The legendary musician David Crosby has died at the age of 81. The singer, guitarist and songwriter was a pivotal member of two of the most influential bands of the 1960s: The Byrds and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. In 2011, David Crosby came into the Democracy Now! studio with longtime collaborator Graham Nash shortly after they performed at Occupy Wall Street in New York. He talked about his longtime opposition to nuclear power.

David Crosby: “The second part is that human beings make mistakes. That gave us Chernobyl. That gave us Three Mile Island. Mother Nature can kick our butts anytime she wants to. That gave us Fukushima. It’s not safe. There are two plants in California right on the beach. One of them is on a fault line. It’s 50 miles to, windward, my house. I keep — I sort of look that way to make sure I spot the plume when it happens. There’s nothing safe about it, and there’s nothing green about poisoning your country.”

During their appearance on Democracy Now!, David Crosby and Graham Nash also performed part of Crosby’s song “What Are Their Names.”

David Crosby and Graham Nash: [singing] “Who are the men
Who really run this land?
And why do they run it
With such a thoughtless hand?
What are their names?
And on what streets do they live?
I’d like to ride right over
This afternoon and give
Them a piece of my mind
About peace for mankind.
Peace is not an awful lot to ask.”

David Crosby and Graham Nash in our Democracy Now! studios in 2011. Click here to see the whole interview. David Crosby has died at the age of 81.