RIP David Crosby

[Harmony]

He was a controversial man and many people had strong feelings about him.  But I considered him a constant in my life - throughout all of my life.  His music brought me great joy and I will miss his irascible spirit.

I know that he was ready to depart.  My thoughts are of course with those who loved him.

There is an album - maybe 2 in the can.  He was about to go on tour again at age 81.  I had planned to be at many of those shows.  But now I will savor his music and look forward to what he left for me to learn from the unreleased music that will soon be shared with the world.

A life well-lived indeed.   

[Orbert]

I just heard.  Bummer.

I think I have everything by CSN, CSNY, Crosby-Nash, even both CPR albums.  All great stuff.  He will be missed.

[SoundscapeMN]

Crosby Stills Nash/CSNY were 1 of my early favorites with Classic Rock in HS 30 years ago.

Putting his issues aside, the man had a great voice and wrote/co-wrote some amazing tunes.

Dejavu is a classic record.

I got to see CSN once many years ago at a Casino, fun show from memory.

Very sad to hear about, RIP.

[EPICVIEW]

very sad news,... RIP David

[King Postwhore]

An Angel with beautiful voice has left us.  R.I.P.

I just heard.  Bummer.

I think I have everything by CSN, CSNY, Crosby-Nash, even both CPR albums.  All great stuff.  He will be missed.

Bob, if you haven't, listen to Sky Trails.  Very much in line with CPR's music.

[crystalstars17]

I have many memories of hearing his music with CSN&Y as a little girl and seeing them in the Woodstock movie with my dad as a teen. My parents' song was even a CSN&Y song. As one of my dad's favorites, these songs counted among the soundtrack to my early life. 💙

RIP. 😓

[Orbert]

I just heard.  Bummer.

I think I have everything by CSN, CSNY, Crosby-Nash, even both CPR albums.  All great stuff.  He will be missed.

Bob, if you haven't, listen to Sky Trails.  Very much in line with CPR's music.

Wow, for some reason, it has never occurred to me to seek out his solo work.  I always think of him in terms of who he collaborates with.  Thanks for the suggestion!

[Harmony]

I love all eras of Crosby but his solo stuff (which are really collaborations) are my absolute favorites.  Sky Trails is excellent.  But my favorite is 'Here If You Listen' with Michael League (Snarky Puppy), Becca Stevens, and my dear friend Michelle Willis... aka The Lighthouse Band.  The harmonies are exquisite. They just released the live album from their 2018 tour, "Live at the Capitol Theatre" which holds a very special place in my heart as I saw a show during that tour with my sister only a few days after my mom had died.  The music was a healing balm for us.  I will never forget that night.

I also want to plug David's work with CPR (Crosby, Pevar, and Raymond).  James Raymond is David's son who was given up for adoption but reunited with David the week David received his liver transplant in 1994.  Remarkably, James Raymond is every bit the music prodigy his father was.  Jeff Pevar is an outstanding guitar player.  And together the 3 men released some incredible music from 1996 through 2004.  I never really understood why CPR didn't gain a wider audience.  It is some of David's best work.

There are many adjectives to describe Croz.  I think the most fitting one is "collaborator."  He was my gateway drug to so many other musicians.  And he loved nothing more than working with up and coming artists, literally lifting them up from relative obscurity to greatness just by being open to what they brought to the table.  Oh sure, his ego was the size of Alaska and he would've been the first to admit it.  But never about the music.  The music at its best was a shared experience where everyone brings their talent to the studio and sets their agendas aside for the good of the song.

Or in his own words, "Music is love." 

[King Postwhore]

Harmony, I saw that tour.  He gushed over the 3 other musicians. 

[Cool Chris]

He was a controversial man and many people had strong feelings about him. 

Can't say I know much about him, but had never heard this. Seemed he was liked and respected among other musicians from what I've ever heard.

[Harmony]

Harmony, I saw that tour.  He gushed over the 3 other musicians.

What did you think of them?  Yes, he loved Michael, Becca, and Michelle.  They completed their third album together and I had been expecting it to released this spring but now I have no idea when.  From what Michelle told me, it was their best work together yet so my expectations are high.  I hope the release doesn't get pushed back or worse - not released at all.

He was a controversial man and many people had strong feelings about him. 

Can't say I know much about him, but had never heard this. Seemed he was liked and respected among other musicians from what I've ever heard.

Croz was known for having a big mouth and not many filters.  If you watch the biopic, Remember My Name, by Cameron Crowe, you'll understand why.  Basically, he alienated Stills, Nash, and Young with some very hurtful words.  He was able to repair the relationship with Stills before he died, but not with Nash or Young.  Even though he did apologize and try to mend fences.  So a lot of fans hated him for that because Nash refused to work with him under any circumstance and so of course this meant no more CSN tours.

There are also a lot of people who seem to believe that the only reason he got a liver transplant was because of his celebrity status.  And that just isn't true.  Having an intimate knowledge about how organ transplantation procedures work, nobody gets preferential treatment.  But try telling that to someone who's loved one died while waiting for a liver or a kidney or a heart.  They just see a drug addict rock star getting a chance at life and assume it was because of his status.

Unrelated to this topic, but have y'all been seeing the posts about how his death was due to taking the Covid vaccine?  I swear, every "sudden death" (is an 81 year old's death sudden?) is now because of the vaccine.  It is idiotic.

[HOF]

Crosby is another rock legend who’s music I only really know a little of. But his voice is distinct and memorable and I enjoyed his contributions on Phil Collins’ But Seriously album.

[Stadler]

He was a controversial man and many people had strong feelings about him. 

Can't say I know much about him, but had never heard this. Seemed he was liked and respected among other musicians from what I've ever heard.

Look at Graham Nash and Steven Stills' tweets following his death.  Both were pretty much in line with what Harmony said, and focused the praise the music.  (Both did, strongly, allude to the personal acrimony between the three of them. By all accounts, he could be a big asshole, but to his credit, he seemed to be making amends later in his life).

[Stadler]

Croz was known for having a big mouth and not many filters.  If you watch the biopic, Remember My Name, by Cameron Crowe, you'll understand why.  Basically, he alienated Stills, Nash, and Young with some very hurtful words.  He was able to repair the relationship with Stills before he died, but not with Nash or Young.  Even though he did apologize and try to mend fences.  So a lot of fans hated him for that because Nash refused to work with him under any circumstance and so of course this meant no more CSN tours.

I thought at the very end - meaning, say, the last year of his life, he thawed things with Nash?  Nash still might not have wanted to work with him, but I thought they were getting good.  I'm a fan of the "Crosby - Nash" work; not that I don't like Stills, but he's a powerful personality too, and the CN stuff has a calmness and beauty I really like.

Unrelated to this topic, but have y'all been seeing the posts about how his death was due to taking the Covid vaccine?  I swear, every "sudden death" (is an 81 year old's death sudden?) is now because of the vaccine.  It is idiotic.

It's sickening, frankly; this was abound after the Damar Hamlin incident, and I also saw some stuff about Lisa Marie as well. 

[Harmony]

Croz was known for having a big mouth and not many filters.  If you watch the biopic, Remember My Name, by Cameron Crowe, you'll understand why.  Basically, he alienated Stills, Nash, and Young with some very hurtful words.  He was able to repair the relationship with Stills before he died, but not with Nash or Young.  Even though he did apologize and try to mend fences.  So a lot of fans hated him for that because Nash refused to work with him under any circumstance and so of course this meant no more CSN tours.

I thought at the very end - meaning, say, the last year of his life, he thawed things with Nash?  Nash still might not have wanted to work with him, but I thought they were getting good.  I'm a fan of the "Crosby - Nash" work; not that I don't like Stills, but he's a powerful personality too, and the CN stuff has a calmness and beauty I really like.

Obviously I'm not in the know about it.  I hope they did thaw things together but from some things Croz posted on Twitter in the last year or so, that was a dead end relationship.  And he was sad about it and took full responsibility for it.

I heard a story today I never knew from - of all people - Glenn Close, who posted it on IG.  I guess she was in Hook as a pirate as was Croz and they got to know each other during the shoot.  He told her about his ups and downs and somewhere along the line he mentioned that at his lowest point of his addiction he pawned the guitar he wrote all of the great songs he composed for CSN and CSNY.  He considered it one of his most regrettable actions and knew he'd never get it back.  It was his most prized possession.

A short time later, Close was invited to Croz's birthday party.  Woody Harrelson let her in on the fact that Nash and Stills and others had been able to track the guitar down and it would be presented to him at the party.  So the time comes and Harrelson goes up to play a few songs and pretends to struggle to tune it and asks David to help out.  David goes up and starts tuning it and suddenly realizes what he is holding.  He reportedly broke down sobbing with gratitude at the gesture and the love shown to him by the guys to go to those lengths for him.

The rift between Croz and Nash/Young always struck me as the kind of rift brothers can have.  You know each other better than anyone.  And you know exactly what it takes to piss each other off.  But brothers always tend to find a way back to what unites them.  And I had always hoped that for these relationships.  But as with all things there are more than one side to the story and sometimes we say things we can never take back, even if we want to.  I was heartened to see Nash and Young at least post tributes to their brother, even though the focus was mostly on the music and legacy and not so much on the relationship.  But that shit is personal, so it isn't that surprising.

Bill - you said you enjoyed the calmness and beauty of the CN stuff.  I hope you will consider giving Here If You Listen a try.  Aside from my friends and family, that one CD got me through immense grief after the loss of my parents.  The song 'Your Own Ride' specifically moves me like none other.  Listening to it was like hearing my mom's wish for me, and my own wish to my children too.  Very special and I've listened to it hundreds of times and I still cry every damn time.

David wrote it to his son, Django.

[King Postwhore]

Harmony, lush. The harmonies soaked in. It was fun seeing him play with younger musicians. You could see they enjoyed playing with him.

[Stadler]

Bill - you said you enjoyed the calmness and beauty of the CN stuff.  I hope you will consider giving Here If You Listen a try.  Aside from my friends and family, that one CD got me through immense grief after the loss of my parents.  The song 'Your Own Ride' specifically moves me like none other.  Listening to it was like hearing my mom's wish for me, and my own wish to my children too.  Very special and I've listened to it hundreds of times and I still cry every damn time.

I will 100% give it a try.  Thanks for the recommendation!

[Harmony]

For those who mentioned CPR or who are interested in checking them out, Jeff Pevar just uploaded a CPR documentary on Youtube.  He posted this about it:

CPR - Thru The Music (David Crosby, Jeff Pevar, & James Raymond)

In August of 1997, studio time was arranged at Jackson Browne's recording studio to document the songs David Crosby, James Raymond, and I were writing together following our very first trio CPR tour from January 1997.  (Our self-released CD "CPR - Live at Cuesta College" was recorded from 5th initial show).  This new collaboration with David, James, and I performing all together as a trio was thrilling for all involved.  After extensive writing sessions together in early 1997, we began recording the debut CPR CD at Jackson Browne's recording studio in Santa Monica, CA in August of 1997.

During those sessions David's friend, Phil Collins, came to visit us while we were in the studio.  Phil mentioned his close connection with the Montreux Jazz Festival and that he was very proud that his artwork had been chosen for the festival logos and shirts that year.  After hearing of Phil's connection to Montreaux and festival organizer, Claude Nobs, I decided to ask Phil if he might be willing to be a spokesperson on our behalf to see if CPR might be able to perform at the festival that year.  Shortly thereafter, the invite came for CPR to perform at Montreaux.  Samson records, who signed CPR to our recording contract, decided to produce a promotional documentary for the band consisting of interview footage filmed at Jackson's studio and includes the CPR's debut performance from the Miles Davis Hall at Montreux Jazz Festival on July 14, 1998.

My copy of the CPR documentary has now been posted to YouTube for all to see.  I know a lot of CPR fans have been wanting to see this, as it was only released on VHS at the time.  This film documents a very special moment in time in history, as David continued to actively pursue his creative needs, moving forward from his iconic work with CSN to new creative vistas which is a significant part of his recorded work.  Our CPR project marks the beginning of many collaborations with James, and is some of my most treasured work with them.  It is my hope this music is shared and enjoyed as much as we had creating it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3krcevKF-tE