In one of his final social media posts, David Crosby, a founding member of bands Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash, wrote about heaven. Just a day before he died on Thursday at the age of 81, the famed musician took to Twitter on Wednesday to write, “I heard the place is overrated….cloudy.”
Crosby’s post was in response to a tweet questioning whether or not people with tattoos can go to heaven. The original poster shared a screencap of a Google search for the phrase “Can we go to heaven with tattoos.” The top result read, “People with tattoos will not go to heaven. People who drink alcohol will not go to heaven. People who eat too much pork will also not go to heaven. Short people will not go to heaven.”
Crosby shared his tweet just a little more than 24 hours before his wife, Jan Crosby, confirmed in a statement to Variety, “It is with great sadness after a long illness, that our beloved David (Croz) Crosby has passed away.” Jan shared that her husband “was lovingly surrounded by his wife and soulmate Jan and son Django,” adding that “although he is no longer here with us, his humanity and kind soul will continue to guide and inspire us. His legacy will continue to live on through his legendary music. Peace, love, and harmony to all who knew David and those he touched. We will miss him dearly.”
Born David Van Cortlandt Crosby in Los Angeles in 1941, Crosby dropped out of college to pursue music. He eventually met Jim McGuinn during a trip to Chicago. Together with Gene Clark, the trio established their first band, the Jet Set. After bassist Chris Hillman joined, the group became The Byrds. The group’s first successes were new takes on Bob Dylan songs, including “Mr. Tambourine Man.” After meeting Stephen Stills, formerly of Buffalo Springfield, and The Hollies’ Graham Nash, the trio created Crosby, Stills & Nash. In 1997, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
As news of Crosby’s death broke, many fans took to his heartbreaking Wednesday tweet to pay tribute to the beloved musician. Replying to the post, one fan wrote, “I hope your journey from this place to there has been met with much love… Thanks for the music.” Another person commented, “Hope it wasn’t cloudy when you arrived, RIP legend.”
