The story of Floyd Crosby, David Crosby’s Oscar-winning father
When we look back at the history of rock music, one of the most pivotal figures in the movement was David Crosby. He began his musical journey in the 1960s, and there was a great deal to enjoy about the style that made him difficult to turn away from. He had unbelievably poetic lyrics, an excellent guitar style and a sound that cemented him as a crucial part of the folk-rock scene.
He got his start by creating the band The Byrds, which was responsible for hits such as ‘Mr Tambourine Man’ and ‘Eight Miles High’. He also wrote a number of songs in his solo career and was a member of the supergroup Crosby, Stills & Nash.
Regardless of the issues that Crosby faced in his personal life, be it legal or challenges a bit closer to home, there was no stopping his creative output. His unique voice and exceptional vocal ability were unrelenting, and he never stopped creating good music and contributing to the music industry.
When you are somebody who has left behind a legacy as big as David Crosby’s, it’s difficult for anybody else near you to come close to breaking into the mainstream, regardless of how successful they were. Crosby’s father, Floyd, can almost certainly attest to this, as he had a very successful career working in cinema, yet not many people know him; the moment you think of the word Crosby, you think of David as opposed to Floyd.
Floyd was born in West Philadelphia in 1899 and pursued a career working in the film industry. His first job was working as a cameraman for an expedition to Haiti. It would cement him as a good documentary cameraman, which he made a great career off of. Despite his beginning in documentary work, he did cinematography on feature films, which brought him great success.
The first feature film that he worked on, Tabu: A Story of the South Seas, ended up winning him an Academy Award. This wasn’t too far removed from the work he had done prior, as it was a docufiction, which depicted the story of two lovers on a South Seas island that needed to escape as one of them was chosen to serve the Gods. While this was a fictional work, the way it was filmed had a documentary feel about it, which is why it came out so well.
His success working on this film led to him being established as one of the better cinematographers in Hollywood. He ended up working on over 120 different films during a career that spanned over 40 years. He formed great relationships with others throughout the industry, as he frequently found himself working with directors such as Fred Zinnemann and Roger Corman.
Despite Floyd’s success, we are much more familiar with his son. This isn’t a slight on Floyd but rather a reflection of how successful David was. He continues to be one of the biggest names in rock music and a huge contributor to the genre as a whole.
