David Crosby passed away at 81 on Jan. 19 “after a long illness,” his wife Jan Dance reported.
He was inducted twice into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Byrds and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.
Crosby played guitar, sang and wrote songs, notably “Eight Miles High” (with Roger McGuinn and Gene Clark), “Almost Cut My Hair,” “Long Time Gone,” “Triad” and “Déjà Vu,” the title track of CSNY’s 1970 album (see clips below).
Here are some of Crosby’s other claims to fame:
• He smoked out The Beatles.
• He was convicted on cocaine and heroin possession charges in 1985 and spent nine months in a Texas penitentiary, about which he said: “Jail is no fun, believe me. If you think being in a cell is bad, wait until you try the food.”
• He had a number of health issues over the years, including heart disease that required several stents, type 3 diabetes and a liver transplant.
• He provided the sperm in 2000 for two of Melissa Etheridge’s children with her then partner Julie Cypher.
• He left a suitcase behind at a hotel in 2004 where he was staying at in New York. A hotel employee opened up the bag and found an ounce of pot, a loaded pistol and two knives. When Crosby returned for the bag he was arrested.
• He and Graham Nash performed at the Occupy Wall Street encampment in Lower Manhattan in 2011.
• He joined the NORML advisory board in 2018, stating: “People should not be arrested or go to jail for the responsible use of a substance that is objectively safer than alcohol, tobacco or most prescription drugs.”
• He announced the Mighty Croz cannabis brand, also in 2018, but never officially launched the company.
• He was the subject of A.J. Eaton’s 2019 documentary, David Crosby: Remember My Name, in which Crosby claimed Dennis Hopper played “a version of him” in Easy Rider.
• His middle name was Van Cortlandt. (Full Story)