The founding member of The Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash, David Crosby, posted a tweet on his official account and made a statement considering who the top 3 lyricists of all time are, and his Number 1 turned out to be a different person than Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, and Paul Simon.

David Crosby is one of the rockstars who are the most active on social media. He often uses his Twitter account to share his views on music, politics, and daily life. He also enjoys interacting with his fans and followers and responding to their questions.

Crosby is one of the most popular and influential rock musicians in history and thus, his views on music and musicians are important and often sought after. That is why, the questions that his followers ask are often in relation to his views about albums, musicians, and bands.

Recently, a fan asked David Crosby to list the top three lyricists of all time, and Crosby’s number 1 excited and shocked his followers. He said that Number 3 is a tough call but that he would probably say it is Paul Simon or Paul McCartney.

He seems to have been more sure about Number 2, who was actually the songwriter whose work increased The Byrds’ fame immensely. The Byrds recorded his song ‘Mr. Tambourine Man‘ and released it in 1965. It became their first single reaching Number 1 on both the Billboard charts and the UK Singles Chart.

You have probably already guessed who was David Crosby’s Number 2, it was the world-famous singer and songwriter Bob Dylan. As Crosby positioned Bob Dylan as Number 2, the person who he deemed worthy of being his Number 1 became all the more interesting.

Crosby stated that the Number 1 best lyricist of all time is Joni Mitchell. Joni Mitchell is a Canadian singer and songwriter who has been praised by millions as one of the best songwriters of all time. She has received numerous accolades and 9 Grammy Awards.

Joni Mitchell was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. Her songs have been sung by dozens of musicians and bands, and her talent as both a songwriter and a singer has been acknowledged by everyone from both her generation and the following ones.

Even though some of Crosby’s fans agreed with his list, others argued that there are songwriters who should have been included, such as; John Lennon, Jackson Brown, Robert Hunter.

Crosby’s list turned into a long discussion with his fans and followers and Crosby posted dozens of responses to his followers’ comments which you can check out by visiting his Twitter profile.

Here’s what Croby’s follower asked him:

“For lyrics alone, who would you say was the top 3 lyricists of all time?”

To which Crosby replied:

“Well, it just my opinion but Joni, Bob, and the third one is hard… Probably Simon or McCartney.”

You can check out the tweet that David Crosby posted on his Twitter account below.