Stephen Stills revealed his late-partner David Crosby died in his sleep. Fans had been wondering the cause of death since Crosby's passing last January 19th at the age of 81.
During a chat with Rolling Stone, Stephen Stills spoke candidly about Crosby's death, explaining, “I’m shocked (that David died) but not surprised. I love the guy. He was a big force in my life and a towering musician. He was all excited about his new band. (My son) Christopher was in his band, and they were going to get back on the road a little. He just went to take a nap and didn’t come back. When you think about it, it beats the hell out of being in a hospital with people beating on your chest or something.”
Regarding his relationship with Crosby and fellow partners Graham Nash and Neil Young, Stills said, “When you’re young, if you’re not fighting, someone doesn’t care enough about the music. When you get middle-aged, you should be able to do it without fighting. Later on, you turn into a curmudgeon, especially if you’re as clever as David was. But it’s a cyclical thing, these relationships. And this was a lifetime relationship. That’s hard to let anybody else inside of.”
Stills and Young will team up on April 22nd for the 2023 “Light Up The Night” benefit at L.A.’s Greek Theater. As of now, the show will mark the pairs first concert appearance since Crosby's death.
Stills admitted he and Neil Young get together every Wednesday to jam amongst themselves: “We’re proving the adage that 'Rust Never Sleeps.' We hang out in the studio. We play old songs. We play other people’s songs. We just play together, the two of us. We go back and rediscover old Buffalo Springfield songs and then just play them on the natch. We then listen to the records and go, 'Oh God, we missed that by a mile.' But we do it every week. 'Shakey' and I have always gotten along great.”
Stills, who's now 78, maintains his days of heeding on the road are over: “The idea of touring absolutely appalls me. I can’t imagine being on the bus for 14 hours. You can’t take drugs anymore. It’s no longer fun.”
Back in 1991, Stephen Stills explained David Crosby's role in CSNY's harmonic blend: “He's the honey. He's the honey between the razors and the gravel. And he's the glue that holds it together.”