He was a founding member of Crosby, Stills & Nash and an initial member of the Byrds. But his tumultuous personal life was nearly as well-known as his music.

David Crosby, the outspoken and frequently tormented singer, songwriter, and guitarist who helped form two of the most influential and popular American classic-rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s, the Byrds and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, has passed away. He was 81.

Patricia Dance, the sister of Mr. Crosby’s wife Jan Dance, texted on Thursday evening that Mr. Crosby had passed away “last night.” She supplied no further information.

As a founding member of the Byrds and as a founder of CSN&Y, Mr. Crosby was inducted twice into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. He contributed jazz influences to both ensembles, so expanding the scope of vocal-driven folk-rock. And his influence spread to future generations: His unconventional tunings inspired the avant-garde “freak folk” movement of the early 21st century and influenced a large number of musicians eager to give acoustic music a progressive twist.

If Mr. Crosby’s music transcended boundaries, his character boldly anchored him to a particular age. In 1968, he penned “Triad,” a tribute to free love recorded by the Byrds, Jefferson Airplane, and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young in separate renditions. The song “Almost Cut My Hair,” which he recorded with CSN&Y for their famed 1970 album “Déjà Vu,” was essentially a counterculture loyalty oath.

Mr. Crosby’s image as the twinkle-eyed stoner and sardonic hedonist of the cosmic age was reportedly the inspiration for Dennis Hopper’s recalcitrant free spirit in the 1969 film “Easy Rider.”

Multiple times, his impudent indulgences became possibly dangerous. His drug convictions, weapons charges, and prison terms became almost as well-known as his music. By the middle of the 1970s, he was dependent on cocaine and heroin.

Mr. Crosby told People magazine in 1990, “You don’t sit down and say, ‘I think I’ll become a drug addict.'” “When I first began doing drugs, it was cannabis and psychedelics, and it was enjoyable. In the 1960s, we believed we were expanding our consciousness.

However, he continued, “drugs became increasingly used to dull discomfort.” He added, “You do not realise how strung out you have become. And I had the means to become further addicted.”

Mr. Crosby’s drug addiction may have exacerbated his medical issues, such as his protracted struggle with hepatitis C, which required a liver transplant in 1994. In 2014, he had to cancel a tour in order to have a heart catheterization and angiography because he also suffered from type 2 diabetes.

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Despite his health problems, his voice remained vigorous enough for him to tour during those years. And in his best moments with Stephen Stills and Graham Nash, he was able to replicate some of the most iconic rock period harmonies. In later years, as he toured with his solo band, his voice remained powerful.

A Prominent Lineage
David Van Cortland Crosby was born in Los Angeles on August 14, 1941, to families with rich roots in American history stretching back to the 17th century Dutch rule in New York. His mother, Aliph Van Cortland Whitehead, was a descendant of the distinguished Van Cortland family. His father, Oscar-winning cinematographer Floyd Crosby, whose filmography included the classic western “High Noon,” belonged to the Van Rensselaer family.

David attended Crane Country Day School in Montecito, California, where he performed in the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta “H.M.S. Pinafore” and other musicals, although he failed to graduate. His high school education was completed by correspondence at the Cate School in nearby Carpinteria. He majored in acting at Santa Barbara City College, but left before graduating to pursue a career in music.

His older brother Ethan gave him his first guitar when he was 16 years old. Ethan had been playing for years. David began singing folk music in the early 1960s, like so many others.

Mr. Crosby told the British music publication Mojo, “I would study two chords and alternate between them.” My brother started listening to jazz from the 1950s, such as Chet Baker, Dave Brubeck, and similar artists. Jazz listening truly broadens one’s horizons.”

Mr. Crosby was also influenced by the music of the Everly Brothers, which taught him how to layer harmonies into translucent patterns. Initially, he performed alongside his brother, but he soon went solo and travelled around coffee shops across the country before settling in Greenwich Village, New York, the epicentre of the 1960s folk movement. In 1963, he recorded his first demos with Jim Dickson, who eventually managed the Byrds.