Friction within the Byrds about his polyamory anthem “Triad” contributed to Crosby being kicked out of the band, and its free-love sentiments were ridiculed after CSN released it, but of all the members of CSNY, Crosby was the only one who never divorced he married wife Jan Dance in 1987 and they were together for the rest of his life (36 years)-and his blunt criticisms of the divorces of bandmates Neil Young (from Pegi Young, wife of 36 years) and Graham Nash (from Susan Nash, wife of 38 years) seem to have been the triggers for them refusing to work with Crosby, thus breaking up CSNY. When Melissa Etheridge used Crosby as a sperm donor, the public reactions were cruel, but if someone wanted their child to be musical on a profound level, with a superb “ear,” Crosby’s genes were ideal. And amazingly, neither bad habits nor age damaged his “instrument.” The only change in Crosby’s timbre was a very slight slurring of diction.īut ask the average rock fan about Crosby and you don’t hear about that, but rather about drugs and prison time. This also means that in three-part harmonies, he could blend well with the very disparate timbres of Still and Nash. He could sing with a powerful rough tone, as on “Almost Cut My Hair,” or with perfect purity of intonation worthy of a choirboy (his version of the ancient French song “Orleans”), or with a gracefully casual conversational style (“Laughing”). And it was Crosby who got Roger McGuinn and The Byrds into John Coltrane and raga, leading to “Eight Miles High.” The time signature goes from 4/4 to 6/8 to 7/4.” Miles Davis (one of the influences on Crosby) took a shine to “Guinnevere” and covered it. It’s in a strange tuning it’s a strange chord structure. Crosby described his “Guinnevere” (on CSN’s debut) to journalist Jeff Tamarkin as “an unusual tune.
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