Stephen Stills, Graham Nash, Melissa Etheridge, Others Remember David Crosby: “He Leaves Behind A Tremendous Void” – Update

Refresh for updates… Stephen Stills has joined his former bandmate Graham Nash in paying tribute to David Crosby, who died Thursday at 81.

In a statement provided to Deadline, Stills said:

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I read a quote in this morning’s paper attributed to compose Gustav Mahler that stopped me for a moment:
“Death has, on placid cat’s paws, entered the room.”
I shoulda known something was up.
David and I butted heads a lot over time, but they were mostly glancing blows, yet still left us numb skulls..
I was happy to be at peace with him.
He was without question a giant of a musician, and his harmonic sensibilities were nothing short of genius.
The glue that held us together as our vocals soared, like Icarus, towards the sun.
I am deeply saddened at his passing and shall miss him beyond measure.”

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Graham Nash, whose voice melded perfectly with those of David Crosby and Stephen Stills in one of the best folk-rock trios of their era, remembered his late bandmate Crosby today, as did singer Melissa Etheridge, with whom Crosby fathered two children.

“I am grieving the loss of my friend and Bailey’s biological father, David,” Etheridge writes on her Facebook page. “He gave me the gift of family. I will forever be grateful to him, Django, and Jan. His music and legacy will inspire many generations to come. A true treasure.”

Crosby was the sperm donor for Etheridge and then-partner Julie Cypher in their efforts to build a family. In addition to daughter Bailey, they had a son, Beckett, who died at 21 in 2020 after a long struggle with addiction.

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“It is with a deep and profound sadness that I learned that my friend David Crosby has passed,” Nash said on Facebook. ” I know people tend to focus on how volatile our relationship has been at times, but what has always mattered to David and me more than anything was the pure joy of the music we created together, the sound we discovered with one another, and the deep friendship we shared over all these many long years. David was fearless in life and in music. He leaves behind a tremendous void as far as sheer personality and talent in this world. He spoke his mind, his heart, and his passion through his beautiful music and leaves an incredible legacy. These are the things that matter most. My heart is truly with his wife, Jan, his son, Django, and all of the people he has touched in this world.”

Nash, Crosby and Stephen Stills initially met in 1966 when Nash, then in the band The Hollies, was on a U.S. tour. The three reunited at a now nearly-mythic party at the Laurel Canyon home of Joni Mitchell (or Cass Elliott – recollections differ). Nash soon left the Hollies to for Crosby and Stills in 1968. (A year later, Neil Young began and off and on collaboration with the trio as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

In recent years, long-standing friction between Crosby and his bandmates reached a boiling point, with Crosby alienated from the other three.

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Tributes continued to arrive throughout the afternoon:

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