David Crosby (born August 14, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of both the Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Crosby has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice: once for his work in the Byrds and once for his work with CSN. Five albums he contributed to are included in Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, three with the Byrds and two with CSN(Y). He has been depicted as emblematic of the 1960s counterculture. (More from Wikipedia)
David Crosby had been a member of the Byrds but was forced out in late 1967 due to friction with others in the band. By early 1968, Stephen Stills was one of several musicians who began sailing with Crosby on his yacht and jamming with him. One of the first fruits of these sessions was the apocalyptic tale “Wooden Ships”, composed by Stills, Crosby, and Paul Kantner of Jefferson Airplane.
David Crosby met Graham Nash of the British Invasion band the Hollies when the Byrds toured England in 1966; when the Hollies came to L.A. in 1968, they reunited their acquaintance. At a party given by Nash’s then-girlfriend Joni Mitchell in July 1968, Stephen Stills and David Crosby performed a new Stills song called “You Don’t Have to Cry” with harmony vocals added by Graham Nash. The three realized that they had a unique chemistry, and Crosby, Stills & Nash was born.
As one of the few new bands, Crosby, Stills & Nash (Neil Young also played with them part of the time; the band was then called Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young) was a hit at the 1969 Woodstock festival, including their performance of “Wooden Ships”. There was a renowned exchange between songs, where David Crosby notes that this is just their second gig, and then Stephen Stills says: “This is the second time we’ve ever played in front of people, man, we’re scared s--tless.”
Neil Young continued to record sporadically with the group; also, David Crosby and Graham Nash have released several albums with just the two of them.
(April 2014)
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