{{Short description|American musician (1938–2026)}}{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2026}} {{Infobox musical artist | image = Dash Crofts 1975 (cropped).JPG | caption = Crofts in 1975 | birth_name = Darrell George Crofts | birth_date = {{Birth date|1938|8|14}} | birth_place = Cisco, Texas, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|2026|3|25|1938|8|14}} | death_place = Austin, Texas, U.S. | genre = Folk, rock and roll | instrument = Vocals, guitar, mandolin, drums | years_active = 1957–2026 | past_member_of = The Champs, Seals and Crofts }}
'''Darrell George''' "'''Dash'''" '''Crofts''' (August 14, 1938 – March 25, 2026) was an American musician, one half of the soft rock duo Seals & Crofts with Jim Seals.
Crofts was a drummer in his early career, when he met Jim Seals, then a saxophonist. The two would go on to play in The Champs, eventually creating the duo Seals and Crofts, in which both members sang and played the guitar and mandolin among other instruments; they would go on to record hits such as "Summer Breeze" and "Diamond Girl".
== Early life == Darrell George Crofts was born in Cisco, Texas on August 14, 1938,<ref>{{cite United States census | url = https://catalog.archives.gov/id/138516121?objectPage=21 | title = 1940 Census Population Schedules - Texas - Eastland County - ED 67-24 | year = 1940 | location = Eastland County, Texas | roll = 4024 | page = 11A | line = 2 | enumdist = ED 67-24 | filmnum = | nafilm = NAID: 138516121 | accessdate = October 5, 2025 }}</ref> to parents Sutton Phillp Crofts and Mary French Crofts, née Hicks.<ref>"Texas, Birth Index, 1903-1997", ''FamilySearch'' (<nowiki>https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VDDV-BJQ</nowiki> : Tue Feb 25 14:53:27 UTC 2025), Entry for Darrell George Crofts and Sutton Phillp Crofts, 14 Aug 1938.</ref><ref name="NYT">{{cite news |title=Dash Crofts, of the Soft-Rock Duo That Sang 'Summer Breeze,' Dies at 87 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/26/arts/music/dash-crofts-dead.html |access-date=26 March 2026 |publisher=The New York Times |date=26 March 2026}}</ref> He had a twin sister named Dorothy.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=DeYoung |date=July 6, 2023 |title=Seals & Crofts: We May Never Pass This Way Again |url=https://www.billdeyoung.com/music-journalism/seals-crofts-we-may-never-pass-this-way-again/ |access-date=July 25, 2025 |website=Bill DeYoung dot com |language=en|first=Bill}}</ref> Crofts's nickname "Dash" came from when he was a baby; his mother entered him and his twin into a "beautiful baby" contest and said they would look even cuter if they entered as "Dot" and "Dash".<ref name=":1" />
== Career == Crofts took up the piano at age five before switching to drums at age ten.<ref name=":1" /> In high school he played drums in Dean Beard & the Crew Cats, where he met the band's saxophone player Jim Seals.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=DASH CROFTS |url=https://tims.blackcat.nl/messages/dash_crofts.htm |access-date=2025-07-28 |website=tims.blackcat.nl}}</ref> After Crofts graduated, his father found a job for him which he quit after just one day.<ref name=":0" /> He and Seals moved to Southern California and both joined The Champs from 1958 to 1965. Crofts was drafted in 1962 and spent two years with the Army in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.<ref name=":1" />
In 1969 the two started working as a recording duo under the name "Seals & Crofts". Throughout the 1970s the duo had hit after hit with their self-penned songs including "Summer Breeze" and "Diamond Girl" and had four albums go gold and two go platinum.<ref>''Top Pop Singles 1955–2010'' - Joel Whitburn 2011 - Page 792 {{ISBN|978-0-89820-188-8}}.</ref><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Gold & Platinum |url=https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/ |access-date=2025-07-28 |website=RIAA |language=en-US}}</ref> Both Seals and Crofts picked up the guitar and Crofts additionally took up the mandolin as it would be easier to take on planes and carry around while travelling.<ref name=":1" />
The two parted ways in 1983 but reunited in the 1990s and in 2004. Crofts released a solo album, ''Today'', in 1998.<ref name="NYT" />
== Personal life and death == Both Crofts and Seals were adherents of the Baháʼí Faith, which was an inspiration for their music.<ref name="NYT" />
Crofts, his wife and two children lived in Mexico, then Australia, and then Nashville, Tennessee.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Seals and Crofts |url=https://www.classicbands.com/sealsandcrofts.html |access-date=July 28, 2025 |website=Classicbands.com}}</ref> He lived on a farm in Texas and raised Arabian horses.<ref name=":2" /> Crofts died in Austin, Texas, from complications of heart surgery on March 25, 2026, at the age of 87.<ref>{{cite news |last1=DeRiso |first1=Nick |title=Dash Crofts of ’70s Hitmakers Seals and Crofts Dies |url=https://wpdh.com/ixp/295/p/dash-crofts-seals-and-crofts-dies/ |access-date=26 March 2026 |publisher=WPDH |date=26 March 2026}}</ref><ref name="NYT" /><ref>{{cite news |last1=Kaplan |first1=Ilana |title=Dash Crofts, Seals & Crofts Member and 'Summer Breeze' Singer, Dies at 87. |url=https://people.com/dash-crofts-summer-breeze-singer-dead-age-85-11935024 |access-date=26 March 2026 |website=People.com |date=26 March 2026}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == * {{IMDb name|1062116}} * {{discogs artist|Dash Crofts}}
{{Seals and Crofts}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crofts, Dash}} Category:1938 births Category:2026 deaths Category:People from Cisco, Texas Category:20th-century American male musicians Category:21st-century American male musicians Category:20th-century American guitarists Category:21st-century American guitarists Category:Musicians from Texas Category:Twin musicians Category:American Baháʼís