Who are David Crosby’s 6 children? Late rock legend discovered first son's existence after 30 years
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Veteran US folk-rock star David Crosby, one of the most influential rock singers of the 1960s and '70s and a founding member of two popular bands — The Byrds, and Crosby, Stills & Nash died at the age of 81 after a long battle with illness. In a public statement, the Crosby family said, “It is with great sadness after a long illness, that our beloved David (Croz) Crosby has passed away. He was lovingly surrounded by his wife and soulmate Jan and son Django. 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. At this time, we respectfully and kindly ask for privacy as we grieve and try to deal with our profound loss. Thank you for the love and prayers.” The cause of death has not been revealed.
As tributes poured in, Melissa Etheridge mourned the loss of David, who was the sperm donor for two of her children. She wrote on Instagram, "I am grieving the loss of my friend, and Bailey’s and Beckett’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. A true treasure."
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Who are David Crosby’s 6 children?
James Raymond: David had no idea for the first 30 years of James' life that he existed. David was in his early 20s when James’s mother Celia Crawford Ferguson got pregnant. “She gave him up for adoption and didn’t tell me he existed,” Crosby said, as per The Guardian. Eventually, James, who is a musician, songwriter, producer, and film composer, found out David was his biological father after his adoptive parents recommended looking into it. “So, he went to check, and he sees my name there, and he thinks: ‘Nah, couldn’t be.’ So, he checks first names and middle names [Van Cortlandt] and realizes, yeah, it is me,” David said. “He’d already been a musician for 20 years when we met up so anybody who tells you it’s not genetic, you tell them come talk to me.” "James did a wonderful thing, man. He gave me a chance to earn my way into his life,” said David, as per The Guardian. He further added, "How did he do that? “By making music with him. And we write spectacularly well together.” David said the final song on 'For Free', the melancholy 'I Won’t Stay For Long', written by James, were his favorite. “Imagine how I feel about my son being that good a writer. I wear it like a garland of flowers on my head. It’s just f*****g wonderful.”
Erika Keller Crosby: Erike Keller was born to David and Jackie Guthrie, and is David’s second child, as per Hollywood Life. There is not much information about Erika but the outlet states she has four siblings from her mother’s side — Sarah Lee, Annie, Abe, and Cathy Guthrie. Jackie was married to Arlo Guthrie but she died in 2012 due to liver cancer, reports USA Today. David spoke about Erika in 2019 saying, “Erika has three kids, lives in Florida, and is an incredibly smart, wonderful woman who I visit regularly because I love her dearly,” as per Fox News.
Donovan Crosby: Donovan was born to David and Debbie Donovan in the mids 1980s. Again, there is not much about his daughter but David revealed in 2019, “Donovan doesn’t really talk to me," reports Fox News.
Django Crosby: Django was born to David and Jan Dance. The couple got married on May 16, 1987, and welcomed their only child in 1995, states Distractify. In his autobiography, titled 'Long Time Gone,' David described the details of meeting Jan. He wrote, "In Florida, I had the opportunity to meet Jan Dance, which turned out to be one of the smartest things I ever did. She was an incredibly vivacious, funny, bright, smiley human being and I fell in love with her," as per The Sun. While speaking about Django, the singer said, "Django lives with me and is an absolute joy," reports Fox News.
Bailey Jean Cypher and Beckett Cypher: When singer-songwriter Melissa and her former partner, Julie Cypher, wanted to start a family in the late 1990s, David offered to donate his sperm. Talking about Bailey and Beckett, David said in 2019, "I didn’t parent Bailey and Beckett, but I do love them. Beckett’s somewhere in Colorado and Bailey just graduated from NYU today," as per Fox News.
In May 2020, Beckett died of causes related to opioid addiction at the age of just 21. Melissa wrote in part in a statement on Twitter, “My son Beckett, who was just 21, struggled to overcome his addiction and finally succumbed to it today. He will be missed by those who loved him, his family and friends. My heart is broken. I am grateful for those who have reached out with condolences and I feel their love and sincere grief.”
While Bailey, born on February 10, 1997, took to Instagram to pay tribute to her biological father and wrote, “Rest easy Croz. Thank you for the tunes, the dimples, and the love.”