If I Could Only Remember My Name

If I Could Only Remember My Name is David Crosby’s first solo album, and one of four high-profile albums released by each partner of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young in the wake of their chart-topping Déjà Vu album of 1970. It has been in print continuously since its initial release.

A large grouping of prominent musicians from the era appear on the record, including Nash, Young, Joni Mitchell, and members of the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, & Santana. This ad-hoc ensemble was given the moniker of “The Great Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra” by longtime Crosby associate Paul Kantner ; many of the same musicians appeared on the latter’s Blows Against The Empire, recorded concurrently with Crosby’s album. The album also features the only recorded appearance of David Crosby’s reclusive brother, Ethan Crosby.

Although the album garnered its share of detractors, including Crosby’s then-manager David Geffen and influential Village Voice rock critic Robert Christgau, If I Could Only Remember My Name was a modest commercial success, peaking at #12 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart. “Music Is Love,” released as a single, also peaked at #95 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was released for compact disc on October 25, 1990, having been digitally remastered from the original master tapes, using the equipment and techniques of the day, by original engineer Stephen Barncard.