# RIP David Crosby **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** celebrity-death, music\ **Created:** [January 19, 2023, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-david-crosby/978480 "2023-01-19T22:26:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2023, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-david-crosby/978480/41 "2023-01-20T16:03:53Z")
> [@Labdad](#): > > You know, he almost cut it. But then decided he wanted to **let his freak flag fly**! BTW – and this seems to be as good a place as any to ask – did the phrase “_letting [someone’s] freak flag fly_” originate with Crosby’s lyrics to “Almost Cut My Hair”? ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2023, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-david-crosby/978480/42 "2023-01-20T16:23:30Z")
I’m pretty sure it originated with Jimi Hendrix on “If 6 Was 9,” (1967) “They’re hoping soon my kind will drop and die/ But I’m going to wave my freak flag high” At least, that’s where I heard it first! ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2023, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-david-crosby/978480/43 "2023-01-20T16:24:49Z")
> [@Labdad](#): > > I’m pretty sure it originated with Jimi Hendrix on “If 6 Was 9,” (1967) Thanks for this. ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2023, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-david-crosby/978480/44 "2023-01-20T18:40:13Z")
David Crosby plays almost all the guitar heard in @2_More_Bits’ video (post 38, I think). Graham Nash plays a barely audible rhythmic pattern on muted strings (notice that his fretting hand doesn’t change or actually finger any chords). Impressive playing and a beautiful voice. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2023, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-david-crosby/978480/45 "2023-01-20T18:44:58Z")
> [@alovem](#): > > David Crosby plays almost all the guitar heard in @2_More_Bits’ video (post 38, I think). That’s impressive for a guy who wasn’t even allowed to play on his first record. ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2023, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-david-crosby/978480/46 "2023-01-20T18:49:52Z")
Yes, it is. I had to watch twice to be sure. Never knew he was such a good guitarist. To tell the truth, I’d wondered about him for decades until seeing this video just now. because I’d always heard him play and sing with others and couldn’t single out his parts. Great talent. RIP. ---
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2023, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-david-crosby/978480/47 "2023-01-20T20:53:43Z")
RIP, an icon of the era that’s for sure. Quite anti-union though so can’t say as I’ll lose any sleep over it. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2023, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-david-crosby/978480/48 "2023-01-20T22:15:16Z")
I’ve been very attentively listening to some CSN (and sometimes Y) today. I find myself blown away all over again from the sublime harmonies. mmm ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2023, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-david-crosby/978480/49 "2023-01-20T22:41:25Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > I find myself blown away all over again from the sublime harmonies. My all-time favorite. [Helplessly Hoping (2005 Remaster) - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdBs7JFn9Pk) ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2023, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-david-crosby/978480/50 "2023-01-20T22:59:25Z")
Despite their recent differences both Nash and Stills put out classy statements. I was wondering about his son James Raymond. He is the one that was put up for adoption and they didn’t meet until he was an adult and already a musician in his own right. They had a band together for a while but stopped playing together. Most of the statements just mention his son with his current wife. Did Crosby have a falling out with James at some point? He also had two daughters not in the public eye, one he was on good terms with and the other he didn’t speak to. > **[Stephen Stills, Graham Nash, Melissa Etheridge, Others Remember David Crosby:...](https://deadline.com/2023/01/graham-nash-david-crosby-statement-1235228128/amp/)** > > Refresh for updates… Stephen Stills has joined his former bandmate Graham Nash in paying tribute to David Crosby, who died Thursday at 81. In a statement provided to Deadline, Stills said: I … ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2023, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-david-crosby/978480/51 "2023-01-20T23:11:54Z")
Any word from Neil Young yet? Like everybody in CSN&Y, they had fights and falling outs and said mean things about each other in interviews and songs, but I don’t know how the current relationship between Crosby and Young was before Crosby’s death. If Neil still holds grudges, I wouldn’t put it past him to not comment on Crosby’s passing. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2023, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-david-crosby/978480/52 "2023-01-20T23:13:14Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Any word from Neil Young yet? [https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/20/entertainment/neil-young-david-crosby-tribute/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/20/entertainment/neil-young-david-crosby-tribute/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2023, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-david-crosby/978480/53 "2023-01-20T23:18:18Z")
Ah, thanks, that’s good to hear. I thought that he might still be pissed about Crosby’s words about him from a 2021 interview: > [@](#): > > “Well he’s probably the most self-centred, self-obsessed, selfish person I know. He only thinks about Neil, period. That’s the only person he’ll consider. Ever!” From here: > **[David Crosby on love, music and rancour: ‘Neil Young is probably the most...](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/sep/02/david-crosby-on-love-music-and-rancour-neil-young-is-probably-the-most-selfish-person-i-know)** > > At 80, the superstar musician has survived heroin addiction, illness and tragedy to hit an unprecedented run of musical form. He discusses the joy of fatherhood, the pain of falling out with bandmates – and why Joni Mitchell is still the greatest ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2023, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-david-crosby/978480/54 "2023-01-20T23:51:34Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Ah, thanks, that’s good to hear. I thought that he might still be pissed about Crosby’s words about him from a 2021 interview: > > > [@](#): > > > > “Well he’s probably the most self-centred, self-obsessed, selfish person I know. He only thinks about Neil, period. That’s the only person he’ll consider. Ever!” > > From here: > > [David Crosby on love, music and rancour: ‘Neil Young is probably the most selfish person I know’ | David Crosby | The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/sep/02/david-crosby-on-love-music-and-rancour-neil-young-is-probably-the-most-selfish-person-i-know) That mostly answered my question. At the time of the article he was still writing music with James Raymond and seems to have had a good relationship with him ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2023, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-david-crosby/978480/55 "2023-01-21T02:31:42Z")
If Young ghosted everybody who’s ever said that about him, who would be left? ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2023, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-david-crosby/978480/56 "2023-01-21T19:12:38Z")
True that. I’ve always had the impression that CSN&Y was a group of three assholes with colossal egos and one rather normal guy (Graham Nash). At least I’ve never read a bad word about Nash. And Joni Mitchell wrote some wonderful songs about him. ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2023, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-david-crosby/978480/57 "2023-01-21T22:00:43Z")
I’m sure the rest of them thought Graham Nash was the lightweight but it was a lot of his songs that gave them the AM radio hits that in turn increased their album sales many times over. “Marrakesh Express,” “Our House” and “Teach Your Children” were all Nash compositions. And yes, he’s always seemed like a down-to-earth sort in any interviews I’ve read with him. The other guys, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![its\_the\_daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bb73d2/32.png) [@its\_the\_daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/its_the_daddy)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2023, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-david-crosby/978480/58 "2023-01-22T07:34:12Z")
Forthcoming book title: “The CSNY Story: Three Assholes and a Willy”? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-david-crosby/978480.md?page=2)