BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS
Full Name: Lawrence Darrow Brown
Description: Vocalist, Composer, USA
Known For: His hit records included “The In Crowd” in 1965
Instruments: Vocals, piano, keyboards
Music Styles: Rock
Location: United States of America
Date Born: 26th June 1940
Location Born: Simonton, Texas, United States of America
Date Died: 6th December 2011
Location Died: Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
BIOGRAPHICAL PROFILE
Dobie Gray
An American singer and songwriter, whose musical career spanned soul, country, pop and musical theater.
His hit records included “The ‘In’ Crowd” in 1965, and “Drift Away”, which was one of the biggest hits of 1973, sold over one million copies, and remains a staple of radio airplay.
He recorded for several local labels under the names Leonard Ainsworth, Larry Curtis, and Larry Dennis, before Sonny Bono directed him towards 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 1963, when his seventh single “Look At Me”, on the Cor-Dak label, recorded with bassist Carol Kaye, reached # 91 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Greater success came in early 1965 when his original recording of “The ‘In’ Crowd” (later recorded by Ramsey Lewis) reached # 13 on the chart. Written by Billy Page, arranged by his brother Gene, and produced by Fred Darian.
His biggest hit singles in the late 1970s were “If Love Must Go”, # 78 in 1976, and “You Can Do It”, # 37 in late 1978, his last solo chart hit to date.
Gray also toured in Europe, Australia and Africa in the 1970s. He performed in South Africa only after persuading the apartheid authorities to allow him to play to integrated audiences, becoming the first artist to do so in that country.
On December 6, 2011, Gray’s official website stated that he had died.[15] According to the Associated Press, he died at his home in Nashville, Tennessee after a long battle with cancer.
Sources differed as to his age; his official site stated he was 71, while the AP stated he was 69.
Albums
Look (Stripe, 1963)
Dobie Gray Sings For “In” Crowders (Charger, 1965)
Pollution (Prophecy/Atlantic, 1970)
Pollution II (Prophecy/Atlantic, 1971)
Drift Away (Decca/MCA, 1973)
Loving Arms (MCA, 1974)
Hey Dixie (MCA, 1975)
New Ray Of Sunshine (Capricorn, 1976)
Let Go (Capricorn, 1977)
The Best Of Dobie Gray (Gallo, 1978)
Dobie Gray & Mary Wells (Gusto Inc., 1978)
Midnight Diamond (Capricorn, 1978)
Dobie Gray (Infinity, 1979)
Welcome Home (Equity / Robox, 1981)
From Where I Stand (Capitol/EMI/Amer., 1986)
Love’s Talkin’ (Capitol/EMI/Amer., 1987)
Dobie Gray: His Very Best (Razor & Tie, 1996)
Diamond Cuts (Dobie Gray Prods., 1998)
Soul Days (CDMemphis, 2001)
Dobie Gray: The Ultimate (Universal Hip-O, 2001)
Songs Of The Season (Dobie Gray Prods., 2001)
Dobie Gray: A Decade of Dobie (1969-1979) (UMG/Select-O-Hits, 2005)