Greeting David Crosby, Melissa Etheridge thanks him for being the biological father of her children

David Crosby gave fellow musician Melissa Etheridge “the gift of family,” the latter wrote in a tribute Thursday to the Crosby, Stills & Nash legend.

The “Come to My Window” singer-songwriter joined the throng of celebrities who have publicly mourned the death of the 81-year-old rocker. But to Etheridge, the two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Famer was more than a contemporary and friend, he was also the man who fathered two of his children through artificial insemination.

“I am grieving the loss of my friend, and Bailey and Beckett’s biological father, David,” the Oscar-winning “I Need to Wake Up” singer wrote on Instagram, sharing a grainy photo of herself watching Crosby play the guitar.

“He gave me the gift of family. I will be eternally grateful [his son] Django, and [his wife] Jan,” he added. “His music and his legacy will inspire many generations to come. A true treasure.”

After a striking revelation in a 2000 issue of Rolling Stone, Etheridge and Crosby confirmed in a later “Larry King Live” interview that he was indeed the sperm donor for their children with then-couple, filmmaker Julie Cypher. Calling in on the CNN show with Cypher and his wife, musician Jan Dance, Crosby said he was “very proud” to have reached that agreement.

“You know, the truth is… we hadn’t been very close friends with Julie and Melissa,” Crosby told King. “But if you, I think by now, just for hanging out [with] them, you can see very clearly, very quickly who they are, and they’re good people, and they made us feel that very quickly and easily, and I liked them from the first time I met them.”

In fact, Dance is the one who suggested that Crosby help them start a family. She volunteered him to be the biological father while everyone was on vacation in Hawaii.

“It just fell off my lips…” Dance said at the time. “I saw a longing in them and a love, and I knew it was deep and it was pure and true.”

Asked by King if he was surprised his wife offered it, Crosby said no.

“You know, I’ve said this before, I really don’t think people should think this is a big deal. Now, I do not want to say that I am taking it lightly, I am quite the opposite. I think it’s a great thing, but I think people are probably doing more than they should,” Crosby said.

In her 2001 biography, “The Truth Is… My Life in Love and Music,” Etheridge also confirmed rumors that actor Brad Pitt and musician Jackson Browne were considered to be the parents of the women. The “I’m the Only One” singer has said that she and Cypher decided against Pitt, who had been her good friend, because he desperately wanted children of his own at the time and they weren’t looking for an additional father for him. their children. children.

Crosby also had a son, James Raymond Crosby, and daughters, Erika Keller Crosby and Donovan Crosby, from relationships prior to his relationship with Dance, whom he married in 1987.

“It’s one of the reasons why David Crosby and his wife are so perfect, because they already had kids,” Etheridge said in a 2016 interview with “Today.” “They were looking to do this as a gift.”

Cypher gave birth to daughter Bailey in 1997 and son Beckett in 1998. Bailey is now 24 years old; Beckett died in 2020 at the age of 21 after an addiction to opioids.

Bailey Etheridge also greeted her biological father on Thursday, posting on Instagram: “Rest easy Croz. Thank you for the melodies, the dimples and the love.

Etheridge and Cypher ended their decade-long relationship in 2000. According to Etheridge’s book, Cypher, who left her husband Lou Diamond Phillips to be with Etheridge and later had an affair with singer kd lang, dropped a bombshell about their relationship during a therapy session in 1999. :: “She said, ‘You know, I’ve tried and tried these last two years, and I’m just not gay.’ Ten years and two children later seemed like an odd time to make that discovery,” Etheridge wrote.

Etheridge also has twins with her former partner Tammy Lynn Michaels, who gave birth in 2006. The couple separated in 2010.