David Crosby — the legendary singer-songwriter best known for his work with the Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash (& Young) — has died. He was 81.
Crosby’s death was confirmed in a statement to Variety from his wife, Jan. The statement reads as follows:
“It is with great sadness after a long illness, that our beloved David (Croz) Crosby has passed away. He was lovingly surrounded by his wife and soulmate Jan and son Django. Although he is no longer here with us, his humanity and kind soul will continue to guide and inspire us. His legacy will continue to live on through his legendary music. Peace, love, and harmony to all who knew David and those he touched. We will miss him dearly. At this time, we respectfully and kindly ask for privacy as we grieve and try to deal with our profound loss. Thank you for the love and prayers.”
Crosby was a two-time inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. He was first inducted in 1991 as a member of the Byrds. His second induction took place in 1997 as a member of Crosby, Stills & Nash. In addition to his time with the Byrds and CSN(&Y), Crosby released eight solo albums from 1971 to 2021. Five of those albums came out between 2014 and 2021.
Crosby developed a unique following late in his life thanks to Twitter. He lent his candor freely to a number of topics. In March 2020, he went viral thanks to offering feedback on how well Twitter users rolled joints. He was literally tweeting until the very end of his life. One of his final tweets was a retweet of a screenshot someone shared asking Google, “Can we go to heaven with tattoos.” Crosby’s comment was, “I heard the place is overrated…cloudy.”
I heard the place is overrated….cloudy https://t.co/Bpl7pM9k7s
— David Crosby (@thedavidcrosby) January 18, 2023