Gavin Degraw

Gavin Degraw biography

Gavin Shane DeGraw (born February 4, 1977) is an American musician and singer-songwriter. He is known for his songs "Chariot", "Follow Through", "I Don't Want to Be" (which has been featured as the theme song for the television drama series, One Tree Hill since 2003), "In Love with a Girl", and "Not Over You".

DeGraw grew up in the Catskills in South Fallsburg, New York. His mother, Lynne (Krieger), was a detox specialist, and his father, Wayne DeGraw, was a prison guard; he referenced his father's occupation in the song "I Don't Want to Be". His father is of Irish descent and his mother's family was of Russian ancestry. DeGraw began singing and playing piano at the age of eight. He also has two siblings, both older, named Neeka and Joey (born August 1973). It was at his brother's advice that he began writing his own songs. Joey DeGraw is a musician as well, currently touring to promote his own music.

Career

DeGraw rose to fame in 2003 when "I Don't Want to Be" was chosen as the theme song for teen drama One Tree Hill. The song has also been performed on American Idol and Idol Sweden by various contestants during different seasons.

DeGraw released his debut album, Chariot on July 22, 2003 under J Records. Chariot was recorded at Los Angeles' music studios, Sunset Sound and produced by Mark Endert.

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DeGraw's second album, self-titled Gavin DeGraw was released on May 6, 2008. Gavin DeGraw debuted at No. 1 on the digital sales chart and ranked at No. 7 on Billboard's Top 200 album chart.

Gavin Degraw's third album, Free was released March 31, 2009. DeGraw made Free in less than two weeks at the Brooklyn studio of his producer Camus Celli. DeGraw included some songs on the album that he wrote very early in his career and that have evolved over time, songs such as "Dancing Shoes" and "Glass". FREE has been described as "recorded versions of his live favourites".

DeGraw's fourth, and most recent album, Sweeter was set to release on August 9, 2011 but got pushed back to September 20, 2011. The album features many tracks co-written with other artists. The first single "Not Over You" was released on iTunes in June. The track was co-written and produced by Ryan Tedder and was said to be inspired by Kyle Craig. "Not Over You" is his first song to reach the top spot on the Adult Pop Songs. Sweeter contains collaborations from producers including Butch Walker, Eric Rosse, and Ron Aniello; alongside another co-written title track, "Sweeter" with Andrew Frampton. The album was recorded in many locations including Blackbird Studios in Nashville, Walker's Space in Venice and the Henson Recording Studios.

Sweeter is DeGraw's first album released under RCA Records, all three of his previous albums were released under J Records. DeGraw went on to release an acoustic album based mostly on songs from Sweeter. The iTunes Session album features seven tracks and a 30 minute interview.

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