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David Crosby of Crosby Stills Nash and Young Dead at Age 81

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1 year ago

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David Crosby

David Crosby, the brash rock musician who evolved from a baby-faced harmony singer with the Byrds to a mustachioed hippie superstar and an ongoing troubadour in Crosby, Stills, Nash & (sometimes) Young, died Thursday at the age of 81, according to several media outlets.

According to the New York Times, the musician died Wednesday night, citing a text message from Crosby’s sister-in-law. Several media outlets, citing anonymous sources, reported Crosby’s death; The Associated Press could not reach Crosby’s representatives or his widow.

Crosby received a liver transplant in 1994 after decades of drug use, and he lived through diabetes, hepatitis C, and heart surgery in his 70s.

While he only wrote a few well-known songs, Crosby was at the forefront of the cultural revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, whether triumphing on stage with Stephen Stills, Graham Nash and Neil Young at Woodstock, testifying on behalf of a hirsute generation in his anthem “Almost Cut My Hair,” or mourning the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy in “Long Time Gone.”

He was a founding member and focal point of the Los Angeles rock music community, which produced artists such as the Eagles and Jackson Browne. He inspired Dennis Hopper’s long-haired stoner in “Easy Rider,” a twinkly-eyed hippie patriarch. He was an unrepentant loudmouth who engaged in personal warfare and admitted that many musicians he worked with no longer spoke to him.

“Crosby was a colorful and unpredictable character who wore a Mandrake the Magician cape, didn’t get along with too many people, and had a beautiful voice — and architect of harmony,” Bob Dylan wrote in his memoir, “Chronicles: Volume One,” published in 2004.

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David Crosby’s drug use

Crosby’s drug use left him bloated, bankrupt, and estranged. He overcame his addiction during a year in prison in Texas on drug and weapons charges in 1985 and 1986. The conviction was eventually reversed.

“I’ve always said that I picked up the guitar as a shortcut to sex, and after my first joint, I was convinced that if everyone smoked dope, the war would end,” Crosby said in his 1988 autobiography, “Long Time Gone,” co-written with Carl Gottlieb. “I was correct on the sex. When it came to drugs, I was completely wrong.”

He lived years longer than expected and experienced a creative renaissance in his 70s, releasing several solo albums while collaborating with others, including his son James Raymond, who became a favorite songwriting partner.

“Most guys my age would have done a covers record or duets on old material,” he told Rolling Stone shortly before the release of “Croz” in 2013. “This isn’t going to be a big hit. It’ll most likely sell nineteen copies. I don’t think kids will like it, but I’m not going to make it for them. I’m doing it for myself. “I have some things I need to get off my chest.”

Crosby was featured in Cameron Crowe’s documentary “David Crosby: Remember My Name” in 2019.

While his solo career flourished, his seemingly lifelong bond with Nash frayed, Crosby was enraged by Nash’s 2013 memoir “Wild Tales” (which he called “whiny and dishonest”), and their relationship devolved into an ugly public feud, with Nash and Crosby agreeing on one thing: Crosby, Stills, and Nash were done.

david crosby

Crosby’s rise in the music world

Crosby did express interest in a Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young protest tour following Donald Trump’s election as President of the United States, but his former bandmates did not respond.

Crosby rose to prominence in the mid-1960s as a member of the seminal folk-rock band The Byrds, whose hits included “Turn! Turn! Turn!” and “Mr. Tambourine Man.” At the time, he was clean-cut and baby-faced, and he contributed harmonies that were an important part of the band’s innovative blend of The Beatles and Dylan. Crosby was one of the first American celebrities to become close to The Beatles and was instrumental in introducing George Harrison to Eastern music.

Crosby left The Byrds and formed a new band due to strained relationships with his bandmates. Crosby, Stills, and Nash’s first meeting is legendary: Stills and Crosby were working on the ballad “You Don’t Have to Cry” at Joni Mitchell’s house in 1968 (Stills would argue they were at Mama Cass’) when Nash suggested they start over. Nash’s high harmony added a magical layer to Stills’ rough bottom and Crosby’s mellow middle, forming a supergroup.

Their self-titled debut album was an instant success, helping to redefine commercial music. The songs were longer and more personal than their previous releases, but they were easily relatable to an audience embracing a more open lifestyle.

Their vibrant harmonies and themes of peace and love became synonymous with the late 1960s and early 1970s. Their cover of Joni Mitchell’s “Woodstock” served as the theme for a documentary about the 1969 rock concert at which the group made only its second live appearance. Crosby had produced Mitchell’s first album, “Song to a Seagull,” in 1968 and had been her boyfriend at the time (as was Nash).

david crosby

Harmony and rhythm guitar

Crosby, now sporting the drooping, bushy mustache that would define him for the rest of his life, provided harmony and rhythm guitar, and his songs reflected his volatile personality. They ranged from “Guinevere’s” misty-eyed romanticism to “Deja Vu’s” spirituality to “Almost Cut My Hair’s” operatic paranoia.

Some criticized the group for being soft-headed and self-indulgent.

“If you’re into living-room rock, fireplace harmonies, and a hint of good old social consciousness, this is your band,” said Rolling Stone, who never missed an opportunity to write about the band.

But CSN, as they were soon known, won a Grammy for best new artist and became a global touring act and brand name decades later.

The first album was a lighthearted, upbeat recording, but the mood darkened during the second, “Deja Vu.” Neil Young joined the band, having feuded with Stills while both were in Buffalo Springfield and continuing to do so.

Everyone in the band was in turmoil: Nash and Mitchell had split up, as had Stills and singer Judy Collins. Meanwhile, Crosby was so devastated by the death of his girlfriend, Christine Hinton, in a car accident that he would sob on the studio floor.

david crosby

Solo artists, duos, trios

The album featured a rougher, less unified sound, was released in 1970 and was another commercial success. Within two years, the quartet had disbanded, destined to reunite and splinter for the rest of their lives.

They worked as solo artists, duos, trios, and, on rare occasions, all four simultaneously. They performed in stadiums and clubs. They were present at the Berlin Wall as the Cold War ended in 1989 and in New York for the Occupy Wall Street protests in 2011.

Crosby has toured frequently in recent years and has answered questions on Twitter with affection and exasperation, whether commenting on rock star peers or assessing the quality of a fan’s marijuana joint. He loved sailing, and aside from hard drugs, his greatest regret was selling his 74-foot boat due to financial difficulties. Among the songs completed on the boat was the classic “Wooden Ships,” co-written with Stills and Paul Kantner of Jefferson Airplane.

Crosby was born David Van Cortlandt Crosby in Los Angeles on August 14, 1941. Floyd Crosby, the Oscar-winning cinematographer behind “High Noon,” was his father. His mother, Aliph, and brother, Floyd Jr., later relocated to Santa Barbara.

Crosby grew up listening to classical, folk, and jazz music. Crosby stated in his autobiography that as a child, he used to harmonize while his mother sang, his father played mandolin, and his brother played guitar.

“I wasn’t into it when rock ‘n’ roll came in during that era, and the Age of Elvis possessed America,” he recalled.

david crosby

The Beatles inspired Crosby.

His brother taught him to play the guitar, and he began performing in Santa Barbara clubs while still in his teens. In 1960, he moved to Los Angeles to study acting but dropped out and became a folk singer, touring the country before joining The Byrds. Like many other folk performers, Crosby was inspired by the Beatles’ 1964 film “A Hard Day’s Night” and decided to pursue a career as a rock star.

In 1987, Crosby married his longtime girlfriend, Jan Dance. Django, the couple’s son, was born in 1995. Crosby and Debbie Donovan had a daughter, Donovan. Crosby was reunited with Raymond, who had been placed for adoption in 1961, shortly after undergoing the liver transplant. Raymond, Crosby, and Jeff Pevar later formed a band called CPR.

“I regretted losing him many times,” Crosby said of Raymond in 1998 to the Associated Press. “I was too immature and irresponsible to parent anyone.”

Melissa Etheridge revealed in 2000 that Crosby was the father of her two children with then-partner Julie Cypher. Etheridge told Rolling Stone that Cypher carried the children Crosby fathered through artificial insemination. Beckett, one of the sons, died in 2020.

David Crosby did not assist in raising the children but stated, “If, you know, in time, at a distance, they’re proud of who their genetic father is, that’s great.”

Source: AP

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Celebrity

Taylor Swift Drops 15 New Songs On Double Album, ‘The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology’

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14 mins ago

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2024-04-19

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AP - VOR News Image

NEW YORK — Could there be a Taylor Swift new album release without any added surprises?

No.

On Friday, the pop star released her 11th album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” which is an amalgamation of her previous work and reflects the artist who, at the height of her powers, has spent the last few years re-recording her life’s work and touring it, filtered through synth-pop anthems, breakup ballads, provocative and matured considerations.

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People – VOR News Image

Taylor Swift Drops 15 New Songs On Double Album, ‘The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology’

But it was midnight. At 2 a.m. Eastern, she released “The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology,” which included 15 new songs.

“I’d written so much tortured poetry in the past 2 years and wanted to share it all with you, so here’s the second installment,” Swift wrote in an Instagram caption. “And now the story isn’t mine anymore… it’s all yours.”

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Britannica – VOR News Image

Taylor Swift Drops 15 New Songs On Double Album, ‘The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology’

The songs are a natural continuation of the first half of the album, with many returning to her “evermore” and “folklore” style, aided by her partner Aaron Dessner.

Swift has surprised her fans before, and she has surely done so with a surprise album release. A few months after “folklore” was released in 2020, she revealed that “evermore” will be available at midnight on the same day. Speaking of midnight, she released a “3am” edition of “Midnights” with seven new tracks in 2022, just a few hours after the original release.

Taylor Swift’s album “The Tortured Poets Department” is now available.

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Cdn – VOR News Image

Taylor Swift Drops 15 New Songs On Double Album, ‘The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology’

Music Writer Maria Sherman describes it as “an amalgamation of an artist who has spent the last few years re-recording her life’s work and touring its material, filtered through synth-pop anthems, breakup ballads, provocative and matured subject matter.”

Swift revealed a surprise two hours after the album’s release: 15 more tracks.

Swift’s first original album since her record-breaking Eras Tour debuted last year.

SOURCE – (AP)

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Entertainment

Morgan Wallen Has Been Arrested After Police Say He Threw A Chair Off Of The Roof Of A 6-Story Bar

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2 weeks ago

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2024-04-08

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Nashville, Tennessee – Morgan Wallen, a country music singer, has been detained after allegedly throwing a chair from the rooftop of a recently opened six-story club in downtown Nashville.

Metro Nashville Police stated that Wallen, 30, was booked into jail early Monday on three felony counts of reckless endangerment and one misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct.

wallen

Morgan Wallen Has Been Arrested After Police Say He Threw A Chair Off Of The Roof Of A 6-Story Bar

A chair was hurled from the rooftop of Chief’s Bar and landed on Broadway near two police officers, prompting the accusations.

According to the arrest affidavit, the chair landed about 3 feet (1 meter) from cops, who spoke with witnesses and watched security footage. Witnesses informed police that they saw Wallen take up a chair, throw it over the roof, and laugh about it.

Worrick Robinson, Wallen’s attorney, confirmed the singer’s arrest late Sunday and claimed she was completely cooperating with police. He was freed from detention and had a court appointment planned for May 3.

wallen

Morgan Wallen Has Been Arrested After Police Say He Threw A Chair Off Of The Roof Of A 6-Story Bar

Wallen is one of the most well-known figures in the country at present. His third studio album, 2023’s “One Thing at a Time,” was the best-selling album in the United States last year. It spent 16 weeks at the top of the Billboard 200 in 2023, which means he was at No. 1 for 30% of the year, more than any other album since Adele’s “21” dominated over ten years earlier. It had numerous top ten Billboard Hot 100 successes, including “Last Night,” “You Proof,” “Thinkin’ Bout Me,” “Thought You Should Know,” and “Don’t Think Jesus.”

After a video surfaced of him uttering a racial slur, the country artist was suspended indefinitely by his label, and his songs were removed from radio stations and streaming services in 2021. As a result, he was disqualified or limited from various award events and did not earn any Grammy nominations for his best-selling “Dangerous: The Double Album.”

He was arrested in 2020 for public intoxication and disorderly conduct after being booted out of Kid Rock’s downtown Nashville bar.

wallen

Morgan Wallen Has Been Arrested After Police Say He Threw A Chair Off Of The Roof Of A 6-Story Bar

Wallen claimed on social media that he and several friends were “horse-playing” after a few pub stops.

“We didn’t mean any harm, and we want to say sorry to any bar staff or anyone that was affected,” Wallen wrote on Facebook. “I want to thank the local authorities for being so professional and doing their jobs with class. Love you all.”

SOURCE – (AP)

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Celebrity

Lawsuit Naming Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs As Co-Defendant Alleges His Son Sexually Assaulted Woman On Yacht

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2 weeks ago

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2024-04-06

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Los Angeles — A lawsuit naming Sean “Diddy” Combs as a co-defendant claims that his son Christian “King” Combs sexually abused a lady working on a boat hired by his father.

According to the lawsuit filed on Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, Sean Combs engineered the circumstances that led to the assault and then paid to cover it up. It’s the latest in a slew of lawsuits alleging the producer and music tycoon of sexual assault, and it comes amid a federal sex trafficking investigation that prompted Homeland Security investigators to raid his Los Angeles and Miami properties last week.

combs

Lawsuit Naming Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs As Co-Defendant Alleges His Son Sexually Assaulted Woman On Yacht

Grace O’Marcaigh, a crew member and bartender on the yacht, claims that in late December 2022, Christian Combs persuaded her to consume tequila that she suspects was laced with other substances. According to the lawsuit, he touched her breasts and genitals and tried to force her to have oral sex.

The Associated Press normally does not identify persons who claim to have been sexually abused unless they come out publicly, as O’Marcaigh has. She also agreed to be named through her solicitors.

Aaron Dyer, an attorney for Sean and Christian Combs, described the complaint as “lewd and meritless.”

“We will be filing a motion to dismiss this outrageous claim,” Dyer stated.

Dyer described the inquiry that resulted in last week’s raids as “nothing more than a witch hunt based on meritless accusations made in civil lawsuits.”

Sean Combs, who chartered the yacht for the holidays in 2022, “had full control of the staff and premises” and established an environment in which her assault was not only accepted but encouraged.

O’Marcaigh, who was 25 at the time, claimed that when Christian Combs, then 24, arrived late one night, he appeared intoxicated and began paying her unwanted attention.

She stated that the two were in a music studio on board the ship, where producer Rodney Jones, who filed his lawsuit in February, was instructed to be available around the clock for Sean Combs to work on his upcoming album.

In the lawsuit, O’Marcaigh claimed that Christian Combs insisted on her drinking tequila shots, and she did so out of responsibility.

According to the lawsuit, he became increasingly aggressive with her, violently seizing her arm as she attempted to leave the situation and then touching her. The suit claims that the beverages caused everything to blur unnaturally quickly.

Microphones in the studio, where Jones was instructed to record everything, captured their conversation, and the lawsuit contains a transcript in which O’Marcaigh demands that Christian Combs cease molesting her.

The suit claims that he continued the assault in the ship’s movie theater, which was utilized as a spare sleeping area and where she was looking for a place to stay the night because all of the rooms were booked before another crew member intervened, and he stopped.

O’Marcaigh informed the yacht’s captain about the assault the next morning, but she claims that when Combs handed him a substantial sum of money the same day, the captain neglected to investigate or take any action.

According to the lawsuit, O’Marcaigh was dismissed in retribution and has since been unable to find work in the music sector, where she had hoped to advance her career. According to the report, she has been experiencing significant mental anguish since 2022.

combs

Lawsuit Naming Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs As Co-Defendant Alleges His Son Sexually Assaulted Woman On Yacht

The lawsuit demands damages that will be established at trial.

Christian Combs is also a musical artist, and his song “Can’t Stop Won’t Stop” featuring Kodak Black topped Billboard’s Mainstream R&B Hip-Hop charts in 2022. He was in his father’s Los Angeles house during last week’s searches, and he and his brother were handcuffed but not jailed.

Tyrone Blackburn, the same attorney who represents O’Marcaigh, filed a federal case against producer Jones in February, alleging that Sean Combs pushed him into soliciting prostitutes and pressuring him to have sex with them.

Dyer stated that the latest lawsuit is “filled with the same kind of manufactured lies and irrelevant facts we’ve come to expect from Blackburn.”

He noted that U.S. District Judge Denise L. Cote criticized Blackburn in a separate lawsuit on Wednesday and referred him to a disciplinary committee for a “pattern of behavior” in which he “improperly files cases in federal court to garner media attention, embarrass defendants with salacious allegations, and pressure defendants to settle quickly.”

Blackburn answered via email that “a referral is not a sanction” and that Combs’ lawyer’s comment was an attempt to “deflect and distract.”

“Christian Combs sexually assaulted Ms. O’Marcaigh, and we have it on tape,” Blackburn told reporters.

combs

Lawsuit Naming Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs As Co-Defendant Alleges His Son Sexually Assaulted Woman On Yacht

The R&B singer Cassie, his former protege and lover, filed a lawsuit in November alleging years of sexual abuse, including rape, which has since brought the music and business magnate into the public eye. It was settled the next day.

Combs and his counsel have denied all of the lawsuits’ claims.

Combs, a three-time Grammy winner and the founder of Bad Boy Records, has been one of hip-hop’s most prominent producers and executives for the last three decades. He grew his hip-hop empire into a larger economic empire that included private-label spirits, clothing, and a television network.

SOURCE – (AP)

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