David Crosby’s Death Mourned by Stephen Stills, Graham Nash, Melissa Etheridge & More: ‘He Leaves Behind a Tremendous Void’

An outpouring of love and reverence hit social media when the news broke that The Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash founder David Crosby had died at age 81.

Memories poured in from Crosby’s peers, including bandmates (and sometime adversaries) Graham Nash and Stephen Stills, with whom he formed CSN in 1968.

“It is with a deep and profound sadness that I learned that my friend David Crosby has passed,” Nash wrote on Facebook. “I know people tend to focus on how volatile our relationship has been at times, but what has always mattered to David and me more than anything was the pure joy of the music we created together, the sound we discovered with one another, and the deep friendship we shared over all these many long years. David was fearless in life and in music. He leaves behind a tremendous void as far as sheer personality and talent in this world. He spoke his mind, his heart, and his passion through his beautiful music and leaves an incredible legacy. These are the things that matter most. My heart is truly with his wife, Jan, his son, Django, and all of the people he has touched in this world.”

In a statement sent to Billboard, Stills shared: “I read a quote in this morning’s paper attributed to compose Gustav Mahler that stopoed me for a moment: ‘Death has, on placid cat’s paws, entered the room.’ I shoulda known something was up. David and I butted heads a lot over time, but they were mostly glancing blows, yet still left us numb skulls. I was happy to be at peace with him. He was without question a giant of a musician, and his harmonic sensibilities were nothing short of genius. The glue that held us together as our vocals soared, like Icarus, towards the sun. I am deeply saddened at his passing and shall miss him beyond measure.”

Crosby was also remembered by Melissa Etheridge, who asked the folk-rocker to be the biological father of her children in the ’90s. “I am grieving the loss of my friend [and] Beckett and Bailey’s biological father, David,” Etheridge wrote on Instagram. “He gave me the gift of family. I will forever be grateful to him, [son] Django, and [wife] Jan. His music and legacy will inspire many generations to come. A true treasure.”

Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson, Jason Isbell, Rosanne Cash, Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan, Lalah Hathaway and more famous friends and fans pay tribute to Crosby below: