ABOUT
Dobie Gray (July 26, 1940 - December 06, 2011) was a highly acclaimed and veteran singer and songwriter covering soul, R&B, country, and soft rock who became famous beginning in the mid 1960s. Best known for the feel-good smash, "Drift Away" (1973), which became a million-seller and one of the biggest hits of 1973, other songs include "The 'In' Crowd" (1965), an early version of "Rose Garden" (1969, later made famous by Lynn Anderson), "Loving Arms" (1973), and "You Can Do It" (1978).
Born in Simonton, Texas into a family of sharecroppers, most likely under the name of Lawrence Darrow Brown, he was introduced to gospel music at an early age by his grandfather, a Baptist minister. In the early 1960s, he moved to Los Angeles where he met Sonny Bono, then a songwriter at Specialty Records, who helped him further his career and renamed him "Dobie Gray" (a moniker inspired by the title character of the then-popular TV sitcom, "The Many Loves Of Dobie Gillis").
From 1968-1969, Gray was a member of the cast of the long-running hit musical, "Hair." During the 1970s, he focused increasingly on songwriting, penning songs for such artists as Ray Charles, George Jones, Johnny Mathis, Charley Pride, and Don Williams. He resurfaced in the late 1980s on the Country charts, scoring a Top 40 hit in 1986 with "That's One To Grow On," and he continued recording and touring actively to well into the new millennium.
LINKS
- The Los Angeles Times remembers Dobie Gray.
SHOP EXCLUSIVE RECORDINGS FOR DOBIE GRAY
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- Dobie Gray - Sheet Music - SheetMusicPlus.com
SONGS
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Dobie Gray
- Drift Away 1973
- The "In" Crowd 1965
(This song also became a hit for the Ramsey Lewis Trio (1965, instrumental version).)
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