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David Crosby, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, dead at 81

Neil Young (left) and David Crosby perform at the Bridge School Benefit concert at Shoreline Amphitheatre on Oct. 27, 2013, in Mountain View. | Steve Jennings/WireImage/Getty Images

David Crosby, a founding member of The Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash, has died at 81.

His wife of 36 years, Jan Dance, confirmed Crosby's death to Variety an hour ago. Though he was on Twitter just yesterday, Dance said his passing came "after a long illness" and that he was surrounded by family.

A two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Crosby was born in Los Angeles on Aug. 14, 1941. He joined folk group The Byrds in 1964. He was one third of the supergroup Crosby, Stills & Nash, which formed in 1968 after the dissolution of The Byrds and Stephen Stills' band Buffalo Springfield, and after Graham Nash departed The Hollies. The trio played the iconic Woodstock Festival in 1969. Neil Young joined the group later on.

Crosby's music career brought him to the Bay Area frequently over the course of his life. He played the former Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco in the 1960s, as well as Neil Young's Bridge School Benefit at Shoreline Amphitheatre more than once. In the mid-1970s, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young recorded an unfinished album—canceled due to discord within the group—called Human Highway at The Record Plant in Sausalito.

"His legacy will continue to live on through his legendary music," his family's statement said.