It seems like so many of my Music Heroes are passing away of late... Fuck I feel Old.
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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64341315
Veteran US folk-rock star David Crosby has died aged 81, his representative has confirmed..
He helped set up two major bands in the 1960s:
The Byrds, and
Crosby, Stills and Nash.
He was renowned for his guitar-playing and vocal harmonies.
His career saw him achieve the rare feat of being inducted to the revered Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice.
Former bandmates saluted Crosby's creative talents, while acknowledging the conflicts they had endured.
......................
Crosby's wife told showbiz site Variety that he died "after a long illness" while surrounded by family.
"His legacy will continue to live on through his legendary music," her statement added.
Crosby was born in California on 14 August 1941, the son of Oscar-winning Hollywood cinematographer Floyd Crosby.
He joined The Byrds in 1964 - a folk-rock group who scored their first hit with a cover of Bob Dylan's Tambourine Man, and whose other singles like Turn! Turn! Turn! and Eight Miles High helped change the face of American pop and rock.
His tempestuous tenure - a period during which he also briefly dated singer Joni Mitchell - culminated in his being fired from the group three years later.
Crosby then formed a supergroup with Buffalo Springfield's Stephen Stills and The Hollies' Graham Nash, who were later joined by another Buffalo Springfield star, Neil Young.
Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young made one of their first appearances at the Woodstock in 1969, and later had a hit with Mitchell's song about the legendary festival.
This band, too, was beset by in-fighting and broke up after a few years - although they have periodically reformed for concerts since.
Hits written by Crosby during his time in the band included the hippy anthems Almost Cut My Hair and Deja Vu, and he responded to the 1968 assassination of Robert Kennedy with the song Long Time Coming.
He became known for his countercultural politics and trademark moustache as well as his musicianship. A six-decade career culminated in his final album, For Free, released in 2021.
Off-stage, Crosby had multiple run-ins with US law enforcement, including an arrest in 1982 on drug and weapons charges.
His substance abuse had reportedly intensified after the death of a girlfriend in a car crash when he was a young man.
There followed periods of ill health, and a liver transplant in 1994. Crosby's reputation for a hedonistic lifestyle saw him named two decades later as "rock's unlikeliest survivor" by Rolling Stone magazine.
Crosby later expressed regret over his addictions and altercations with co-stars, telling the Los Angeles Times in 2019 he was "ashamed" of some of his past behaviours.
Following the musician's death, former bandmate Nash expressed his "profound sadness" despite the two men's often "volatile" relationship, adding that Crosby left behind a "tremendous void".
"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," Nash wrote.
"David was fearless in life and in music."
Stills agreed, writing that his late collaborator was "without question a giant of a musician", even though they had "butted heads a lot of the time".
"His harmonic sensibilities were nothing short of
genius,"
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For sure the guy had his demons and managed to (eventually) piss-off all those who knew and / or loved him, but he was also known for his generosity of time and donations to many worthwhile causes: Greenpeace. WWF.
I remember in my teens hearing Teach Your Children for the first time and being mazed at the harmonies; as I was also in an acoustic band and how much we worked trying to get harmonies right... and they did it as if without effort.
He and Graham Nash did a couple of beautiful albums together, one in particular Winf On The Water has a song "To The Last Whale" which is heart rending, the harmonies in this are "Exquisite" if it doesn't give you chills, you is dead.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2PH-prm8M4
And for sure this 2 minute song WILL give you Chills: (Crosby, Nash and Dave Gilmour of Pink Floyd)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-Y0SMitMpk
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For anyone who hasn't heard any of their music:
Teach Your Children:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zj8FlXGPcOQ
Guinevere: by CS&N
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aT9EKqXDl68
He could do it live too. (C&N)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPvOTVVbMko
A BBC (Studio) Concert from 1970:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpkELuj6kn4
RIP Mr Crosby.
Really!?