Dobie Gray
July 26, 1940 – December 6, 2011
Dobie Gray was an American soul (and later, country) singer and songwriter who, over a career that started in 1960, released hits like “The In Crowd” and “Drift Away,” which sold over a million copies and remains a staple on radio. Born into a family of Texas sharecroppers, Gray was exposed to gospel music at an early age thanks to an uncle who was a Baptist minister. By the early ’60s, he was living in Los Angeles where he met Sonny Bono who connected him with his first label, Stripe Records. It wasn’t long until Gray was putting out a string of hits like “Look At Me,” “See You At The Go-Go,” and of course, “The In Crowd” and “Drift Away.” The latter has been also recorded by such luminaries as Rod Stewart, Roy Orbison, the Neville Brothers, and Humble Pie. When he wasn’t making records, Gray worked as an actor – he spent over two years as part of the Los Angeles cast of Hair. During the mid ’70s, Gray moved to Nashville where he wrote songs that were recorded by the likes of Charley Pride, George Jones, Ray Charles and Don Williams. He also released a handful of moderately successful records at that time. During the mid ’80s, Gray signed with Capitol Records and released a few country records that performed fairly well on the country charts. Dobie Gray was 71 when he passed away in his sleep on December 6, 2011. Cause of death was not immediately released, though he had been ill.
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