David Crosby, right, and Graham Nash perform at the 25th Anniversary Rock & Roll Hall of Fame concert at Madison Square Garden in 2009, in New York. Henny Ray Abrams/Associated Press file
Rock singer David Crosby died in January after contracting COVID-19, his longtime musical collaborator and friend Graham Nash said in a new interview.
Speaking on an episode of the “Kyle Meredith With…” podcast released Friday, Nash said his former Crosby, Stills & Nash bandmate, who died Jan. 19 at age 81, had fallen ill while on his latest tour.
“He was rehearsing for a show to do in Los Angeles with a full band,” Nash said. “After three days of rehearsals, he felt a little sick. And he’d already had COVID, and he had COVID again. And so he went home and decided that he would take a nap, and he never woke up. But he died in his bed, and that is fantastic.”
At the time of Crosby’s death, his family said that the singer, who for years battled numerous health problems, including multiple liver transplants, diabetes and heart disease, had died after “a long illness” but did not provide further details.
Last year, Crosby spoke to Variety about an earlier bout of COVID-19 he had recently suffered. “It has been awful,” he said. “COVID is a very weird disease. It makes you feel absolutely freaking awful. It has been thoroughly unpleasant … it’s no fun at all. You want to avoid it if you possibly can.”
Speaking to the L.A. Times in 2019, Crosby said he expected to die soon, lamenting the years he’d “wasted just getting smashed.” Indeed, given his health struggles and years of drug addiction, Nash said it was remarkable that Crosby lived as long as he did.
“I think the truth is, we expected David to pass 20 years ago,” Nash said. “I mean, the fact that he made it to 81 was astonishing … But it was a shock, kind of like an earthquake, you know? You get the initial shock and then you figure out that you survived. But these aftershocks keep coming up.”
Though Crosby’s relationship with Nash, as with many of his former bandmates, had been tempestuous, the two had recently begun to reconcile after long being estranged.
“I’m very pleased that David and I were getting closer towards the end,” Nash said. “He had a good life. I mean, what incredible music he made. He was a fantastic storyteller. I loved him dearly. In looking back at what separated us, it was just foolish stuff, really. The music is the most important part of our relationship.”
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