Folk-rock icon David Crosby dies at age 81

The musician and composer David Crosby, founder of The Byrds and Crosby, Still & Nash died Thursday at the age of 81. His wife Jan confirmed it in Variety magazine saying the cause of death came after a "long illness," without offering further details about it:

"Peace, love and harmony to all who knew David and those he touched. He will be greatly missed. 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," concluded Jan.

A death that comes as a surprise

Despite his age, the singer's death came as a surprise to all his fans. Crosby was a very active artist on social networks. His last tweet was made two days ago, on Wednesday, January 18, and in the text he spoke of a "cloudy" place:

Rock legend

Crosby was born on August 14, 1941 in Los Angeles, California. He studied theater at Santa Barbara City College, a career he abandoned to pursue his life in music. "He had a very particular voice that gave an emotional touch to his songs, which included folk, blues and classic rock," commented Monterrey Rock.

He came to fame as founder of The Byrds, a group of which he was a member from 1964 to 1967 along with Gene Clark, Chris Hillman and Michael Clarke. Some time later, he founded Crosby, Stills & Nash with Graham Nash and Stephen Stills. Later, Neil Young joined the band.

His musical career also included eight solo albums, and more than four albums with the jazz-rock outfit CPR, between 1990 and 2000.

He is one of the few musicians to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, receiving the honor for his impeccable work with both musical groups.

In his personal life, for years the singer suffered from addiction problems with both alcohol and drugs. In 1982 he was arrested in Dallas (Texas) for possession of drugs and weapons. He received a five-year prison sentence of which he served only five months.

In 1994 he was diagnosed with hepatitis C and had to undergo a liver transplant. The musician Phil Collins was the one who paid for that transplant.

His last album was presented in 2021 under the name For Free. Crosby announced his retirement from the stage in May 2022 due to his "advanced age."