bandmates' refusal to release his menage a trois opus "Triad" -- left the Byrds in the wake of their appearance at the Monterey Pop Festival.
After producing Joni Mitchell's 1968 debut LP, Crosby cut a handful of solo recordings and began jamming with ex-Buffalo Springfield singer/guitarist Stephen Stills. In time the duo was joined by ex-Hollies member Graham Nash; with its exquisitely beautiful three-part harmonies, strong individual songwriting contributions, and graceful folk-rock sound, Crosby, Stills & Nash's 1969 debut LP proved a pop landmark, launching all three members to greater fame than they'd experienced in any of their previous projects. The addition of Stills' former Buffalo Springfield bandmate Neil Young expanded the group to a four-piece, and in August of 1969 Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (CSNY) made just their second live appearance to date at the Woodstock Festival; 1970's Déjà Vu arrived in stores with advance orders numbering over two million, and through the thought-provoking social and political messages of songs like "Woodstock" and "Ohio," they emerged as generational torchbearers of enormous musical and cultural influence.
Following a sellout CSNY tour, the group went on hiatus, and Crosby resumed work on his long-delayed solo debut, releasing If I Could Only Remember My Name in 1971; the following year, he and Nash issued the first of several duo efforts, and he also took part in a short-lived Byrds reunion. Despite continued creative differences, CSNY reformed for a 1974 tour; Crosby and Nash issued Wind on the Water a year later, and in 1977 Stills returned to the fold for the multi-platinum CSN. However, as Crosby's longstanding drug problem continued to worsen, he eventually fell out with both Stills and Nash, and a planned second solo album, Might as Well Have a Good Time, was rejected by Capitol in 1980. A series of arrests for cocaine possession and illegal weapons charges hampered him throughout the years to follow, even as he reunited with Stills and Nash in 1982 for the Top Ten hit Daylight Again. After completing the follow-up, 1983's Allies, the trio did not record together for another seven years.
In late 1985 Crosby was sentenced to prison after fleeing the drug rehabilitation clinic he'd entered in lieu of serving out a previous jail term; upon his release the following August, he'd finally conquered his demons, later chronicling the ugly details of his addiction in the fine autobiography Long Time Gone. In 1988 -- a full 18 years after the release of Déjà Vu -- Crosby reunited with Stills, Nash, and also Young for American Dream; his second solo effort, Oh Yes I Can, finally appeared the following year as well. After the 1990 release of CSN's Live It Up, Crosby continued to suffer personal misfortunes -- first he was severely injured in a motorcycle accident, and then in 1994 he lost his L.A. home as a result of massive earthquake damage. Months later, he returned to the headlines when it was announced he was diagnosed with hepatitis C and dying of liver failure, undergoing a successful organ transplant in 1995.
During the recovery period which followed, Crosby met James Raymond, the son he'd given up for adoption over three decades earlier and a professional musician as well; the two soon began writing songs together, and with guitarist Jeff Pevar they formed CPR, releasing a series of albums and touring regularly. In early 1997, Crosby, Stills & Nash were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Hame; six years earlier, Crosby had first entered the Hall as a member of the Byrds. Young returned to the fold for 1999's Looking Forward, with the resulting millennial tour -- dubbed "CSNY2K" -- heralding the foursome's first joint road venture in a quarter century. Crosby was again the subject of tabloid headlines when in early 2000 it was revealed that he fathered the children of singer Melissa Etheridge and her life partner, Julie Cypher; that same year, he also published a second book, Stand and Be Counted, which assembled interviews with actors and musicians to explore the intersection of celebrity and social activism. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
Musician and social activist David Crosby is best known for his work with the Byrds and Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young. His father is Oscar-winning cinematographer Floyd D. Crosby. ~ All Movie Guide
Originally, he was a drama student, but he dropped out of drama school to pursue a career in music. He moved toward the same
Greenwich Village scene (as a member of the Les
Baxter's Balladeers) Bob Dylan participated in, and even shared a mentor of Dylan's in
a local scene favorite Fred Neil. With the help of producer Jim Dickson, Crosby cut his first
solo session in 1963.
Early in 1964, Crosby started performing in clubs with Roger McGuinn (then known as
Jim) and Gene Clark under the name the Jet Set. They soon changed the name to
the Byrds, and were joined by bassistChris Hillman and drummerMichael Clarke (whom Crosby allegedly discovered playing bongos on the beach). They somehow
managed to obtain a demo recording of Bob Dylan's "Mr.
Tambourine Man", and recorded a cover version of the song featuring McGuinn's twelve string guitar and Crosby's and
Clark's vocal harmonizing. The song was a massive hit, and went to #1 on the charts.
In 1966, Gene Clark, who then was the band's primary songwriter, left the group due to stress. This put all the group's
songwriting responsibilities in the hands of Crosby and McGuinn. Crosby took the opportunity to hone his craft, and soon
blossomed into a prolific and talented songwriter. His early Byrds efforts included the classic 1966 hit "Eight Miles High", which he co-wrote with Clark and McGuinn, and its flip side, "Why" co-written with
McGuinn, which showed Crosby at his hard-edged best. The song "Hey Joe" is widely credited as
being popularized by David Crosby after he picked it up from Dino Valente. He taught the
song to Bryan MacLean and Arthur Lee of
Love, who then taught it to members of The Leaves. Since
he felt responsible for having popularized the song, Crosby convinced the other members of the Byrds to cover it on
Fifth Dimension. By Younger
Than Yesterday, the Byrds' album of 1967, Crosby was starting to find his trademark style.
Friction existed between Crosby and the other Byrds, which came to a head specifically in 1967 over two issues: his
substitution, at the invitation of Stephen Stills, for an absent Neil Young during Buffalo Springfield’s set at the famous
Monterey Pop Festival in June; and the Byrds’ rejection of Crosby’s controversial
"Triad" composition as either a single or an album cut on Notorious Byrd
Brothers in August. It was widely reported that the other Byrds were offended by the topic (a ménage à trois). This angered Crosby so much that he began to frequently skip sessions. As a result,
Crosby was dismissed from the Byrds in the fall of 1967.[1]
"Triad" was recorded by Jefferson Airplane and released on their album
Crown of Creation in 1968. David Crosby sang a solo acoustic version on CSNY's
1971 double live album Four Way Street. The Byrds' version appeared decades later
on the 1988 Never Before release and is now available on the CD re-release of Notorious Byrd Brothers.
Around the time of Crosby's firing, he met a recently unemployed Stephen Stills at a
party at the home of Cass Elliot (Mama Cass) in
California in March 1968, and the two started meeting informally together and jamming. They were soon joined by Graham Nash, who left his commercially successful group The Hollies to
play with Crosby and Stills.
Their first album, Crosby, Stills & Nash of 1969 was an
immediate hit, spawning two Top 40 hit singles and receiving key airplay on the new
FM radio format, in its early days populated by unfettered disc jockeys prone to playing entire albums at once.
In 1969, the group was joined by Neil Young, and with him they recorded the album Déjà
Vu, which went to number 1 on the charts. That same year, Crosby's longtime girlfriend Christine Hinton was killed in
a car accident only days after Hinton, Crosby, and fellow girlfriend Debbie Donovan moved from Los Angeles to the Bay Area.
Crosby was devastated, and he began abusing drugs much more severely than he had before. Nevertheless, he still managed to
contribute "Almost Cut My Hair" and the title track "Déjà Vu". After the release of the double live
albumFour Way Street, the group went on a temporary hiatus to focus on
their respective solo careers.
David also briefly did a stint with members from the Grateful Dead. Together they
recorded "David and the Dorks," a rare live recording at the Matrix on December 15,
1970.
CSNY reunited in 1973 to embark on a reunion tour. It was also around this time that they began recording a new album,
entitled Human Highway. The recording, which took place at Neil Young's
ranch, was very unpleasant, and marked by constant bickering. The bickering eventually became too much, and the album was
cancelled. Yet they once again re-united the following year to go on a stadium tour. The tour was also full of constant
bickering, though they managed to finish it without interruption. Another attempt at a new album was made, but it was cancelled
early on, and only a greatest hits compilation entitled So Far was released.
Crosby and Graham Nash have also released several albums as a duo known as Crosby &
Nash.
Some other popular songs Crosby wrote in the 1970s include "Where Will I Be?", "Carry Me,"
"Bittersweet," "Time After Time," "Foolish Man," and "In My Dreams".
In 2006 Crosby worked with David Gilmour in his third solo album: On an Island; along with Nash. You can hear Crosby and Nash sing along with Gilmour on the second track on
the album "On an Island". The album was released in March of 2006 and reached #1 quickly on the UK charts. Both Crosby and Nash
also performed live with Gilmour in his concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London in May 2006 and toured together in the USA,
which can be seen on Gilmour's 2007 DVD "Remember That Night".
Acting career
During the early 1990s, he appeared as a guest star in
several episodes of The John Larroquette
Show, where he played the part of John Hemingway's AA sponsor. He
appeared on an episode of Roseanne. He also appeared as a pirate in the 1991
film Hook, as a '70s Hippie in the 1991 film Backdraft, and as a bartender in the 1992 feature film, Thunderheart.
David was the recipient of a highly publicized liver transplant in 1995. News of his
transplant created some controversy due to his past issues with drug addiction.[3][4][5]
Crosby has insulin dependant diabetes and is being treated with insulin to manage this disease. [6]
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