US rock legend David Crosby dies aged 81 - BBC

Veteran US folk-rock prima David Crosby has died aged 81, his typical has confirmed.

He helped acceptable up 2 large bands successful the 1960s: The Byrds, and Crosby, Stills and Nash. He was renowned for his guitar-playing and vocal harmonies.

His vocation saw him execute the uncommon feat of being inducted to the revered Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice.

Former bandmates saluted Crosby's originative talents, portion acknowledging the conflicts they had endured.

Crosby's woman told showbiz tract Variety that helium died "after a agelong illness" portion surrounded by family.

"His bequest volition proceed to unrecorded connected done his legendary music," her connection added.

Crosby was calved successful California connected 14 August 1941, the lad of Oscar-winning Hollywood cinematographer Floyd Crosby.

He joined The Byrds successful 1964 - a folk-rock radical who scored their archetypal deed with a screen of Bob Dylan's Tambourine Man, and whose different singles similar Turn! Turn! Turn! and Eight Miles High helped alteration the look of American popular and rock.

His tempestuous tenure - a play during which helium besides concisely dated vocalist Joni Mitchell - culminated successful his being fired from the radical 3 years later.

Crosby past formed a supergroup with Buffalo Springfield's Stephen Stills and The Hollies' Graham Nash, who were aboriginal joined by different Buffalo Springfield star, Neil Young.

Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young made 1 of their archetypal appearances astatine the Woodstock successful 1969, and aboriginal had a deed with Mitchell's opus astir the legendary festival.

This band, too, was beset by in-fighting and broke up aft a fewer years - though they person periodically reformed for concerts since.

Hits written by Crosby during his clip successful the set included the hippy anthems Almost Cut My Hair and Deja Vu, and helium responded to the 1968 assassination of Robert Kennedy with the opus Long Time Coming.

He became known for his countercultural authorities and trademark moustache arsenic good arsenic his musicianship. A six-decade vocation culminated successful his last album, For Free, released successful 2021.

The grounds saw him squad up with 1 of his children, James Raymond, who had been enactment up for adoption soon aft commencement and lone became acquainted with his begetter 3 decades later.

Off-stage, Crosby had aggregate run-ins with US instrumentality enforcement, including an apprehension successful 1982 connected cause and weapons charges.

His substance maltreatment had reportedly intensified aft the decease of a woman successful a car clang erstwhile helium was a young man.

There followed periods of sick health, and a liver transplant successful 1994. Crosby's estimation for a hedonistic manner saw him named 2 decades aboriginal arsenic "rock's unlikeliest survivor" by Rolling Stone magazine.

Crosby aboriginal expressed regret implicit his addictions and altercations with co-stars, telling the Los Angeles Times successful 2019 helium was "ashamed" of immoderate of his past behaviours.

Following the musician's death, erstwhile bandmate Nash expressed his "profound sadness" contempt the 2 men's often "volatile" relationship, adding that Crosby near down a "tremendous void".

"What has ever mattered to David and maine much than thing was the axenic joyousness of the euphony we created together, the dependable we discovered with 1 another, and the heavy relationship we shared implicit each these galore agelong years," Nash wrote.

"David was fearless successful beingness and successful music."

Stills agreed, penning that his precocious collaborator was "without question a elephantine of a musician", adjacent though they had "butted heads a batch of the time".

"His harmonic sensibilities were thing abbreviated of genius," he added.

Another tribute came from Beach Boys vocalist Brian Wilson, who wrote connected Twitter that helium was "heartbroken" astatine the quality - arsenic his chap prima had been an "unbelievable talent" and a "wonderful person".

Crosby helped chap vocalist Melissa Etheridge and her spouse person 2 children by acting arsenic their sperm donor done artificial insemination. Etheridge wrote connected Thursday: "He gave maine the acquisition of family. I volition everlastingly beryllium grateful to him, Django, and Jan.

"His euphony and bequest volition animate galore generations to come. A existent treasure."

Asked wherefore she chose Crosby, Etheridge told the magazine: "He's musical, which means a batch to me, and I respect his work."

In 2016, she said she had considered Brad Pitt, a bully friend, arsenic the donor, but decided against it due to the fact that of the actor's tendency to person a household of his own.

"I looked and I saw however severely helium wanted children and I thought, I don't privation to stock this with idiosyncratic who really, severely wants children due to the fact that my children don't request different genitor - they person two," she told Australia's Studio 10.

Etheridge's household saw Crosby "every erstwhile successful a while", she said, but Crosby and his woman Jan "totally understood that we are the parents".

One of the children they conceived, Beckett Cypher, died successful 2020 astatine the property of 21. Etheridge tweeted astatine the clip that she "joined the hundreds of thousands of families who person mislaid loved ones to opioid addiction".

Crosby said successful 2021 that Beckett's decease was "hugely painful". He told The Telegraph: "It's ne'er gonna get easy. You suffer idiosyncratic you emotion and it hurts, that's however it is."

"But helium can't. Everybody has choices. You can't conscionable say: 'Oh, that's David Crosby's son, so…' That doesn't enactment astatine all."

Crosby and his woman besides helped histrion Drew Barrymore by letting her enactment with them for 3 months arsenic portion of her programme of betterment from intoxicant and cause maltreatment erstwhile she was 14 successful 1989.

"I'm an aged Hollywood kid, and I knew her story," Crosby said astatine the time. "I felt she had been dealt a abbreviated deck, you know, a fifth-generation alcoholic, and I didn't privation to spot her spell down the tubes."

Following Crosby's death, different celebrated fans paid tribute connected societal media.

Tweets were sent from Crosby's ain relationship the time earlier his decease was announced - with 1 stating that Eleanor Rigby was his favourite Beatles to opus to play connected a rainy day.

The nonstop origin of his decease was not instantly specified.