page_title: Gavin DeGraw
section_title: Music career
hierarchical_section_title: Gavin DeGraw / Music career
caption_attribution_description: Recording artist Gavin DeGraw performs during the 2015 Winter Classic at Nationals Park in Washington D.C. Jan. 1, 2015. The hockey game played in the outdoor Nationals baseball stadium featured the Washington Capitals and the Chicago Blackhawks. (DoD News photo by EJ Hersom)
context_page_description: Gavin Shane DeGraw is an American singer-songwriter. DeGraw rose to fame with his song "I Don't Want to Be" from his debut album Chariot; the song became the main theme song for the The WB drama series One Tree Hill. Other notable singles from his debut album "Chariot" and "Follow Through". 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, spawned the hit single "Not Over You" along with "Soldier" and "Sweeter". In 2013, DeGraw released Make a Move, and Something Worth Saving followed in September 2016.
  DeGraw's duet with Colbie Caillat on "We Both Know" for the 2013 film Safe Haven received a Grammy Award nomination.
context_section_description: 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-mic, at Wilson's; the noted Upper West Side restaurant inside the Lucerne hotel.   After impressing the night manager, Shar Thompson, She introduced DeGraw to the club's owner, Debbie Wilson, the next day.  Wilson signed on as his manager. Almost immediately, word of the talented newcomer began to spread through New York's music community, and the quality of his performances lived up to the buzz. "When I first heard Gavin perform, I turned to Debbie (his manager) and said I need to sign this guy right now", said Randy Sabiston, Senior Director of A&R at Warner Chappell. "Gavin is a truly special songwriter and as a publisher, I didn't need to mull it over in my head; it was instant, a no brainer". Early on, DeGraw was offered a deal by a major label. Rather than succumb to the obvious temptation, he declined the offer and continued his development as a songwriter and performer while working as a waiter and newsstand clerk. He 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, following a sold-out showcase at New York's Joe's Pub, 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 immediacy of the live stage to the discipline of 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 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. DeGraw went on to release an acoustic version of Chariot in 2004. Entitled Chariot Stripped, the album contained a cover version of Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come". 
  DeGraw's 2006 single, "We Belong Together", was certified gold.
  DeGraw's second studio album, the self-titled Gavin DeGraw, was released on May 6, 2008. Ahead of this, the single "In Love with a Girl" was released on February 12, 2008. The second U.S. single from the album, "Cheated On Me", was released in the U.S. on September 30, 2008. Gavin DeGraw debuted at No. 1 on the digital sales chart and ranked at No. 7 on Billboard's Top 200 album chart.
  DeGraw's Live From Soho album, released on November 7, 2008, featured mostly tracks from Gavin DeGraw.
  DeGraw's third studio 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". The debut single from the album, "Stay", was released on March 11, 2009. Free has been described as "recorded versions of his live favourites".
  DeGraw's fourth album, Sweeter, was released on September 20, 2011. The album featured many tracks co-written with other artists. The album's first s
caption: DeGraw performing at the 2015 NHL Winter Classic
exif: {"Image ImageWidth": "4928", "Image ImageLength": "3280", "Image BitsPerSample": "[8, 8, 8]", "Image PhotometricInterpretation": "2", "Image ImageDescription": "Recording artist Gavin DeGraw performs during the 2015 Winter Classic at Nationals Park in Washington D.C. Jan. 1, 2015.  The hockey game played in the outdoor Nationals baseball stadium featured the Washington Capitals and the Chicago Blackhawks. (DoD News photo by EJ Hersom)", "Image Make": "NIKON CORPORATION", "Image Model": "NIKON D4", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image SamplesPerPixel": "3", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CS6 (Macintosh)", "Image DateTime": "2015:01:01 20:33:26", "Image Artist": "EJ Hersom", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image Copyright": "", "Image ExifOffset": "688", "GPS GPSVersionID": "[2, 3, 0, 0]", "Image GPSInfo": "1396", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1510", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "6712", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/1600", "EXIF FNumber": "4", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Manual", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "1000", "EXIF SensitivityType": "Recommended Exposure Index", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2015:01:01 15:22:52", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2015:01:01 15:22:52", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "4", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "665241/62500", "EXIF ApertureValue": "4", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "1/3", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "4", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire", "EXIF FocalLength": "600", "EXIF SubSecTime": "50", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "50", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "50", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "4009", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2673", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "1364", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CVAPattern": "[0, 2, 0, 2, 0, 1, 1, 2]", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Manual Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "600", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "High gain up", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0"}