David Crosby ( 1941 – 2023) was an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter.

 

David Crosby’s 15 Essential Songs

The singer and songwriter, who died this week, created music that helped define an era. Listen to the tracks that tell the story of his career.

5 MIN READ

Read our full obituary for David Crosby.

9 MIN READ

For other people named David Crosby, see David Crosby (disambiguation).

David Crosby
Crosby in 2019
Background information
Birth name	David Van Cortlandt Crosby
Born	August 14, 1941 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Died	January 18, 2023 (aged 81)
Genres	Rock folk jazz
Occupation(s)	Singer musician songwriter
Instrument(s)	Vocals guitar
Years active	1964–2023
Labels	Atlantic A&M Rhino
Formerly of	The Byrds Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Crosby & Nash CPR
Spouse(s)	Jan Dance   ​ (m. 1987)​
Website	Official website
David Crosby's voice 0:25 from the BBC programme Mastertapes, November 18, 2013.[1]

David Van Cortlandt Crosby (August 14, 1941 – January 18, 2023) was an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of both The Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash.

Crosby joined The Byrds in 1964. They had their first number-one hit in 1965 with a cover of "Mr. Tambourine Man" by Bob Dylan. Crosby appeared on The Byrds' first five albums and produced the original lineup's 1973 reunion album. He subsequently formed Crosby, Stills & Nash in 1968 with Stephen Stills and Graham Nash.

After the release of their debut album, CSN won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist of 1969. Neil Young joined the group for live appearances, their second concert being Woodstock, before recording their second album Déjà Vu. Meant to be a group that could collaborate freely, Crosby & Nash recorded three gold albums in the 1970s, while the core trio of CSN remained active from 1976 until 2016. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (CSNY) reunions took place in each decade from the 1970s through the 2000s.

Crosby released six solo albums. Additionally, he formed a jazz-influenced trio with his son James Raymond and guitarist Jeff Pevar in CPR. Crosby's work with The Byrds and CSNY has sold over 35 million albums.^[2]

Crosby was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice: once for his work in The Byrds and again for his work with CSN. Five albums to which he contributed are included in Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time", three with The Byrds and two with CSN(Y). He was outspoken politically and was sometimes depicted as emblematic of the counterculture of the 1960s.^[3][4][5]