Gavin DeGraw Celebrates The 20th Anniversary Of His Classic Album, Chariot, With His New Reimagined Version, Chariot 20

Twenty years ago, singer/songwriter Gavin DeGraw broke through with his acclaimed debut album, Chariot. Impressively, the album was certified platinum and contained three hit singles: “I Don’t Wanna Be,” “Chariot” and “Follow Through.” This album launched DeGraw’s career, and it led to the subsequent release of several more hit albums and singles.

Now in 2024, DeGraw is celebrating the 20^th anniversary of Chariot, with the release of Chariot 20 (on Sony Music Nashville Records). This is album features new, reimagined versions of his songs from Chariot. DeGraw recorded these new versions with Dave Cobb, a Grammy-winning producer who’s known for his work with Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile and Jason Isbell.

For Chariot 20, DeGraw has added a new dimension and flavor to these songs. These new versions sound more bluesy and organic, with DeGraw singing with a deeper, soulful voice. Highlights on this album include the new versions of  “I Don’t Want to Be, “Chariot” and “Follow Through,” plus songs such as “Just Friends,” Belief” and “Crush.”

We are pleased to do this new Q&A interview with DeGraw. He discusses the making of Chariot 20, and what it was like to create the original album 20 years ago. He also talks about his other albums and his upcoming concert tour.

Before we get started, here’s a rundown of his album discography and hit singles. DeGraw has released seven studio albums (not counting Chariot 20). These albums are Chariot (2003), Gavin DeGraw (2008), Free (2009), Sweeter (2011, certified gold), Make a Move (2013), Something Worth Saying (2016), and Face the River (2022). His chart singles are “I Don’t Want to Be,” “Chariot,” “Follow Through,” “In Love with a Girl,” “Cheated on Me,” “Not Over You,” “Sweeter,” “Soldier,” “Best I Ever Had,” “Make a Move,” “Fire,” “She Sets the City on Fire,” and “Making Love with the Radio On.”

This fall, DeGraw will be embarking on a major tour in Europe. He’ll be playing shows in Italy, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and other countries.

Here’s our interview with Gavin DeGraw:

DK: You are celebrating the 20th anniversary of your debut album Chariot, with the release of your new album, Chariot 20. As you look back, what did it mean to you, to have great success with your Chariot album?

Gavin DeGraw: Man, it was absolutely life-changing. You know, you spend your time sitting around trying to write your songs, and write yourself out of poverty. And then to have the opportunity to make a record, to put a record out, and get that big love from around the world, is something that is not lost on me. It’s been an unbelievable ride. I feel very blessed to have an audience that’s been supporting me for 20 years.

DK: On Chariot 20, you’ve recorded new versions of these songs. Can you talk about these new versions, and how they’re different from the original versions?

DeGraw: The big thing is that 20 years later, your voice evolves, it matures. Hopefully, your craft improves and your musicianship improves. And I’ve been living with and playing these songs live for 20 years. So I feel the performance level improves, and the level of confidence with the songs improves, and I thought it was a great opportunity to document that. And to have an opportunity to work with people like Dave Cobb (producer) and Greg Collier (recording & mixing engineer) who are making these beautiful, classic-sounding records right now. To revisit the studio with this material and give it that classic treatment is something that Dave does so well, and Greg gets such great sounds with. It’s a ‘70s songwriter-type sound, and a ‘70s soul-type sound as far as sonics go. To bring those tones to these older copyrights with these lived-in performances…it added a nice warm way to record these songs and to capture these songs at their best.

DK: Going back 20 years, you originally released Chariot on J Records, which was (legendary exec) Clive Davis’ label. What was it like to sign with J Records and work with Clive Davis?

DeGraw: It was highly educational, because Clive is a song lover…he loves a good copyright. As a songwriter, it was nice to meet with someone who wanted to talk about the meaning of the song. He’d ask, “What were you thinking when you said that in a line?” It was interesting to work with someone who has such an A&R mind.

I’ve been very fortunate—when I was playing barrooms in New York City, I had a loyal fanbase in New York, and they showed up to my gigs to support me. Then some record companies started coming out to my shows, and people from J Records came to my shows, and they told Clive Davis about me.

Then one day I went into the J Records office and the staff was hanging out. I sat down at the piano and I played some songs in front of the whole staff. When I walked off from the piano, Clive said, “Of course I want to sign you,” and that was that. Then going through the songs and listening to the masters, and choosing the singles and having those conversations. And getting his perspective on the songs and album. It was all an education for me.

DK: Your first hit was “I Don’t Want To Be,” which has a cool guitar riff and a strong chorus. Can you talk about writing this song?

DeGraw: I remember when I was working on that song, I felt like as a musician, as a dude, I didn’t fit in pop culture. I was thinking as an artist, I didn’t fit with the boy bands who were big then. And there was rap and gangster rap—I didn’t fit in there. I was a dude who grew up in a prison town (South Fallsburg, NY). I thought…who’s representing me in the world of music? And who’s representing people who listen to music from places where I’m from? I felt I needed to write a song about that background, whatever I am. And somehow when I wrote a song (“I Don’t Want to Be”) about how I didn’t fit in pop culture, it became a hit in pop culture (laughs). So it was a great irony, and I’ll take it. I got lucky, and all I was doing was being vulnerable and being honest. I realized at that point, that’s all you’ve gotta do. That’s your job as an artist.

DK: Your next hit was “Chariot,” which is a unique title and idea for a song. How did you come up with the idea for this song?

DeGraw: I wrote that song after a night at church. I went to church one night and I was down and out. I was having a tough time in New York City. I’m from upstate New York…I’m from the woods up there. And I’d gone to New York City trying to make my dreams come true, but I was broke and frustrated.

I remember I was on the phone with my mother. She said, “I think you should come home for a couple days…you could probably use it. Get out of New York City for a couple days.” So I did. I went upstate, went to a church on a Tuesday night and the guest speaker got up and his sermon was so meaningful. Aftet that, I went home and I wrote “Chariot.” I wrote the bulk of “Chariot’ that night. It was about getting back to your innocence…back to the better version of yourself, and how to improve. What I did was use elements of this story of Samson…Give me your strength, and elements of the story of Elijah, because Elijah went to heaven on a chariot of fire. So I was using the biblical imagery and subject matter in a relatable way without going religious with the song. That’s how I wrote “Chariot.”

DK: I like your song ‘Follow Through,” which is the first song on Chariot. What inspired you to write this song?

DeGraw: Interestingly enough, “Follow Through” was actually my first single, but it didn’t gain traction as a single. Then we re-released it later on. I wrote “Follow Through” soon after 9/11, which is why I wrote the line, “And we can build through this destruction as we are standing on our feet.” It was writing a song about your self-worth, and trying to have a meaningful relationship. That was the approach, and sonically funny enough, I was trying to write a song that Paul McCartney could shake his head to, like he did with the Beatles (laughs). I was a mixture of mid-‘60s Beatles and a Billy Joel tune. That was my approach for that.

DK: After Chariot, you’ve released six more albums. Of these albums, which are your favorites?

DeGraw: I think Sweeter was really strong. I think the Face the River album was maybe my best from a songwriting standpoint and performance standpoint. Dave Cobb produced the Face the River album as well…it’s a very honest record. I also like the album, Free.

DK: You’re about to launch a new tour of Europe, playing in many countries. Would you say that your following in Europe is as large as your following in the U.S?

DeGraw: Amazingly enough, I think in some markets it’s bigger. I’ve been lucky that the songs have made their way around the globe. You go where you’re celebrated. When the phone rings and people say, “Come on out,” then 100% I’m hopping on a plane and saying, “Let’s go touring.” Whichever country is calling, I want to show up and play for the fans. And I think music is a great unifier.  It’s a universal language for making friends and learning cultures, and it’s been very good to me.