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David Crosby


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David Van Cortland Crosby (born August 14, 1941 in Los Angeles, California) is a guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is the son of Floyd Crosby, an Academy Award winning cinematographer.David Crosby moved through the same Greenwich Village scene Bob Dylan participated in, and even shared a mentor of Dylan's in a local scene favourite Fred Neil. The song ''Hey Joe'' is widely credited as being popularized by David Crosby after he picked it up from Dino Valente. He taught the song to Bryan MacLean and Arthur Lee of Love, who then taught it to members of The Leaves. A possessiveness over a song he felt responsible for having popularized caused Crosby to convince the other members of The Byrds to cover it on ''Fifth Dimension''. He was an original member of The Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash (later Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young). He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his work in the Byrds and Crosby, Stills and Nash. While in Crosby, Stills, and Nash, he wrote many hit songs. These include "Guinevere", "Almost Cut My Hair", "Long Time Gone", and "Delta". He is noted for his trademark voice.Crosby is one of the few musicians who found fame in the 1960s who genuinely deserves more credit for his music than he has ever got; unfortunately, all too often, occasional moments that have made the news - basically related to drug abuse and drug related paranoia - have made people forget his excellent songwriting.By ''Younger Than Yesterday'', the Byrds' album of 1967, Crosby was starting to find his trademark style - a combination of solo vocals augmenting a touch of Sinatra, a touch of Nina Simone and his unique 'angelic' touch, harmonies of a jazzy, Gregorian chant, Beach Boys type and music that veered from Joni Mitchell-esque guitar tunings to full-on rock: all these things and more, the point being that what he made was completely unique and utterly compelling. His influence has all too often been overshadowed by that of The Beatles or The Byrds etc. But it could be argued quite validly that Crosby was the single most influential singer - stylistically - in the 1960s on guitar groups of the folk-rock type.You can hear Crosbyesque harmonies in 'Crowded House', 'The Bees', 'The Mamas & The Papas', 'The Grateful Dead', 'The Eagles', 'America', 'James Taylor', in a while host of other bands and in odd songs by bands as diverse as 'Pearl Jam', 'The Foo Fighters' and 'Led Zeppelin'.One could also look at the friendly rivalry between The Beatles and The Byrds and though the real rival of The Beatles (as has been well documented) was Brian Wilson, and later Fleetwood Mac, in the mid-1960s the 12 string and harmony sound of The Byrds was a big influence on The Beatles - who upped their already formdiable harmonizing to Crosby's level - with "Paperback Writer", "Day Tripper", "She Said She Said" and much of ''Revolver'' and ''Sgt. Pepper's''.In The Byrds, while Roger McGuinn was responsible for the trademark 12 string sound (which he in turn took from George Harrison on "A Hard Day's Night" and the ''Beatles for Sale'' album), Crosby was responsible for the soaring harmonies and often unusual phrasing on their songs. If he has often come across as difficult to get along with (as Bob Dylan has acknowledged some saw him as in his book 'Chronicles Part One') it is often because he is very discerning. Away from all the drug abuse and the rock posturing of the 1970s he was and remains a musician to his core.The years between 1967 and 1977 were probably his creative peak. In the late 1990s he has made a remarkable creative comeback. The 1980s saw the occasional gem - "Delta", "Compass".From 1967 - 1969 he would write and/or record several songs which summed up his style - "Guinevere", "Laughing", "Games", "The Lee Shore", "Triad' and "Everybody's Been Burned" - acoustic guitar, unusual modal sound and evocative lyrics.In 1971 he released his solo album ''If I Could Only Remember My Name'', a tour-de-force showcase for the creme-de-la-creme of the San Francisco Bay Area musicians. It included Joni Mitchell, the Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, Neil Young and others. Panned on release by Rolling Stone, it heralded a huge backlash and is today considered to be one of the finest and most timeless records of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Music critics often cite it as their favourite album. Why might you ask? Well, a lot has to do with the track listing and the variety on the album. Opening with the gentle 'Music is Love' what starts as a sort of paen to the 1960s, then takes a twist with the swing-rock of "Cowboy Movie" - an 8 minute freak out with faultless playing throughout. Darker elements abound with "What Are Their Names" - a song about the politicians who make unauthorized decisions behind closed doors (something we can all relate to) - and "I Could Swear There Was Somebody Here" - a ghostly vocal track multilayering Crosby's voice into an ethereal presence - a genuinely haunting song for his recently deceased partner. Elsewhere there are instrumentals where the voice is used as an additional sound - as in "Song Without Words" - you really have to hear it to understand. The standout tracks are arguably "Laughing" and the exquisite "Traction in the Rain". There are other great songs Crosby would go on to write - "Where Will I Be?", "Carry Me", "Bittersweet", "Time After Time", "Foolish Man", "In My Dreams" in the 1970s, but somehow that urgency - that wonderful rush of songwriting pouring out of him in the painful years and budding friendships - of the late 1960s never quite came back. His debut solo remains his high point. There have been many live but on record he has always proved elusive.People interested in Crosby should start with ''Crosby, Stills and Nash'' or ''Younger than Yesterday'' and then look at ''If I Could Only Remember My Name'', ''Wind on the Water'', ''Graham Nash/David Crosby'' and ''CSN''. His influence (and some of his finest songs) is all over ''The Notorious Byrd Brothers'' as well.mugshot.]]
In 1985, he served a year in jail in Texas after having been convicted for a drug-related offense a few years earlier. He was set free after a higher court overturned his conviction on appeal. Later, he was the recipient of a highly publicized liver transplant. On March 6, 2004 he was arrested for drug possession and weapons offenses in New York City.In 2004, Crosby left behind a piece of luggage when checking out of a New York hotel room. A hotel employee searched the bag to try to find some identification, and found a quantity of marijuana, a 45-caliber handgun and a knife. Crosby was arrested when he went back to the hotel to pick up his property. He was charged with illegal possession of a hunting knife, illegal possession of a handgun and ammunition, and possession of marijuana.He donated sperm to fellow musician Melissa Etheridge so that she and her lesbian partner at the time, Julie Cypher, could have two babies.While he is still in CSN, Crosby also now leads his own band CPR with guitarist Jeff Pevar and keyboardist James Raymond, Crosby's son who was given up for adoption at birth and reunited with his father after he had become a professional musician himself.

Solo discography of David Crosby



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