Dash Crofts, One Half of Seals & Crofts, Has Died at 87

Darrell “Dash” Crofts, the musician who helped define the sound of 1970s soft rock as one half of Seals & Crofts, passed away on March 25th, 2026 at the age of 87, surrounded by his family. His daughter Lua Crofts Faragher confirmed the news, writing that the family mourns “a man whose loving-kindness, remarkable compassion, beautiful and tender voice has uplifted hearts across the globe.” Producer Louie Shelton, who helmed several of the duo’s most celebrated albums, offered his own tribute: “Sad to hear our dear brother and partner in music has passed away today. R.I.P. my brother.”

Crofts was born in Cisco, Texas, picking up piano at five and drums by ten. By high school he had formed a band with a saxophone player named Jim Seals, a partnership that would define both their lives. After high school the two relocated to Southern California and joined The Champs, eventually striking out under the name Seals & Crofts in 1969. Their sound, breezy, melodic, and rooted in their shared Bahá’í faith, found its fullest expression on 1972’s ‘Summer Breeze’, which went double platinum and produced a title track that peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100. The follow-up ‘Diamond Girl’ went gold and delivered another top-ten single of the same name. Together the duo earned four gold albums, two platinum certifications, and two Grammy nominations across a catalog that has never stopped finding new listeners.

The music endured well beyond its moment. “Summer Breeze” was covered by the Isley Brothers and by Type O Negative, whose heavy reimagining appeared on the soundtrack to the 1997 thriller I Know What You Did Last Summer. The 2024 HBO documentary ‘Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary’ brought fresh attention to the genre Seals & Crofts helped create, and the duo’s warmth and melodic instincts continue to resonate with audiences discovering them for the first time. Crofts released a solo album, ‘Today’, in 1998, and he and Seals reunited for a final album together, ‘Traces’, in 2004.

Jim Seals passed away in June 2022 at the age of 79. With Crofts’ death, both halves of one of soft rock’s most enduring partnerships are gone. Crofts is survived by his wife Louise, his daughter Lua Crofts Faragher, two additional children, Faizi and Amelia, and eight grandchildren. His legacy lives in every breeze that passes through a jasmine vine.