The 'In' Crowd

"The 'In' Crowd" is a 1964^[2] song written by Billy Page^[2] 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.

In the US, Gray's powerful Motown-like version, complete with brass section, reached number 11 on the Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles chart^[3] and number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 on 20 February 1965.^[4] Outside the US, "The 'In' Crowd" went to number 25 on the UK Singles Chart^[5] and number 8 in Canada.^[6] Gray's Shindig! performance of the song aired on 10 March 1965.^[7]

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^[8] and reached number 5 on the Hot 100 on 9 October 1965,^[9] as well as peaking at number 2 for three weeks on the Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles chart.^[10] In Canada, the record reached number 6 in the RPM charts.^[11] A longer edit of the song provides the title track for the Trio's successful live album.^[12]

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."^[13]

The Lewis Trio Argo single was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2009.^[14]

• Bryan Ferry on his 1974 album Another Time, Another Place; also released as a single, reaching number 13 on the UK Singles Chart.^[15]
• "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".^[16]

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