Dobie Gray [1940-2011]

Artist: Dobie Gray

LP: Loving Arms

Song: "I Never Had It So Good"

[ listen ]

Speaking of guys with beautiful voices, I'm interrupting my Washington, DC record store tour to pay this little tribute to singer Dobie Gray, who died three days ago. Born near Houston, Texas, Lawrence Darrow Brown (aka. Dobie Gray) moved to Los Angeles around 1960 to pursue an acting career, but instead found success with several soul hits in the early part of the decade. He handled lead vocals for the group Pollution in the late '60s and early '70s, then released several solo LPs in the 1970s with more of a country vibe, like "Loving Arms" in 1973. Dobie Grey is best remembered for his top-ten hit "Drift Away" from '73, which you can see him performing by clicking the YouTube link below. Gray hit the top-40 country singles charts as late as the mid-1980s, but mainly focused on song-writing for the last few decades of his career. You can read more about Dobie Gray on Wikipedia here, find his obituary in the L.A. Times here, and visit the official Dobie Gray website here.

Dobie Gray on YouTube:

[ "Drift Away" ]

Dobie Gray

[June 26, 1940 — December 6, 2011]

We will miss you, Dobie.