I think I was 15 when I spent the summer with People in Montecito who lived right down the street from the Crosbys. Mr Tamborine Man broke that summer, and I was thrilled to meet David - a really old guy. Had to be 25 or something. But I was in awe nonetheless. He was polite and acknowledged me, then went about his life and ignored me when I saw him a couple if times later that summer.
Fast forward 25 years or so...
The very last time I took acid, ca 1981, was at the inspiration/dare of Michael Clark, The Byrds' drummer (iirc he was with Rick Roberts and Firefall at the time), and kind of an outcast. But boy, did he have stories to tell about DC!
About a half hour after we both dropped the acid, we were hanging around the studio, I was faced away from him (we were the only two people there) and I heard growling behind me "mmmrrrrr I think it's coming on!" I turned around, and there was Michael standing there with a crazy expression, waving a gigantic kitchen knife. Funniest thing I'd ever seen.
Anyhow, through the late 60s and early 70s, Byrds and CSN&Y were my ideals in composition, arrangement, lyrics and overall texture; to some extent they still are.