Dobie Gray
Photo Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Singer-songwriter
Dobie Gray, best known for his pop hit "The In Crowd"
in 1965 and the country-influenced "Drift Away" in 1973, died Tuesday (Dec. 6) at his Nashville home following a lengthy illness
at age 71. Although "Drift Away" was written by veteran songwriter Mentor Williams, it became Gray's signature song. It reached
No. 5 on
Billboard's Hot 100 chart.
Uncle Kracker's 2003 version,
which features Gray singing the final verse, hit the Top 10 on
Billboard's Hot 100 chart and spent 28 weeks on the
adult contemporary chart. Born Lawrence Brown in Brookshire, Texas, Gray recorded for Capitol Nashville during the mid '80s
and charted four singles on
Billboard's country songs chart. As a songwriter, his compositions were recorded by several
prominent country artists, including
George Jones,
Tammy
Wynette,
Conway Twitty,
Charley
Pride and
Don Williams.
