David Crosby -UPDATED

Lucian Truscott described him perfectly: asshole and genius. I’m sure David would have agreed with him. But there he is with his kitty, and that goes a long way to putting him on the good side of the line.

There’s songs that, the first time I heard them, I had to stop what I was doing and listen. "Ring of Fire” - in the Navy, we were working away in the staff operations office with Armed Forces Radio on the intercom, and this song came on. Everybody - including the Chief of Staff who walked out of his office at that moment - just stopped what they were doing and listened. “Eleanor Rigby” - I was driving and had to pull over and stop and listen. Same with “Sounds of Silence” - I thought at first the radio was pulling in two competing stations.

“Turn Turn Turn” was the first thing I ever heard that I connect his name to. Fall of 1965, I was in college, it was the first party I went to where I met the band of merry troublemakers who changed the campus over the next two years. I loved the Byrds immediately. In fact, when I later wrote “In The Year of the Monkey,” the Vietnam script that started my career and then sank seven studio presidents who wanted to make it and finally ended up with American Film calling it “The best unproduced Vietnam script in Hollywood” (with that and $5, you can get a Vente at Starbucks) I put that in as the music for the opening scene. It was perfect for telling the audience what was coming.

I remember after the November 1969 Vietnam Moratorium March in San Francisco, we all went to the Fillmore that night and Crosby, Stills Nash and Young played. Everybody had been at the march. It was a very memorable night.

I remember lots of his other songs, they’re all good - he was a genius - but this one’s the first one. Now he’s gone but the work is forever.

Here’s a video of one of their first performances. Look how young he is - all the bad shit yet to happen.

The Byrds: Turn Turn Turn

And here’s the best compliment and salute to the Byrds: Bob Dylan and a Generation of Musicians who will never be repeated, chose the Byrd’s version to do a song that only becomes more relevant as I increase my years:

My Back Pages

I WAS so much older then. I AM younger than that now.

(A tip of the TAFM top hat to reliable participant David Levine for picking this up and bringing it to notice.)

And here Mr. Dylan himself lays a little respect on the band.

Byrds with Dylan

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