We’ll remember his name.
CSNY 1970 – Auditorium Theater
Jan 19, 2023. In the 1960s, David Crosby’s strong tenor harmonies informed the core of the Byrds, who electrified Bob Dylan’s folk lyrics and brought social awareness to the mainstream, laying the groundwork for a burgeoning counterculture.
The very end of the decade gave rise to Crosby, Stills, Nash and sometimes Neil Young; one of the first rock-pop supergroups. Their career lifted their iconoclastic message to an art form and musically paved the way for the Eagles, Poco, Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, and all who followed.
While railing against corporate America (it made them millions) and the military-industrial complex, they also encouraged us to love the one we’re with and to teach our children well. The drug-influenced melodies and lyrics of many songs from that era became so confusing, that I questioned the radically changing culture, eventually abandoning the scene, and almost joined the Navy. Later, I played big band music, which resurged in the late 70s and 80s and allowed people to cast their worries on the dance floor.
I still have a close friend who is a life-long CSN/Y aficionado. Occasionally, I went to their concerts, and I remember seeing Roger McGuinn (native Chicagoan and Byrds founder) at Park West in the 90s. Around that time, it was rumored that David Crosby, trying to put his life back together after decades of drugs and disease led to a liver transplant, was playing solo at bars in Wrigleyville.
Then came a reunion with a long lost son, James Raymond, who Crosby teamed up with in an eclectic group called CPR. My friend told me about a performance they were doing in Lincoln Park, for the benefit of the animals.
Glad I went. Not only was the music fresh and excellent, but during a break, David Crosby came to the fence to meet and greet. He only had a brief time to spend with each of us, but in those 20-30 seconds, he held my glance and appeared genuinely interested in who I was, and that I appreciated his career.
I saw the humanity in his eyes. That fleeting glimpse of his soul told me that David believed in what he stood for and what he sang about. Such conviction was hard fought and hard won, if you know his past. Mother earth may swallow him, but I believe his spirit is soaring never-so-bright as now.