Dobie Gray was the first to have a hit with Billy Page's song,
'The "In" Crowd'.
In the U.S., his vocal version entered the Billboard charts in January of 1965.
The Ramsey Lewis Trio's jazz instrumental treatment hit the charts in July of that same year.
Gray's biggest career hit was 'Drift Away' in 1973, but by the release of his eponymously titled album six years later, his record chart rankings had slid some.
That this copy of the LP is an old promo speaks a bit to the poor sales it received - - which likely had as much to do with faulty distribution and the shaky financial state of the Infinity record label as anything else.
Though it fit in well with the disco era, Dobie Gray's included 'update' of his first big hit received little notice in the U.S., but fared much better in European dance clubs.
From the self-titled 'Dobie Gray' LP (Infinity Records, 1979),
listen to:
Dobie Gray - In Crowd
(click for audio)
See also: (click to link)
- An album review at Allmusic.Com
- The Official Dobie Gray Website
- A 1965 videoclip of Dobie Gray on 'Hullabaloo', lip-synching to his original vocal hit version of
'The "In" Crowd'.
- Click here to view this and my previous 'In Crowd of the month' posts together on one page.
That this copy of the LP is an old promo speaks a bit to the poor sales it received - - which likely had as much to do with faulty distribution and the shaky financial state of the Infinity record label as anything else.
