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"The 'In' Crowd" is a 1964 song written by Billy Page and arranged by his brother Gene and originally performed by Dobie Gray on his album Dobie Gray Sings for "In" Crowders That Go "Go-Go". It appeared on an episode of Dick Clark's Rock, Roll & Remember, featuring in the last week of November 1964, the month Gray's rendition was released.

Chart performance

In the US, Gray's powerful Motown-like version, complete with brass section, reached number 11 on the Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles chart and number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 on 20 February 1965. Outside the US, "The 'In' Crowd" went to number 25 on the UK Singles Chart and number 8 in Canada. Gray's Shindig! performance of the song aired on 10 March 1965.

Ramsey Lewis instrumental (1965)

The Ramsey Lewis Trio recorded an instrumental version of the tune in May 1965. Performed live at Bohemian Caverns nightclub in Washington, D.C., their jazzy take was released in June and reached number 5 on the Hot 100 on 9 October 1965, as well as peaking at number 2 for three weeks on the Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles chart. In Canada, the record reached number 6 in the RPM charts. A longer edit of the song provides the title track for the Trio's successful live album.

Writing in 2015, jazz critic Kevin Whitehead said: "As Lewis has told a couple of interviewers, the trio met at a nearby eatery to discuss repertoire. Their kibitzing waitress Nettie Gray suggested a current pop hit, "The 'In' Crowd" by Dobie Gray. Ramsey Lewis didn't know that tongue-in-cheek ode to hipster self-congratulation, so they dropped a coin in the jukebox. ... I hope they left Nettie Gray a very good tip. Ramsey Lewis liked "The 'In' Crowd" enough to work up an arrangement in the unjazzy key of D major so bassist Eldee Young could work his open strings. And the trio really amped up the groove. Opening night, the audience instantly locked in with drummer Redd Holt."

The Lewis Trio Argo single was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2009.

Other versions

• Bryan Ferry on his 1974 album Another Time, Another Place; also released as a single, reaching number 13 on the UK Singles Chart.
• "The 'In' Crowd" was the last cut on If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears, the first album put out by the group, the Mamas & the Papas, in 1966, with "Mama" Cass Elliot singing the lead vocal. The album reached number one on the Billboard album chart. In a 2020 retrospective review, published on the occasion of the album's reissue on vinyl, the staff of Best Classic Bands dubbed this version a "rollicking cover".

References

1. "The 'In' Crowd / Be A Man - Dobie Gray". 45cat. Retrieved 2019-11-09.
2. ^ "Second Hand Songs - Recording: The 'In' Crowd - Dobie Gray". SecondHandSongs. Retrieved 2012-09-12.
3. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 236.
4. "The Hot 100: Week of February 20, 1965". Billboard.com. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
5. "Drift Away and In Crowd singer Dobie Gray dies at 71". BBC News. 7 December 2011. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
6. "RPM Magazine - February 8, 1965 (page 5)" (PDF).
7. "Shindig! Show 27: March 10, 1965 - Beau Brummels, Tony Bennett, The Drifters, Aretha Franklin, Dobie Gray, Mickey Rooney Jr". tv.com. Retrieved 2016-01-11.
8. "The 'In' Crowd / Since I Fell For You - Ramsey Lewis Trio". 45cat. Retrieved 2019-11-09.
9. "The Hot 100 Chart". Billboard.
10. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 348.
11. "RPM Top 100 Singles - September 27, 1965" (PDF).
12. "50 Years Ago, Ramsey Lewis Joined 'The In Crowd'". NPR.org. Retrieved 2021-12-02.
13. Whitehead, Kevin (13 May 2015). "The In Crowd': An Audience-Fueled Jazz-Pop Crossover Hit". npr.org. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
14. "Grammy awards". grammy.com. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
15. "UK Charts - Bryan Ferry". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
16. Staff, Best Classic Bands (2020-12-06). "Mamas & the Papas' 'Toilet' Cover Gets Reissue". Best Classic Bands. Retrieved 2024-06-25.

External links

• The "In" Crowd (Live At The Bohemian Caverns, Washington, D.C., 1965) on YouTube

• 1965 singles
• Ramsey Lewis songs
• Dobie Gray songs
• Bryan Ferry songs
• 1964 songs
• 1974 singles
• Argo Records singles