David Crosby once revealed his greatest strength as a musician
No matter what people said about him, no one could argue with David Crosby when it came to musical ability. The legendary singer-songwriter had a deep knowledge of musical theory and a pristine voice that, when paired together, created one of the most unique and singular blends in pop music. But if you asked Crosby about his abilities, he would probably shrug off individual accolades.
The man was best known for his placement in bands, namely his stint in The Byrds and his subsequent history with Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. While being interviewed shortly before his death in 2023, Crosby was asked what he believed his greatest strength as a musician was. “Maybe my ability to work with other people,” was Crosby’s answer. “The successes at co-writing – ‘Wooden Ships’ is a good example.”
Although some of his most famous songs, including ‘Guinnevere’ and ‘Almost Cut My Hair’, were solo songwriting compositions, ‘Wooden Ships’ was a true collaborative effort. Crosby was responsible for the music, while Stephen Stills and Paul Kantner collaborated on the song’s lyrics. At first, Kantner’s manager, Matthew Katz, prevented Kantner from receiving a credit when ‘Wooden Ships’ appeared on Crosby, Stills, and Nash.
“Paul called me up and said that he was having this major duke-out with this horrible guy who was managing the band, and he was freezing everything their names were on. ‘He might injunct the release of your record,’ he told me,” Crosby recalled. “So we didn’t put Paul’s name on it for a while. In later versions, we made it very certain that he wrote it with us. Of course, we evened things up with him with a whole mess of cash when the record went huge.”
Crosby’s songwriting career reached a halt due to his lingering drug issues throughout the 1970s and 1980s. But starting in 2014, Crosby started to release new music at high volumes, often collaborating with his son, James Raymond.
“I’ve been so lucky in the people that I’ve gotten to write with, starting with my son James [Raymond], who’s just a really good writer and is a better musician than I am,” Crosby added. “Without any question at all, definitely a better musician than I am. So, what a writing partner to have – your son, who you love and want to be close to, and it turns out you can write songs together? Wow. So, that’s one.”
“And then, a wonderful thing happened to me. I met a guy named Michael League,” Crosby said. “Michael League is the bass player and composer and band leader for a jazz band called Snarky Puppy. They’re a very, very good jazz band. Big jazz band. And he writes all the stuff and he’s a really good writer and a really fantastic musician.”
“I met him and liked him a lot, and he introduced me to Becca Stevens and Michelle Willis at a benefit gig that we did together,” Crosby concluded. “I like them both a lot – they’re really good writers and both really good singers, and they are really nice human beings. So we wound up singing together and we wound up putting a group together called Lighthouse. I think my ability to write with those people, to work with other people and not be territorial about it, to be able to co-write with others, that’s probably my strength.”
Check out ‘Wooden Ships’ down below.
