David Crosby

David Van Cortlandt Crosby (August 14, 1941 – January 18, 2023) was an American musician and singer-songwriter. He first found fame as a member of the Byrds, with whom he helped pioneer the genres of folk rock and psychedelia in the mid-1960s,^[2] and later as part of the supergroup Crosby, Stills & Nash, who helped popularize the “California sound” of the 1970s.^[3] In addition to his music, Crosby was known for his outspoken personality, politics, and personal troubles; he was sometimes depicted as emblematic of the counterculture of the 1960s.^[4][5][6]

After a short time performing in the folk music scene, Crosby co-founded the Byrds in 1964. They scored their first number-one hit in 1965 with a cover of Bob Dylan‘s “Mr. Tambourine Man“. Crosby appeared on the Byrds’ first five albums and the original lineup’s 1973 reunion album. In 1968, he formed Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN) with Stephen Stills and Graham Nash. After the release of their debut album, CSN won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist of 1969. The group later occasionally included Neil Young. The core trio of CSN remained active from 1976 until 2016, and the duo of Crosby & Nash also recorded three gold albums in the 1970s. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (CSNY) reunions were held in each decade from the 1970s through the 2000s.