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Dobie Gray
Dobie Gray (born Lawrence Darrow Brown; July 26, 1940 – December 6, 2011) was an American singer and songwriter. Gray's music spanned multiple genres, including soul, country, pop, and musical theater. His hit songs included "The 'In' Crowd" in 1965 and "Drift Away" (a cover of a song written by Mentor Williams). "Drift Away" was one of the biggest hits of 1973, has sold over one million copies, and remains a staple of radio airplay.
Dobie Gray was a member of the cast of Hair at the Aquarius Theater in Hollywood from 1968 to 1969.
Gray was born in Simonton, Texas. His birth name was most likely Lawrence Darrow Brown, listed in Fort Bend County birth records as being born in 1940 to Jane and Jethro C. Brown. Other sources suggest he may have been born Leonard Victor Ainsworth, a name he used on some early recordings.
His family sharecropped. He discovered gospel music through his grandfather, a Baptist minister.
In the early 1960s Gray moved to Los Angeles, intending to pursue an acting career while also singing to make money. He recorded for several local labels under the names Leonard Ainsworth, Larry Curtis, and Larry Dennis, before Sonny Bono directed him toward the small independent Stripe Records. They suggested that he record under the name "Dobie Gray", an allusion to the then-popular sitcom The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.
His first taste of success came in 1962 when his seventh single "Look At Me", on the Cor-Dak label and recorded with bassist Carol Kaye, reached No. 91 on the Billboard Hot 100.
However, his first album Look! failed to sell. Greater success came in early 1965 when his original recording of "The 'In' Crowd" (recorded later that year as an instrumental by Ramsey Lewis and also covered in 1965 by Petula Clark) reached No. 13. Written by Billy Page and arranged by his brother Gene and produced by Fred Darian, Gray's record reached No. 11 on the US R&B chart and No. 25 in the UK. The follow-up, "See You at the Go-Go", recorded with such top session musicians as Kaye, Hal Blaine, and Larry Knechtel, also reached the Hot 100, and he issued an album, Dobie Gray Sings for 'In' Crowders That Go 'Go Go,' which featured some self-penned songs.
Gray continued to record, albeit with little success, for small labels such as Charger and White Whale, as well as contributing to movie soundtracks. He also spent several years working as an actor, including two and a half years in the Los Angeles production of Hair.
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Dobie Gray
Dobie Gray (born Lawrence Darrow Brown; July 26, 1940 – December 6, 2011) was an American singer and songwriter. Gray's music spanned multiple genres, including soul, country, pop, and musical theater. His hit songs included "The 'In' Crowd" in 1965 and "Drift Away" (a cover of a song written by Mentor Williams). "Drift Away" was one of the biggest hits of 1973, has sold over one million copies, and remains a staple of radio airplay.
Dobie Gray was a member of the cast of Hair at the Aquarius Theater in Hollywood from 1968 to 1969.
Gray was born in Simonton, Texas. His birth name was most likely Lawrence Darrow Brown, listed in Fort Bend County birth records as being born in 1940 to Jane and Jethro C. Brown. Other sources suggest he may have been born Leonard Victor Ainsworth, a name he used on some early recordings.
His family sharecropped. He discovered gospel music through his grandfather, a Baptist minister.
In the early 1960s Gray moved to Los Angeles, intending to pursue an acting career while also singing to make money. He recorded for several local labels under the names Leonard Ainsworth, Larry Curtis, and Larry Dennis, before Sonny Bono directed him toward the small independent Stripe Records. They suggested that he record under the name "Dobie Gray", an allusion to the then-popular sitcom The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.
His first taste of success came in 1962 when his seventh single "Look At Me", on the Cor-Dak label and recorded with bassist Carol Kaye, reached No. 91 on the Billboard Hot 100.
However, his first album Look! failed to sell. Greater success came in early 1965 when his original recording of "The 'In' Crowd" (recorded later that year as an instrumental by Ramsey Lewis and also covered in 1965 by Petula Clark) reached No. 13. Written by Billy Page and arranged by his brother Gene and produced by Fred Darian, Gray's record reached No. 11 on the US R&B chart and No. 25 in the UK. The follow-up, "See You at the Go-Go", recorded with such top session musicians as Kaye, Hal Blaine, and Larry Knechtel, also reached the Hot 100, and he issued an album, Dobie Gray Sings for 'In' Crowders That Go 'Go Go,' which featured some self-penned songs.
Gray continued to record, albeit with little success, for small labels such as Charger and White Whale, as well as contributing to movie soundtracks. He also spent several years working as an actor, including two and a half years in the Los Angeles production of Hair.