David Crosby, the iconic singer and songwriter, passed away on January 19th, 2023. He was a member of the legendary rock band Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young and was known for his powerful voice and songwriting skills. In this interview, David Crosby talks about his long and close friendship with bandmate Graham Nash, and how Nash has been the “balancer” of the group, keeping in check the personalities of all the members. Crosby also talks about how his drug addiction affected his music and how it was a worse “prison” than the time he spent in prison. He also talks about how his music has changed since he became clean, and how he’s especially proud of the work he’s done with his son James and the band C.P.R. He describes working with his son as a unique and happy experience and considers it one of the best times of his life. David Crosby’s legacy will continue to live on through his music and the memories he left behind. He will be deeply missed by his fans, friends, and family.
Below is an excerpt from an interview I did with him quite a few years back.
DM) I recently spoke to Graham Nash who spoke about your friendship with him. He described himself as the balancer in the group, keeping in check all of the personalities in Crosby, Stills, and Nash. But he also said, when things go wrong, he looks towards you as the person who balances him.
DC) Well, it’s been a long and quite wonderful thing. He’s an amazing man, and he’s been the best friend I’ve ever had. Yes, he has been the balancer and the diplomat, the conflict resolver, the good influence…he’s been the brains of the outfit for a long time.
DM) Graham described the group as having an entirely different dynamic before you were clean of drugs and after.
DC) Sure, before that period, I was in a prison in Texas. Truthfully, being a junkie, being in freebaser is a worse “prison” than being in prison. I don’t really regret having gone to prison, but it was drastically different obviously.
DM) Do you find musically that your music even comes out different now than before?
DC) It was almost two plotable curves: as the drug intake went up, the music output went down. The minute I stopped [drugs], it started getting better, and soon after I started writing again. The last two years when I was really strung out, I didn’t write at all. A person’s work is not only a window into their soul, but a barometer of their mental and physical health. I could only draw one conclusion–that it worked better.
DM) But you would hear the joke in the 60s, “the higher you get, the
better music you’d turn out.”
DC) Well, we thought that, but it didn’t turn out to be true.
DM) Are you prouder of what you’ve done recently than what you’ve done in
the past?
DC) I wouldn’t compare one to the other, but I am particularly proud of the stuff that I’ve done lately, the work that I’ve done with my son, James. It double and tripled the output for me over the last few years, and I think it’s some of the best music that I’ve written over my life. I’m very happy with C.P.R., and I’m very happy with how it’s affected my writing and my playing. It’s still music, and it’s still “forward motion.” I think that’s the phrase Neil used to describe me and C.P.R.
DM) It must be a unique to work with your son. Most people don’t have the opportunity…
DC) No, most people don’t. But it’s more than that. Even if you have the opportunity to work with your kids, very few kids would turn out like him. He’s a much better musician than I am. He’s astoundingly talented.
DM) Are you able to work together as equals or is it a father/son thing?
DC) It’s not a father/son thing; it’s more like two brothers really, because we’re both raising 7-year-olds. He’s fully-grown and doesn’t need a lot of parenting; he needs friendship, and he gets that.
DM) Does that get hard when the lines get blurred then?
DC) No, it’s very easy, very comfortable, and very good.
DM) From what you’re describing, it sounds like one of the happiest times
of your life.
DC) It absolutely is. It’s no question. I’m happy then I’ve ever been in any time in my life. Truthfully no, there’s nothing more I would want for myself. I’m ecstatic, I couldn’t ask for anything better than this. There are things that I would love. I would love to do some more work with Neil. I think that he’s a stunning musician. I would love it if Roger McGwuin would do some more work with me as the Byrds, but he doesn’t want to right now, so that won’t happen right now.–