David Crosby died earlier this week at the age of 81, and today his Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young bandmate Neil Young paid tribute to the musician with a statement on his website.

"David is gone, but his music lives on," Young wrote on Neil Young Archives. "The soul of CSNY, David's voice and energy were at the heart of our band. His great songs stood for what we believed in and it was always fun and exciting when we got to play together."

Young cites songs that Crosby wrote like "Almost Cut My Hair" and "Déjà Vu" as "wonderful to jam on," and added that "we had so many great times, especially in the early years."

Crosby was a founding member of the band originally named Crosby, Stills & Nash. Young joined in 1969, a year after the band's formation, at which point the band was renamed Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Young was an on-and-off member of the group throughout the years, but contributed to notable albums such as 1970's Déjà Vu, 1975's So Far, and 1988's American Dream.

Read Young's full statement here. Below is a clip of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young performing "Cinnamon Girl" at Farm Aid 2000.