Dobie Gray was born Lawrence Victor Ainsworth although this has been disputed and his name has also been listed as Leonard Victor Ainsworth and also Laurence Darrow Brown.
However, the Texas births records show him as being born on 26 July 1940 to Jane P Spence and Jethro Clifton Brown.
In the sixties, he moved to California where he met Sonny Bono who became his mentor.
The In Crowd (1964) gave him his first international recognition.