"The 'In' Crowd" is a 1964^[2]song written byBilly Page^[2] and arranged by his brotherGene and originally performed byDobie Gray on his albumDobie Gray Sings for "In" Crowders That Go "Go-Go". It appeared on an episode ofDick 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 version reached number 11 on theHot Rhythm & Blues Singles chart^[3] and number 13 on theBillboard Hot 100 on 20 February 1965.^[4] Outside the US, "The 'In' Crowd" went to number 25 on theUK Singles Chart^[5] and number 8 in Canada.^[6] Gray'sShindig! performance of the song aired on 10 March 1965.^[7]

TheRamsey Lewis Trio recorded an instrumental versionof the tune in May 1965. Performed live atBohemian 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 theHot Rhythm & Blues Singles chart.^[10] In Canada, the record reached number 6 in theRPM charts.^[11] A longer edit of the song provides the title track for theTrio's successful live album.^[12]

Writing in 2015, jazz criticKevin 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 ofD major so bassistEldee Young could work his open strings. And the trio really amped up the groove. Opening night, the audience instantly locked in with drummerRedd Holt."^[13]

The Lewis TrioArgo single was inducted into theGrammy Hall of Fame in 2009.^[14]

• Bryan Ferry on his 1974 albumAnother Time, Another Place; also released as a single, reaching number 13 on theUK Singles Chart.^[15]
• "The 'In' Crowd" was the last cut onIf 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 theBillboard album chart. In a 2020 retrospective review, published on the occasion of the album's reissue on vinyl, the staff ofBest Classic Bands dubbed this version a "rollicking cover".^[16]

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

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

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