David Crosby, a veteran US folk-rock star, passed away at the age of 81, confirmed by his representative. Crosby was a founding member of two major bands in the 1960s, The Byrds and Crosby, Stills and Nash.

He was known for his exceptional guitar-playing skills and vocal harmonies. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, a rare achievement in his career.

His former bandmates paid tribute to his creative talents while acknowledging their past conflicts.

Crosby’s wife told Variety that her husband died “after a long illness” while surrounded by his loved ones.

“His legacy will continue to live on through his legendary music,” she said.

David Crosby, born on August 14, 1941 in California, was the son of Oscar-winning Hollywood cinematographer Floyd Crosby.

He joined the folk-rock group The Byrds in 1964, where they scored their first hit with a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Tambourine Man.”

However, his tumultuous tenure with the group, during which he also had a brief relationship with singer Joni Mitchell, ultimately led to his dismissal in 1967.

Shortly thereafter, he formed the supergroup Crosby, Stills and Nash, and performed at the iconic Woodstock festival in 1969.

Crosby, Stills and Nash later added Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young to the group. However, just like his previous band, the group faced internal conflicts, which ultimately led to their break-up after a few years.

During his tenure with the band, Crosby was responsible for penning a number of hits, including the hippie anthems “Almost Cut My Hair” and “Deja Vu.”

Along with his playing, he became well-known for his countercultural views and distinctive mustache. His last album, For Free, was released in 2021, marking the conclusion of a six-decade career.

On the record, he worked with one of his children, James Raymond, who was adopted soon after he was born and didn’t meet his father until he was 30 years old.

Offstage, Crosby ran into trouble with US law enforcement more than once. In 1982, he was arrested on drug and weapons charges.

He apparently became more dependent on drugs when his girlfriend died in a car accident while he was a young guy.

After that, he was sick for a while, and in 1994, he got a new liver. Twenty years later, Rolling Stone magazine referred to Crosby as “rock’s unlikeliest survivor” due to his reputation for leading a hedonistic lifestyle.

In 2019, Crosby told the Los Angeles Times that he was “ashamed” of some of his former behaviors, including his substance abuse and fights with co-stars.

Despite the two men’s sometimes “volatile” relationship, bandmate Graham Nash expressed his “profound sadness” upon the musician’s passing and said that Crosby left behind a “tremendous void”.

Even though they “butted heads a lot of the time,” Stephen Stills acknowledged that his late partner was “without a question a giant of a musician” in a letter.

Brian Wilson, lead singer of the Beach Boys, expressed his sadness at the news on Twitter, calling his bandmate an “unbelievable genius” and “wonderful person.”

The day before his death was announced, Crosby sent tweets from his own account. One of them said that Eleanor Rigby was his favorite Beatles song to play on a rainy day.

The cause of his death was not immediately specified.

Image Credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images