Melissa Ethridge Speaks out on David Crosby's Death

By Brenda Alexander

Melissa Ethridge is devastated by the loss of David Crosby. The folk-rock singer died at the age of 81. His passing was announced on Jan. 19, and confirmed by his sister-in-law in a statement to the media that simply read, "He died last night." No details on his transition were given. Crosby is known for helping to create two of the most influential bands of the genre in the 1960s and 1970s, Byrds and Crosby, Stills – and Nash & Young.

Ethridge, a longtime friend, shared her heartbreak on Twitter. Crosby is the donor of one of her children. "I am grieving the loss of my friend and Bailey's biological father, David. He gave me the gift of family. I will forever be grateful to him, Django, and Jan. His music and legacy will inspire many generations to come..." she wrote.

She revealed that he was a donor in an interview with CNN in 2000. Ethridge's wife, Julie Cypher, told interviewer Larry King how Crosby came to be their donor. 

"We stopped by the place they were staying, and we were hacking out on the back porch, and their 8-month-old son was there and sleeping on Jan's chest, and we were talking about having children and how we were going to do it, and it just came out of Jan's [his wife's] mouth. She's the one that volunteered David. She said, what about David?" she explained.

Crosby added in the same interview that the donor subject shouldn't be taboo. "I don't really think that people should think this is such a big deal. Now I don't mean by that that I am taking it lightly— I — anything but. I think it's a great thing, but I think that people are probably making more out of it than they should," he said. 

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