Dobie Gray Dies

Dobie Gray, the artist who gave us the hit "Drift Away" in 1973, passed away yesterday at the age of 71. The news of Gray's passing was released on the singer's website last night. No cause of death was listed. Gray's first hit came in 1965 with "The In Crowd", but it was hit "Drift Away" that made him a household name. "Drift Away" has been covered by a long list of artists including Roy Orbison, Rod Stewart, Waylon Jennings, and Ray Charles. Most recently Uncle Kracker had a number one hit with "Drift Away" with Gray singing on the track with him.

Asked about the song’s inclusion on his album, No Stranger to Shame, Kracker said in 2003, “This is a song that’s almost impossible to do better than the original, so I just grabbed the guy that did it originally and had him co-sing it. I learned [from him] that you can be an older musician and not be bitter. I meet a lot of older musicians that are bitter about everything. He’s definitely a nice gentleman and he’s very down to earth." - Hollywoodreporter.com