David Crosby Talks Beatles, Grateful Dead & More On ‘Freak Flag Flying’ Finale

David Crosby discussed The Beatles, the Grateful Dead and more on the series finale of JamBase partner Osiris Media’s podcast Freak Flag Flying with host Steve Silberman. The last few episodes center around Crosby’s landmark debut solo album If I Could Only Remember My Name, which most of Grateful Dead appeared on and was recently reissued. David also talks about his relationship with The Beatles’ George Harrison.

As the podcast gets going, Silberman plays the If I Could Only Remember My Name track “Laughing,” which not only features Joni Mitchell and Graham Nash but also GD members Phil Lesh on bass, Bill Kreutzmann on drums and Jerry Garcia on pedal steel guitar. Here’s a bit of what Croz had to say about Jerry:

“The thing about Jerry, which you know, is that there was serious magic there. Garcia was a consummate musician. He worshipped music. He ate it for breakfast; he rubbed it in his hair; he fucked it; it fucked him. He loved it with his whole entire being.”

The conversation around “Laughing” then turned to The Beatles and George Harrison. David also discussed speaking with George Harrison about his disillusionment with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and how “Laughing” was an open letter of sorts to George. “I wanted to say, ‘take it with a grain of salt,’” David said on talking spirituality with Geroge Harrison. “I didn’t, so I wrote that song [‘Laughing’] to tell him what I thought in a gentle way.”

Silberman also queried about Crosby’s sit-ins with the Grateful Dead. “How did you feel about playing with the Dead onstage?” Steve asked. To which Crosby replied: “Unsuccessful.” David went on to discuss the complexities of the Grateful Dead’s chemistry and also told an intriguing story about how the Byrds influenced Bob Dylan’s decision to go electric earlier in the discussion.

Listen to the season two finale of Freak Flag Flying below: