David Crosby, The Byrds And Crosby, Stills & Nash Co-Founder, Dies At 81

American singer-songwriter and guitarist David Crosby has died at the age of 81. A cause of death has not been revealed.

This surprised his Twitter followers as the musician’s most recent tweets were sent as late as Wednesday.

One of Crosby’s last tweets was a humorous comment about heaven, writing, “I heard the place is overrated…cloudy.”

Despite having a strained relationship with Crosby after their group, Crosby, Stills & Nash, split, Graham Nash honored him, writing on Facebook, “I know people tend to focus on how volatile our relationship has been at times, but what has always mattered to David and me more than anything was the pure joy of the music we created together, the sound we discovered with one another, and the deep friendship we shared over all these many long years.”

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Crosby rose to fame when he joined the Byrds in 1964. The band released their first number-one hit in April 1965 with a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man.”

After appearing on the band’s first five albums, he formed Crosby, Stills, & Nash in 1968 with Stephen Stills from Buffalo Springfield and Graham Nash from the Hollies. After coming out with their debut album, CSN won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. The album featured hits like “Marrakesh Express” and “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes.”

Neil Young later joined the group for live performances, including one at Woodstock, before joining the band and participating in the recording of the second album Déjà Vu.

The group remained active until 2016. Despite their success, the band members struggled to get along with each other. During the 70s, there were numerous falling-outs and reunions.

Crosby’s life became chaotic in the public eye during the 80s and 90s when drug and weapons charges led to a five-month prison sentence. He was open about discussing his struggles with alcohol and drug abuse.

In 2000, news came out that Crosby was the biological father of Melissa Etheridge‘s two children, Bailey and Beckett. The singer shared her grievances over Crosby’s death on Twitter.

Crosby is survived by his wife, Jan, and their son Django, as well as a son, Raymond, and daughters, Erika and Donavan, from previous relationships.