Graham Nash was in the process of reconciling with David Crosby when his former bandmate died, the singer has said.
In January, the Byrds musician died aged 81 after “a long illness”. He was with his wife and soulmate Jan and son Django when he passed.
Among the famous figures to pay tribute to Crosby was Nash, who performed with him in the folk supergroup Crosby, Stills & Nash, which formed in 1968 and performed on and off until 2015.
In his tribute, Nash alluded to “how volatile our relationship has been at times”, but says that they were bonded by their love of music.
Speaking to AARP, Nash said that he chose to focus on the good memories with Crosby, “because if I concentrate on the bad times, it gets too weird for me”.
Admitting that the years of turmoil were “painful”, he explained: “The fact is that we were getting a little closer at the end. He had sent me a voicemail saying that he wanted to talk to apologise, and could we set up a time to talk.
“I emailed him back and said, ‘Okay, call me at 11 o’clock tomorrow your time, which is two o’clock on the East Coast.’ He never called, and then he was gone.”
Nash said that the email from Crosby had come “maybe a week and a half” before he died, leading the journalist to question whether his bandmate could have known he was dying.
“You know, I’ve thought about that myself,” he replied. “He was a very intelligent man. I wouldn’t put it past him to know that he was actually at the very end.”
The pair feuded for two years, with Crosby saying that “inaccuracies” and “misinformation” in Nash’s 2013 memoir were the cause of their argument.
“When he handed an advance copy to me, he said, ‘It’s too late to change anything, but here it is,’” he said. “I was very unhappy about it. It’s a very shallow, very self-serving book – and full of BS. Chock-full.”
In his tribute, Nash wrote of his friend: “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.”
