Lawrence Darrow (Brown) Gray (1940 - 2011)

Born 26 Jul 1940 in Simonton, Fort Bend, Texas, United States

Ancestors

Died 6 Dec 2011 at age 71 in Nashville, Davidson, Tennessee, United States

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Biography

Dobie (Brown) Gray is Notable.

Dobie Gray was an American singer and songwriter, whose musical career spanned soul, country, pop, and musical theater.^[1]

Gray was born into a family of Texas sharecroppers in 1940 in Simonton, Texas, with the name Leonard Victor Ainsworth or Laurence Darrow Brown at birth. His birth name was most likely Lawrence Darrow Brown, listed in Fort Bend County birth records show him as being born in 1940 to Jane and Jethro C. Brown. His grandfather was a Baptist minister and it was through him that he learned to sing, singing in the gospel choir.

Wikipedia

He recorded for several local labels under the names Leonard Ainsworth, Larry Curtis, and Larry Dennis, before Sonny Bono directed him toward the small independent Stripe Records. They suggested that he record under the name "Dobie Gray", an allusion to the then-popular sitcom The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.

In the mid-1970s, he moved permanently to Nashville and signed with Capricorn Records. He increasingly concentrated on songwriting, writing songs for a variety of artists including Ray Charles, George Jones, Johnny Mathis, Charley Pride, and Don Williams. He also toured in Europe, Australia and Africa in the 1970s. He performed in South Africa only after persuading the apartheid authorities to allow him to play to integrated audiences, becoming the first artist to do so. His popularity in South Africa continued through numerous subsequent concert tours.^[2]

Gray died on December 6, 2011, of complications from cancer surgery in Nashville, Tennessee, aged 71.^[3][4] and is buried in Woodlawn Memorial Park and Mausoleum in Nashville, Tennessee.^[5] From his NYT obituary: "Mr. Gray, who never married, was 71, and that his survivors included a sister and a brother. No immediate family member could be reached. In interviews, Mr. Gray credited his Baptist minister grandfather with sparking his interest in singing."

His remains were buried at Woodlawn Memorial Park and Mausoleum in Nashville. Upon his passing, he bequeathed 100% of his musical assets and royalties in trust to benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the Tennessee School for the Blind.^[6]

Sources

1. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dobie_Gray
2. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, 'Dobie Gray', Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 12 September 2022, 00:31 UTC, <https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dobie_Gray&oldid=1109811247> [accessed 15 October 2022]
3. ↑ Death: "U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014"
   Social Security Administration; Washington D.C., USA; Social Security Death Index, Master File
   Ancestry Record 3693 #91651648
   Dobie Gray death 6 Dec 2011 (born 26 Jul 1940).
4. ↑ Obituary: "U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current"
   tributesTX; Publication Place: City, Texas, USA; URL: http://www.tributes.com/obituary/print_selections/101576543?type=1
   Ancestry Record 7545 #501132761
   Name: Dobie Gray; Gender: Male; Death Age: 71; Birth Date: 26 Jul 1940; Birth Place: Simonton, Texas; Residence Place: Nashville, Tennessee; Death Date: 6 Dec 2011; Death Place: Nashville, Tennessee; Burial Date: 15 Dec 2011; Siblings: Vivian Jean Outley Arthurine Brown Williams Naomi Mason Lee Clifton Brown.
5. ↑ Memorial: Find a Grave (has image)
   Find A Grave: Memorial #81636567
   Memorial page for Dobie Gray Famous memorial (26 Jul 1940-6 Dec 2011), citing Woodlawn Memorial Park and Mausoleum, Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee, USA (plot: Everlasting Life); Maintained by Find a Grave.
6. ↑ https://www.stjude.org/inspire/news/new-digital-release-by-late-singer-dobie-gray-will-benefit-st-jude.html

• New York Times Obituary: https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/08/arts/music/dobie-gray-singer-known-for-drift-away-dies.html