The Life And Wild Times Of David Crosby

A Rollicking Interview With The Musical Legend (Just Call Him "Ledge")

(CBS)  David Crosby has been captivating us with his performances for 40 years now. And his musical voyage continues. Rita Braver has a Sunday Profile:

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This is the famous, fabulous David Crosby, the legend in his own time.

"Just call me 'ledge,'" he said.

As a member of Crosby, Stills and Nash, David Crosby has made some of the most famous music in rock 'n' roll history.

The captain of the 74-foot schooner "Mayan" has been at-home on the water for a long time.

"I started sailing when I was 11," Crosby said, "and so I've been sailing 54 years."

This wooden ship is one constant in a life that's seen its share of ups and downs.

Crosby actually wrote some songs on his boat. "I wrote many songs on this boat," he said. "Down in that main cabin there, I wrote 'Wooden Ships,' I wrote 'Page 43.' I wrote 'Carry Me.'"

Crosby prides himself on making his music a bit mysterious:

"If I wanna talk to you about that dock, well, the answer is not to write a song saying, 'Look at the great big dock, it's made out of wood, don't you think it's cool?' That's not it. The best songs take you a while to digest. And no two people get exactly the same picture from them, because they ignite a little fire in your imagination."

And since the 1960's, he has fired up lots of imaginations as a member of the legendary Crosby, Stills and Nash.

How did he get top billing?

"It's very simple," he said. "Try saying it any other way…"

"'Nash, Stills, Crosby'…It's okay, probably Nash liked that," Braver said.

"No, he didn't!" Crosby said. "It doesn't work any other way. One of them [does], and none of the others do, it's that simple."

Long before David Crosby got together with Stephen Stills and Graham Nash, he was growing up in California. He still lives in the hills north of his hometown of Santa Barbara.

One interesting item on display: his dad's Oscar. His father, Floyd Crosby, was a Hollywood cinematographer.

"That's one of the first Oscars that got issued," he said.

Braver asked how he discovered music.

"You know, it just kind of snuck up and kissed me on the ear," Crosby said. "We didn't have a TV, so we sang songs. So I started singing harmony when I was about 6."

He loved music so much he dropped out of college to pursue his passion. In 1964 he joined another big-time rock group, The Byrds, but his stint with the band came to an unhappy end.

"Why'd they throw you out?" Braver asked.

"I wasn't that easy to handle," Crosby said. "I had a big ego, and I wanted them to play my songs. I was starting to write pretty good songs."

"Don't Make Waves," "Renaissance Fair," "Psychodrama City," and "Everybody's Been Burned" are just a few.

By then he had made some pretty good friends in the California music scene, including Joni Mitchell and the Mamas and the Papas.

"Rich pickings!" Crosby said.

From 1969 on, Crosby, Stills and Nash - sometimes playing with their friend Neil Young - went on to create their own brand of classic American Music, becoming one of the most popular groups in rock and roll history. Their first two albums alone still sell more than a million copies a year.

But for David Crosby, the good times were soon overshadowed by a growing addiction to heroin and cocaine:

"What happens to you is that it starts running your life," he said. "After years of doing it, it's in charge and you're not."

He spent, in his words, "many, many millions of dollars" on drugs.

In 1985 his addiction cost him even more: his freedom. He was sentenced to prison on drug charges and served a year and a half. In prison he went cold turkey, and came out determined to stay sober.

He returned to the stage immediately after his release, accompanied by his best friend, Graham Nash. To this day, the two often perform as a duo … kind of a refuge from the infamous ego battles that could dominate Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young tours.

"We just take little hiatuses," Crosby said. "The idea when we started was that we would work in all these different combinations on purpose, and that's why we used our own names. That's why we didn't call it the 'Fat Dollop,' or you know, the 'Purple and Red Dinosaur.'"

As for his most "significant other," in 1987 Crosby married his longtime girlfriend Jan Dance, who had conquered her own drug problems.

"I think we saved each other's lives," he said.

"Multiple times," she concurred.

"The French having a saving for it, raison d'etre," Crosby said. "A reason for being. And we have that."

But just as Crosby seemed to have put his life back on track, in 1994 he learned that his hard living past had caught up with him.

"I go to a doctor's office and he says, 'David, somewhere back there you contracted Hepatitis C, and you're dying. You're down to about maybe 20 percent of your function on your liver now, and you're gonna die very soon if we don't get your transplant.' Then in the middle of that, another doctor says, after five years of trying, 'Jan's pregnant.'"

"And so I'm sitting there thinking, 'Okay, I'm dying. Am I gonna die before I get to see this child born?"

The good news is that Crosby did get a liver transplant, and Django Crosby - now 12 - was the child Jan and David had long hoped for.

But there's more: just before Django was born, Crosby got a call from a son he'd fathered out of wedlock, and had been given up for adoption in 1962.

His name is James Raymond - and remarkably, he's a musician also.

The two sometimes perform together…

"He's more talented than I am by a considerable amount," Crosby said. "And I'm not being humble here - he's really, really, really brilliant."

And just when you think David Crosby's life can't be any more dramatic, you say, 'Wait a minute - wasn't he the guy who donated sperm so that Melissa Etheridge and her then-partner Julie Cypher could have children?' He was … and it was his wife's idea

"I didn't ask him first," Jan said.

"You offered him first?" Braver asked.

"I did, and you know in retrospect, I have to honestly say the moment was so pure that I didn't have to question it."

Crosby didn’t question it, either.

The Crosbys get to see the children frequently. And as for what's on the horizon for David Crosby:

"If I can spend time with Django and Jandi, and if I can live more life, make more music, there will come a time when I will go for one last sail, and it'll be okay."

[texmw]

Sorry, he may not be a model of humanity, whatever that is, but I''m still a fan. Does anyone know the name of the piece they played after he said "bump-a-bump bump bump" describing the reason it was Crosby Stills and Nash as opposed to Nash, Stills and Crosby to Rita.

[alapoet-2009]

Thank you for changing the Byrds songs mentioned as Crosby compositions!

I appreciate your interest in accuracy, and thank you also for the opportunity to provide feedback.

Well done!

[sandyo8]

I accidentally tuned in to "Sunday Morning" about a year ago, and now I watch it every week. I thought the porn awards segment was hilarious, thanks to Bill Geist, and I always wanted to know more about David Crosby because I was a big fan of CSN&Y back in the day. I look forward to Sunday morning viewing, as the extended length segments inform me and help me to stay open minded. Keep up the good work!

[ciarrai3]

Pornography debases humanity. It is an insult to all of us. It is evil. I don''t want Sunday Morning to give any hint of praise to this demeaning rubbish. Don''t defend the indefensible.

[sroj1]

Why is it some narrow-minded people view porn as a negative? Porn among adults can be stimulating and envigorating. Call it erotica....and still there would be those who call it degrading. Porn is a part of our society, obviously enjoyed by 100s of thousands, if not more. Therefore, it is worthy of recognition. It is an adult activity, as is drinking of alcohol. Children need to know there are boundaries that they can cross and enjoy when they are of age. I can''t say mature enough, as many never do mature. I enjoyed the program this morning...found the saga of David Crosby inspirational - he admits his weaknesses and has tried to move on. Thank you for your varied aganda.

[rohink-2009]

Posted by charob1

I too share your opinion.

[scottiemac52]

"Turn Turn Turn" was written by Pete Seeger in 1954, using Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, adding words and music.

[charob1]

About the David Crosby self agrandizing piece, aired on Sunday Morning. A person, who by his own words has spent "many millions" for illegal purposes, contracted hepatitis C from who knows what source, spent time in prison, (anything else, Dave, be honest)and says call me "lege"? I personally would refer to him in less flattering terms. A man among men, he DID survive a liver transplant. Would anyone care to wager that some poor, or possibly middle class, hardworking, live-by-the-book, unsung, average American bloke have been deprived of a donor liver and the opportunity of a longer life for the "famous" David Crosby? Crosby''s contributions to Society? As per Crosby and Rita Braver: (1) Music. Paid multiple millions for it, though painstakenly written in his sailboat cabin. (2) Sired a child. Sorry, two, oops, three, more? Again, be honest, Dave. (3) Sperm donor. Yes, kiddies, you heard right! Sperm donor! From a diseased, convicted felon junkie! Good old daddy/donor. Makes for a tall, strong family tree! Hero in your book? Not in mine. Just another high living parasite. Just my opinion.

"We tune because we care" is a great line, but it''s only part of the story. Crosby says he he loves the sound that acoustic guitars make when they''re in perfect tune. And it doesn''t take much listening to realize that he loves the sound of the harmonies he can make with other people when they''re emotionally in tune with each other and with the lyrics.

[inktvis-2009]

Apart from the obvious songwriting credit mistakes addressed earlier, it wasn''t a bad piece.
The Porn Awards could have been an embarrassment, however, the fact that Bill Geist did the article retained humor and (relative) dignity to an area of entertainment that we seldom see (thankfully!). However, it IS a viable industry and I found the piece well-done, and not at all insulting or in bad taste. What I DO find in bad taste are the comments of people who would like to restrict what we see on TV.
You have two choices here...change channels or turn off... The more you know about something, you can understand the situation, and be a better judge. There are no places for ostriches in this day and age.

[hober_mallow]

My favorite David Crosby line, delivered while the Byrds experienced minor equipment difficulties appearing on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in the ''60s...

"We tune because we care."

I''ve used that line, or derivatives thereof, in fitting circumstances ever since.

(Does anyone else remember that line?)

[alapoet-2009]

There are some glaring inaccuracies in the story.

Most egregiously:

"Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Turn Turn Turn" were NOT written by Crosby while he was in the Byrds.

"Mr. Tambourine Man" is a Bob Dylan song the Byrds covered. "Turn Turn Turn" was written by Byrds leader Roger McGuinn.

Crosby DID write "Renaissance Fair" and "Triad" and other great songs while he was with the Byrds, and many, many great songs after he left that band.

[grchouinard]

Does Sunday Morning offer DVD''s or videos of its segments? My TI-VO recording was lost.

[harley053]

I''ve watched and recorded Sunday Morning from back in the Charles Kuralt days. I''ve watched the program evolve and it''s as wonderful and contemporary today as it has been in the past. All the fuss about the "pornbiz" awards reminds me of how American mores seem to have become more Victorian these days than how Victorian they were in "Jolly Old" during the last half of the 19th century!...it seems to have crept up on us in the last three decades...like dust bunnies somehow collect under the ''fridge.

Keep up the good work, and thanks to all who make Sunday Morning a reality each week. I do miss the postcards, though. Those from Nebraska and New England were great. Perhaps we could see some postcards from Alaska or from Northern New Mexico or the Upper Peninsula of Michigan? Regardless of postcards or segments that may crowd my comfort zone, you can count on me faithfully watching The Sunday Morning program next week and as many weeks in the future as I may have the Gift of enjoying in life.

[ptalledo2]

the song on the Crosby segment is "in my dreams" from the 1977 CSN album of the same name.

[gphalstead]

I really liked the crosby piece this morning! Does anyone out there know the CSN song that ended the segment? Much appreciated!

[ciarrai3]

P.S. The David Crosby piece was very good. A little less Mo Rocca and a little more Nancy Giles, please.

[mjtn95]

I was apalled and sickened that the porn awards was even worth letting the viewers know about. What is normally a time of seeing/hearing interesting places and events turned turned my serene morning into an agitated, disgusted state of mind. We wonder why society these days seems to have a lack of moral values...how can today''s young people know anything else when television expoits *** in the shows, commercials, and now on what was - until this morning - a seemingly family friendly, informative show. Count this household as another "Former Viewer", as you have lost my trust in your programming integrity.

[ciarrai3]

Please be advised that we have been watching Sunday Morning for ages and I even went over to see Charles Osgood at an appearance he made at a university in Hamden, Ct. We are huge fans of the show, as I told Charles Osgood at the aforementioned appearance. We watch the show for the one-of-a-kind material it produces and its obvious difference from the general flow on TV. However, the segment on the pornography awards was both unnecessary and offensive. We find any positive slant given to this foul and inhuman industry to be unacceptable and counter-productive. We are willing to give both the show and the normally outstanding Bill Geist a mulligan on this matter, but we will remain sensitive to this type of material fouling your heretofore grown-up show. There are a number of other things we can do between 9 and 10:30 on Sunday mornings. Don''t wreck the show with such rubbish. It wasn''t funny or appropriate to your format in the least.

[jaxwill]

My wife, daughter and I have been avid viewers of Sunday Morning for several years. We look forward to your excellent exposes and thought provoking issues, while sipping a cup of coffee. My daughter, now at college, generally calls during commericials to engage in dialogue on the current segment.

Today, unfortunately, we declined to view the story celebrating pornagraphy.

Sad and very disappointing. We look forward to this Sunday morning time period for meaningful family discussion. Please rethink this type of segment, that requires "your children to leave the room."