David Crosby was a crucial voice of both the hippie idealism and the world-weary realism of the classic rock era. As a founding member of the Byrds and later Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, he helped invent folk rock and country rock in the 1960s and was instrumental to the sensitive singer-songwriter scene of the 1970s; his singing and guitar playing broadened the way people thought about pop music's meaning even as it helped create a culture in which rock stars were encouraged to enjoy every earthly excess available.
Crosby, who grew up in Southern California and did as much as anyone to define the region's sound, died on Wednesday at age 81. Here are 12 songs that encapsulate his life and work.
1. The Byrds, "Mr. Tambourine Man" (1965)
