Dobie Gray RIP

DOBIE GRAY, best known for the 1973 soul classic “Drift Away,” died on Tuesday in Nashville of complications from cancer surgery. He was believed to be 71. The versatile singer had his first Top 20 hit in 1965 with “The ‘In’ Crowd,” which was also cut by the Ramsey Lewis Trio, whose instrumental version was an even bigger hit than Gray’s. He spent two years in the cast of the Los Angeles production of Hair in the late ’60s. “Drift Away,” on MCA, was co-written by Gray and Mentor Williams, who also produced. He left Los Angeles for Nashville in 1978 and began writing and performing country music there. His singing career never took off in Nashville, but he became a prolific writer for other artists, including John Conlee (“Got My Heart Set on You”), Ray Charles (“Over and Over, Again”), Julio Iglesias (“If I Ever Needed You”) and George Jones (“Come Home to Me”). (12/8a)