Remembering When David Crosby Wore Out His Welcome With The Byrds in 1967

Music history wouldn’t nearly be as exciting without folks like David Crosby. We’re talking about the artists who constantly push against the staid and predictable, who follow their own instincts even if they fly far afield of the mainstream.

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But folks like that often find it hard to exist for too long within the confines of a band. Certainly, Crosby found that out when he received his ouster from The Byrds in 1967.

Soaring Byrds

When The Byrds burst onto the scene with the “Mr. Tambourine Man” single in 1965, they served notice that an American band could compete on an artistic level with British Invasion stalwarts like The Beatles and The Stones. They could write, play, and sing at high levels.

David Crosby took a bit of a backseat on their early records to fellow songwriters Roger McGuinn and Gene Clark. McGuinn also tended to take lead vocals on the band’s biggest hits. But little by little, Crosby worked his way into a more prominent role, especially when Clark left the band in 1966.

Crosby’s material tended to be a bit more esoteric than that of his bandmates. When he finally received the chance to sing lead on an A-side (“Lady Friend”), he watched as the song sank without doing much damage on the charts in 1967. That started the downslide that characterized Crosby’s final year in the band.

Material Differences

To be fair, The Byrds were in a turbulent period in 1967 regardless of Crosby’s doings. Not long after Gene Clark departed, they changed management. And drummer Michael Clarke also left the group at the beginning of the sessions for their album The Notorious Byrd Brothers.

Crosby’s behavior during the band’s performance at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 did him no favors. He took every opportunity he could in between songs to make controversial statements on the microphone to the crowd. McGuinn and Chris Hillman were none too pleased by his actions.

A battle over song selection for the new album also proved a major sticking point. Crosby wanted to include his original “Triad”, which controversially referenced a ménage à trois. The others in the band wanted to play it safer with “Goin’ Back”, which was written by legendary Brill Building songwriters Gerry Goffin and Carole King. In an act of defiance, Crosby refused to add his vocals to the song.

Croz Out

The writing was on the wall. Crosby was losing interest in The Byrds, and The Byrds were increasingly getting frustrated with Crosby. In October 1967, McGuinn and Hillman drove over to Crosby’s house to deliver the news that he was out of the band.

While Crosby admitted afterward that he was stung by the decision, he didn’t mope for too long. He had already made acquaintances with both Stephen Stills and Graham Nash, both of whom were chafing within their bands (Buffalo Springfield and The Hollies, respectively) at the time. Crosby, Stills & Nash came together in 1968.

Crosby would return for an ill-fated Byrds reunion album in 1973. His time in the band will be remembered both for the contributions he made and for the somewhat spectacular way in which he flamed out from the group.

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