David Crosby was working on a new album before his death

23 January 2023

David Crosby was working on new music and planned to tour before his death.

David Crosby was working right up until his death

The rock legend - who was a founding member of the Byrds and Crosby, Stills and Nash - passed away on January 18, aged 81, following a "long illness".

However, according to his guitarist Steve Postell, he was "writing, playing, singing his a** off" in the week before his death and was expecting to put out a new album and hit the road.

Steve told Variety: "David didn’t think he was gonna last for years, which he joked about all the time. But there was no sense that we weren’t gonna be able to do this show and these tours.

“We were talking tour buses and what kind of venues and the whole team was all back together again – the road manager and tour manager and sound guys – on top of this band we’d put together. There was not even a remote sense that we weren’t about ready to hit the world. And it’s a shame people didn’t get to hear it.”

He added: “He was showing us new songs, like, ‘What do you think of these lyrics?’ He hadn’t lost the fire. I’d like people to know that he was on it.

“He was writing, playing, singing his a** off and preparing a fantastic show. That’s what he was doing. He was not lying in a bed for two years, out of it. That’s not what happened at all.”

The prolific artist's last studio album was 2021's 'For Free'.

Crosby joined the Byrds in 1964, and they quickly became one of the biggest bands in the world. Their hits included a cover of the Bob Dylan track 'Tambourine Man'.

However, Crosby left the group in acrimonious circumstances in 1967 and he subsequently formed Crosby, Stills and Nash with Stephen Stills and Graham Nash.

The trio performed together for the first time at the legendary Woodstock festival in 1969, and they were later joined by Neil Young.

Crosby, Stills and Nash enjoyed huge success in the 70s, and they're still widely recognised as one of the most influential groups of the era.

However, their success came against the backdrop of in-fighting among the bandmates, which led to them breaking up and then periodically reforming to perform together.

The music icon - who released six solo albums, five of which charted - was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on two occasions, for his work with the Byrds and Crosby, Stills and Nash.