David Crosby Addressed Mortality On ‘Howard Stern’: Refused To ‘Quietly Shuffle Off Into The Distance’

David Crosby, the folk-rock icon who died at age 81, seemed to have come to terms with his mortality. The two-time Rock Hall inductee spoke about facing death and living life to the fullest during a June 2021 appearance on SiriusXM’s The Howard Stern Show.

Crosby, 79-years-old at the time of the interview, was promoting his 2021 studio album For Free. “I am at the end of my life, Howard, and it’s a very strange thing,” David told Stern. “Here’s what I’ve come to about it: it’s not how much time you’ve got because we really don’t know — I could have two weeks; I could have ten years — it’s what you do with the time that you do have.”

The Byrds and CSNY co-founder intended to spend his final years doing what he loved. “Each day that I get, I’m very grateful for, and I try to [spend them] making music because I think the world needs music,” Crosby added. “I think music is a lifting force … and I think the human race needs a lift.”

While said he was generally in good health when the interview took place, Crosby admitted he was struggling with tendonitis, which inhibited his skills on guitar. “I’ve got another year or so of being able to play [guitar] and I can teach my parts to someone else if I really wanted to play that bad,” Crosby continued. “I don’t know if I’m gonna play any more. Do you think I aught to?” the legendary musician asked. Howard said it would kill Crosby if he stopped making music. David clarified he was only talking about guitar, as he fully intended to continue making music.

For Free includes the stirring song “I Won’t Stay For Long,” which Crosby wrote with his son James Raymond about being okay with dying. Stern called the song his favorite on the album but explained it made him sad to think losing Crosby. The musician told him not to worry. “People get old and die, and that’s how it works, and I’m gonna,” he said. “But in the meantime, I’m going to have myself a bunch fun … I’m going to make some more music.”

“I know that I’m supposed to quietly shuffle off into the distance, but I’m not gonna,” Crosby noted. “I’ve got two more records planned.” David Crosby & The Lighthouse Band’s Live At The Capitol Theatre arrived last month. He also told Ultimate Classic Rock in a recent interview that he had “another Lighthouse Band studio record finished, mixed and mastered,” referring to his project with Snarky Puppy’s David League and singer-songwriters/musicians Becca Stevens and Michelle Willis. “It’s ready to release already. And I’m two songs into another Sky Trails band record with my son, James. I’m three songs into another Lighthouse record after this one, but I have an entire one that you haven’t heard.”

Watch David Crosby discuss facing his mortality and listen to “I Won’t Stay For Long” below: