The Real Reason David Crosby Is Losing The Ability To Play Guitar

David Crosby is a well-known musician and founding member of two groups — the Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Together with his groups, he popularized folk-rock music during the Woodstock generation in the 1960s. Crosby has been active in the music industry throughout the years, releasing solo albums and touring across the country, per All Music.

Nearing the age of 80, David Crosby is still passionate about music. The musician went on "The Howard Stern Show" to talk about his latest album, "For Free." While talking with the host, Crosby touched on death and how he's spending the rest of his life. "It's not how much time you've got because we really don't know–I could have two weeks; I could have 10 years–it's what you do with the time that you have," David told Howard Stern (via Howard Stern.)

He candidly talked about dying and said that it's inevitable, but in the meantime, he's using his remaining years by making more music and is planning on releasing two more albums. Making music might be difficult, though, as David said that he might have to give up playing the guitar in the next year.

David Crosby has been playing the guitar since he was young, and to have that taken away will be rough for him. "I am losing my ability to play guitar," he told Stern (via Howard Stern.) Crosby has been dealing with tendonitis in recent years, and the condition is making it difficult for him to play the guitar and do other things with his hands.

Tendonitis is the result of inflamed tendons, which cause pain when the joints on the affected area move, according to the Mayo Clinic. Tendonitis most commonly affects areas where joints move repeatedly, which can stress the tendons. This is why tendonitis is common in athletes, such as tennis and golf players, who typically put repeated stress on their elbows. In David Crosby's case, his guitar playing for decades caused stress on his finger joints.

In an interview with Rolling Stone in 2020, David talked about his tendonitis and said he attempted to have it fixed, but it wasn't successful. "I'm in a tremendous amount of pain in my right hand. It's entirely possible that I may never play guitar again," he revealed. In the meantime, this hasn't happened yet, so as long as he can still use his fingers to some extent, he will still be playing the guitar and writing songs.