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While David madea name for himself in the music industryas a founding member of bands The Byrds and David and Stills & Nash, he also held another important role as a dad.
The singer had four children: sons Django and James and daughters Erika and Donovan. Additionally, David had a close relationship with Melissa Etheridge and Julie Cypher’s children, Bailey and Beckett, for whom he was the sperm donor.
Here’s everything to know aboutthe late singer’s children.
James Raymond
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When David was 21 years old, his first child James Raymond was born in 1962. David and the mother (whose identity David did not publicly share at the time, but waslater revealed to be Celia Crawford Ferguson) immediately placed James for adoption.
Many years later, as David was preparing for a liver transplant, he decided to reach out to James in the 1990s. “I was in the hospital dying, and I knew that I had a son out there someplace,“David toldThe Baltimore Sun. “I had been beating myself up for years about not being there for this kid.”
James contacted David just before his transplant, and the two met for lunch three months later. “He was this nice, decent young guy, and we became friends immediately,” David said of their instant connection.
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Her mother, Jackie, also had four children with folk singer Arlo Guthrie, whom she was married to for 43 years. In October 2012,Jackie died at age 68, with her record label saying she had inoperable cancer.
Beckett Cypher and Bailey Jean Cypher
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David was also the sperm donorof Melissa Etheridge and Julie Cypher’s children, Bailey Jean Cypher (born in 1997) and Beckett Cypher (born in 1998), respectively.
David previously toldRolling Stonehe didn’t hesitate to be the donor. “Melissa and Julie are good people,” he said of the couple, who split in 2000. “Nice set of values, they’re funnier than s—, and they’ve got courage. All rare stuff. You could see that they were in love with each other.”
“I don’t parent Bailey and Beckett, the two with Melissa, but I do love them,“he toldCloser Weekly.
Beckett and Bailey previously stepped out with their mother, Melissa, in 2011 as she was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In May 2020, Melissa announcedher son Beckett had died at 21 after an opioid overdose.
source: people.com