Drift Away - wikipedia Drift Away `` Drift Away '' Single by Dobie Gray from the album Drift Away B - side `` City Stars '' Released February 1973 Format 7 '' ( 45 rpm ) Genre Soft rock Length 3 : 54 Label Decca Songwriter ( s ) Mentor Williams Producer ( s ) Mentor Williams Dobie Gray singles chronology `` Rose Garden '' ( 1972 ) `` Drift Away '' ( 1973 ) `` Loving Arms '' ( 1973 ) `` Drift Away '' is a song by Mentor Williams and originally recorded by John Henry Kurtz on his 1972 album Reunion. Mentor Williams was a country songwriter, and John Henry Kurtz was an actor and swamp rock singer. In 1973 the song became Dobie Gray 's biggest hit, peaking at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 and certified gold by the RIAA. It was the final pop hit for Decca Records in the United States. A new version by Uncle Kracker, with Gray, became a major hit in 2003. Contents 1 Chart performance ( Dobie Gray ) 1.1 Weekly charts 1.2 Year - end charts 2 Covers 2.1 Narvel Felts version 2.1. 1 Chart performance ( Narvel Felts ) 2.2 Uncle Kracker featuring Dobie Gray version 2.2. 1 Music video 2.2. 2 Charts 3 References 4 External links Chart performance ( Dobie Gray ) Weekly charts Chart ( 1973 ) Peak position Canadian RPM Top Singles 7 US Billboard Hot 100 US Billboard Adult Contemporary 12 US Billboard Hot Soul Singles 42 US Cash Box Top 100 8 Year - end charts Chart ( 1973 ) Rank Canada 83 US Billboard Hot 100 17 US Cash Box 18 Covers `` Drift Away '' has been covered by many bands and vocalists around the world. Versions include those of Allan Clarke, Roy Orbison, Ike & Tina Turner, Humble Pie, Mud, Rod Stewart, Waylon Jennings, Ray Charles, the Neville Brothers, Jon Bon Jovi, Michael Bolton, Copperhead, Christian Kane, the Rolling Stones, the Nylons, Ringo Starr, Bruce Springsteen, Judson Spence, Billy Joe Royal, Steve Young and John Kay. Folk singer Tom Rush recorded the song on his album What I Know, released in 2009. There is an unreleased 1974 recording of this song by the Rolling Stones. This version features all of the members of the then - current lineup of the Stones. The Heptones recorded a reggae version which is included on many compilation CDs. Street Corner Symphony also sang a version of this song as their swan song on the season 2 finale of the NBC series The Sing - Off ; that version is arranged by Deke Sharon. Bon Jovi usually played the song live in 1987 : a version was recorded as part of a Westwood One radio live series concert. Dolly Parton and Anne Murray performed the song together in 1976 on Parton 's variety show Dolly !, though they sang the lyrics of the Felts version ( `` I want to get lost in your country song '' ). Garth Brooks for the 2013 Blue - Eyed Soul album in the Blame It All on My Roots : Five Decades of Influences compilation. Temuera Morrison recorded and included Drift Away in his 2014 debut album `` Tem ''. Country music star, Lynn Anderson ( who was the partner of Mentor Williams who wrote the song ), recorded a gospel version that was rewritten by Williams for her 2015 gospel album, Drift Away, which would become her final album. Narvel Felts version `` Drift Away '' Single by Narvel Felts from the album Drift Away B - side `` Foggy Misty Morning '' Released 1973 Format 7 '' single Length 3 : 15 Label Cinnamon Songwriter ( s ) Mentor Williams Producer ( s ) Farah Productions Narvel Felts singles chronology `` Rockin ' Little Angel '' ( 1973 ) `` Drift Away '' ( 1973 ) `` All in the Name of Love '' ( 1973 ) A country version was recorded by Narvel Felts in 1973. Felts ' version -- which changed the lyrics `` I wan na get lost in your rock and roll '' to `` I wan na get lost in your country song '' -- peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard ' Hot Country Singles chart in mid-August 1973, about three months after Gray 's version reached its popularity peak. This song marked Narvel 's first success in the country scene, as he was known from the late 1950s as a rockabilly singer. Chart performance ( Narvel Felts ) Chart ( 1973 ) Peak position Canadian RPM Country Tracks 48 U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles 8 Uncle Kracker featuring Dobie Gray version `` Drift Away '' Single by Uncle Kracker featuring Dobie Gray from the album No Stranger to Shame Released March 17, 2003 Format CD single Genre Country rock Length 4 : 15 Label Lava Songwriter ( s ) Mentor Williams Producer ( s ) Michael Bradford Uncle Kracker Uncle Kracker featuring Dobie Gray singles chronology `` In a Little While '' ( 2002 ) `` Drift Away '' ( 2003 ) `` Memphis Soul Song '' ( 2003 ) A cover version was released by Uncle Kracker in 2003 from his album No Stranger To Shame. This version, which featured Dobie Gray singing the bridge and joining Uncle Kracker on the final verse, reached number nine on the Hot 100, one week to the day after Gray 's 63rd birthday. It spent a record - setting 28 weeks atop the adult contemporary chart in the U.S. It also peaked at number 25 on the New Zealand Singles chart. Music video The music video was directed by Bronston Jones. Charts Chart ( 2003 -- 2004 ) Peak position New Zealand ( Recorded Music NZ ) 25 US Billboard Hot 100 9 US Adult Contemporary ( Billboard ) US Adult Top 40 ( Billboard ) US Mainstream Top 40 ( Billboard ) 10 References Jump up ^ `` 200 Greatest Soft Rock Songs ''. entertainment.expertscolumn.com. Jump up ^ `` RIAA - Gold & Platinum - November 21, 2010 : Dobie Gray certified singles ''. Recording Industry Association of America. Archived from the original on February 25, 2013. Retrieved November 21, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Dobie Gray Chart History ( Hot 100 ) ''. Billboard. Jump up ^ Whitburn, Joel ( 1993 ). Top Adult Contemporary : 1961 -- 1993. Record Research. p. 101. Jump up ^ Canada, Library and Archives ( December 26, 2017 ). `` Image : RPM Weekly ''. Jump up ^ `` Top 100 Hits of 1973 / Top 100 Songs of 1973 ''. musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 1 December 2017. Jump up ^ http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/70s_files/1973YESP.html Cash Box Year - End Charts : Top 100 Pop Singles, December 29, 1973 Jump up ^ http://www.ouvirmusica.com.br/jon-bon-jovi/1530488/ Jump up ^ `` Original versions of Drift Away written by Mentor Williams ''. SecondHandSongs. Retrieved 2014 - 06 - 26. Jump up ^ Sharon, Deke ; Dietz, Robert ( 2005 ). `` Drift Away ''. Modern A Cappella Volume 1 SATB ( div ). Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 1 - 423 - 40048 - 8. Jump up ^ `` Temuera Morrison releases debut album ''. Stuff.co.nz. 2014 - 11 - 13. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 08. Jump up ^ `` Narvel Felts - Drift Away / Foggy Misty Morning - ABC - UK - ABC 4119 ''. 45cat. 1976 - 05 - 14. Retrieved 2014 - 06 - 26. Jump up ^ Whitburn, Joel ( 2008 ). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 143. ISBN 0 - 89820 - 177 - 2. Jump up ^ `` Charts.nz -- Uncle Kracker feat. Dobie Gray -- Drift Away ''. Top 40 Singles. Retrieved May 31, 2018. Jump up ^ `` Uncle Kracker Chart History ( Hot 100 ) ''. Billboard. Retrieved July 12, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Uncle Kracker Chart History ( Adult Contemporary ) ''. Billboard. Retrieved July 12, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Uncle Kracker Chart History ( Adult Pop Songs ) ''. Billboard. Retrieved July 12, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Uncle Kracker Chart History ( Pop Songs ) ''. Billboard. Retrieved July 12, 2017. External links Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics Uncle Kracker Studio albums Double Wide ( 2000 ) No Stranger to Shame ( 2002 ) Seventy Two and Sunny ( 2004 ) Happy Hour ( 2009 ) Midnight Special ( 2012 ) Extended plays Happy Hour : The South River Road Sessions ( 2010 ) Singles `` Follow Me '' `` In a Little While '' `` Drift Away '' `` Smile '' `` Good to Be Me '' ( with Kid Rock ) Guest singles `` When the Sun Goes Down '' ( with Kenny Chesney ) Related Discography Narvel Felts singles `` Drift Away '' `` Reconsider Me '' `` Lonely Teardrops '' `` I Do n't Hurt Anymore '' `` Runaway '' `` Everlasting Love '' `` Roll Over Beethoven '' `` Smoke Gets in Your Eyes '' `` When a Man Loves a Woman '' Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Drift_Away&oldid=854270920 '' Categories : 1972 songs 1973 singles 2003 singles Billboard Adult Contemporary number - one singles Uncle Kracker songs Narvel Felts songs Dobie Gray songs American soft rock songs Songs written by Mentor Williams Songs about music Decca Records singles Lava Records singles Hidden categories : Articles with hAudio microformats Singlechart usages for Billboardhot100 Singlechart called without song Singlechart usages for New Zealand Singlechart usages for Billboardadultcontemporary Singlechart usages for Billboardadultpopsongs Singlechart usages for Billboardpopsongs Talk Contents About Wikipedia Norsk Norsk nynorsk Edit links This page was last edited on 10 August 2018, at 03 : 43 ( UTC ). 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Question: who was the original singer of the song drift away
Answer: John Henry Kurtz