DAVID CROSBY; REMEMBER MY NAME-A Bio Pic Portrait of an Artist Paints an Indelible Portrait

"David Crosby: Remember My Name," is the documentary of legendary guitarist, composer, recording artist and member of three highly successful rock bands,  The film was first released in theaters in 2019 and now streaming on AppleTV.  This absorbing documentary is an intimate look into the life, music, muses and major mis-steps in David Crosby's tumultuous life and his proliferative contributions in music.  It's rare to reveal the subject of a bio pic with all its warts, blemishes and skirmishes.  It is refreshing and rewarding to view this artist's candid egotism and degradation so exposed.  Crosby is a rock star that's still rocking today to sell out crowds.  The fact he's still standing after his health battles, mostly brought on by his drug and alcohol addictions, stuns him more than anyone.  (Tragically, his biological son with singer/songwriter Melissa Etheridge and her partner, died of an opioid overdose at age 21 in 2020.). The three revered rock bands Crosby is a founding member, originated in the 60s and 70s: the Byrds, Crosby, Stills and Nash (CSN) and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young (CSNY).  CSNY became synonymous with the anti-Viet Nam protests for their song "Four Dead in Ohio" the OH University where four college students were fatally shot by the national guard called to contain the student protestors.  'Tin soldiers and Nixon coming We're finally on our own This summer, I hear the drumming Four dead in Ohio." (CSNY)  The film along with Crosby act as a zeitgeist for the 70s in the US along with a musical track that never overtakes its central focus, Crosby, who spends later years trying to figure himself out and mete out regrets.  For anyone who is a fan of the music of Crosby or the music during his heyday, this picture is sure to please.  What's most appealing is Crosby appearing to use the documentary to make personal pleas for amends to the friends and family he acknowledges to have badly mistreated.  His past love stories are searing portraits of love lost, love rebuffed and finally, finding the soul mate for whom he now hates to leave for touring I would have liked to learn why his daughter spurns him and what, if any relationship he has with the biological children he fathered with Etheridge.  "Teach your children Their father's hell did slowly go by And feed them on your dreams The one they pick's the one you'll know by". (CSNY)  "Remember My Name" transcends most artists' biopics by allowing the artist to reflect on what remains heaviest on his heart.  I highly recommend watching. 

  

  

Winner "Most Compelling Living Subject of a Doc. '19)