Gavin DeGraw

His mother, Lynne (née Krieger, 1951–2017), was a detox specialist nurse practitioner, and his father, John Wayne DeGraw, was a prison guard; he referenced his father's and mother's respective occupations in the song "I Don't Want to Be".

His father was of Irish descent and his mother was of Russian Jewish ancestry.

DeGraw began singing and playing piano at the age of eight.

He has two older siblings: a sister, Neeka, and a brother, Joey (who is also a musician).

Growing up in a musical family, he was raised to regard music as part of the fabric of everyday life rather than as a remote show-business ideal.

As a teenager, DeGraw experienced a personal Epiphany when he discovered Ray Charles and Sam Cooke, whose combination of personal charm and emotional commitment struck a chord in the budding musician.

DeGraw played in a local Catskills group called "The People's Band" with his brother Joey and with local musician and vocalist Steven Levine, Bart and Hal Coopersmith.

the band was named from his father's band when he was playing.

The People's Band played many of the local hotels and clubs around the Monticello area.

On his brother's advice, DeGraw began writing his own songs.

He attended Ithaca College on a music scholarship, but found himself spending more time in his dorm room writing songs than attending classes and dropped out after one semester.

DeGraw then moved to Boston, where he attended the prestigious Berklee College of Music for two semesters while singing in a rock band and playing solo gigs on the side.

Gavin Shane DeGraw (born February 4, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter.

Born February 4, 1977, DeGraw grew up in South Fallsburg, New York.

After leaving Berklee and relocating to Manhattan in March 1998, DeGraw laid the groundwork for a musical career.

Within a few months of his arrival, DeGraw made his way into the Sunday night Ron Grant and Friends open-mike night at Wilson's (the noted Upper West Side restaurant inside the Lucerne hotel).

The night manager, Shar Thompson, introduced DeGraw to the club's owner, Debbie Wilson, the next day.

Wilson signed on as his manager.

DeGraw began developing a reputation in New York's music community.

DeGraw eventually signed a record deal with Clive Davis and his J Records imprint, the home of Santana as well as R&B singers Alicia Keys and Angie Stone.

In the spring of 2002, DeGraw began work on his debut album.

"I wanted to create something that was timeless rather than fashionable", he explained.

"I was concerned with developing a sound that wasn't disposable. I didn't want to have too much glitter on me".

The adjustment from the live stage to the recording studio was an educational process that gave DeGraw new insight into his work.

"It made me think about making records differently," he says.

"At first I felt out of my element because you have to learn the language and the science of making a record. It's a real process to get to the point where it doesn't sound like it's a process. We worked at making it breathe".

The album, entitled Chariot, was recorded at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles and produced by Mark Endert.

DeGraw rose to fame with his song "I Don't Want to Be" from his debut album Chariot (2003); the song became the main theme song for The WB/CW drama series One Tree Hill.

Other notable singles from his debut album were the title track and "Follow Through".

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.

Chariot was released on July 22, 2003 by J Records.

It sold over a million copies and earned platinum certification.

In addition to "I Don't Want to Be", the album featured the singles "Follow Through" and "Chariot"; each of the three singles was certified gold after selling more than a million copies.

"I Don't Want to Be" peaked at number 10 in the U.S. charts and has been performed on American Idol and Idol Sweden by various contestants during different seasons.

His second album, Gavin DeGraw, was released in 2008 and included the top-20 single "In Love with a Girl".

In 2009, DeGraw released his third album, Free.

His fourth album, Sweeter (2011), spawned the hit single "Not Over You", along with "Soldier" and "Sweeter".

In 2013, DeGraw released the album Make a Move, while in 2016 he released the album Something Worth Saving.

In 2022, he released Face the River and a documentary on how he made the record and how he dealt with his parents' deaths.

DeGraw's duet with Colbie Caillat on "We Both Know" for the 2013 film Safe Haven received a Grammy Award nomination.