Musician David Crosby during a benefit concert in Los Angeles, California October 2012. Mario Anzuoni (Portal)
David Crosby, one of the most influential rock composers of the 1960s and 1970s, has died at the age of 81, US media reported Thursday. Variety quoted a statement from the musician’s wife who broke the news. “It is with great sadness that our beloved David Crosby has passed away after a long illness,” the guitarist’s wife said in a letter.
The composer’s death came as a surprise to those who followed his very active Twitter account, which he was active on until Wednesday.
Crosby has been twice inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, first for his career with The Byrds and again for his work with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (CSNY). Five albums to which he contributed have been included in Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Three with The Byrds and two with CSNY.
Eight months ago, Crosby made headlines when he said he was ending his stage tour after being unable to perform live due to pandemic restrictions, declaring: “I’m too old to do that anymore. I don’t have the stamina; I don’t have the strength.”
But he said he would be making a new record: “I’ve been making records at an amazing rate. … Now I’m 80 years old, so I’m going to die pretty soon. Thats how it works. So I’m really trying to produce as much music as I can as long as it’s really good…I already have another one in the can waiting.” Crosby later retracted his retirement from performing concerts, saying he had his Changed mind and hoping to do it again.
A few months ago, Crosby announced that he was in the process of selling his catalogue. And he argued two reasons: the impossibility of making money from touring and the way music is now consumed, streaming through platforms like Spotify, which means a drop in income for the author in favor of the record company.
Crosby was the subject of a 2019 documentary film titled David Crosby: Remember My Name, produced by music journalist, filmmaker and screenwriter Cameron Crowe.
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