Dobie Gray
Dobie Gray ( born July 26, 1940 in Simonton, Texas; † 6 December 2011; actually, according to various types of information, Leonard Victor Ainsworth or Lawrence Darrow Brown) was an American rhythm 'n' blues, soul and Country singer. His best known hits were The 'In' Crowd ( 1965) and Drift Away (1973 and 2003). Also, as a songwriter, he was successful in later years.
Life
Gray was born into a Sharecropper family in Texas. Here he was already familiar in youth with gospel, country and rhythm 'n' blues. After he had gone to California in the early 1960s, he met Sonny Bono know who was at that time A & R Manager at Specialty Records. Here he published his first hit single Look at Me, which was listed for five weeks in the charts. Previously, he had already published several records under the names Leonard Ainsworth, Larry Curtis and Larry Dennis. The breakthrough to the internationally known singer managed to Gray in 1965 with the song The 'In' Crowd. The arranged written by Billy Page and his brother Gene Page in the Motown style piece published Gray initially on the LP Dobie Gray Sings for 'In' Crowders That ' Go Go '. As a single release reached The 'In' Crowd # 13 on the Billboard Hot 100
The success of the single, he could not repeat first. Gray focused on a stage career that led him to the composition of the production of the musical Hair in Los Angeles. The same time he sang for a band called Pollution, with whom he released two albums. For three years he was employed as a songwriter from the publisher Almo / Irving Publishing, before he went back as a solo artist at the start of 1972. He received a contract with MCA Records, where he worked with songwriter and producer Mentor Williams. This led to the release of the single Drift Away, the success of the The 'In' Crowd surpassed. It reached number five in the U.S. charts. Musically, he moved away from the soul towards Country. He Moved to Nashville, where he founded his own studio. Successes, he was able to record mainly as a songwriter for country stars such as John Denver, Don Williams or Charley Pride here. In the UK in 1975 his recording Out on the Floor from 1966 was released as a single. In the environment of Northern Soul was a minor hit. His last entry into the regular "Top Forty " as a solo singer was in the U.S. In 1978, arranged in disco style You Can Do It
His hit Drift Away celebrated a comeback in 2003 in a version of the rock musician Uncle Kracker, on the Gray also sang himself. The single spent 35 weeks in the U.S. charts and peaked at number nine.