Dobie Gray – Drift Away

I had some time today so I thought I would publish a couple of posts. It will be nice to post today until I come back in a couple of weeks.

Drift Away is one of the most perfect singles I remember. Much like Baker Street…a single where everything is right. This is one of the first songs I remember hearing and liking. That guitar intro and tone hooked me into this song. Gray said in an interview that the song’s hook of “Gimme the beat boys and free my soul” has been misheard and incorrectly sung as “Gimme the Beach Boys,” “Gimme the wheat boys” (proposed for a cereal commercial), “Gimme the peat moss,” and “Gimme the meatballs.”

The song was recorded at Quad Studio in Nashville. Drift Away was written by producer/songwriter Mentor Williams. Mentor is the brother of Paul Williams. Mentor initially intended the song for John Henry Kurtz, an actor and country artist who recorded the song in 1972. However, Dobie Gray’s version, recorded the following year, became the definitive rendition.

Drift Away has been covered by various artists over the years, including a version by Uncle Kracker in 2003, which featured Dobie Gray himself. That version was also a hit, peaking at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and introducing the song to a new generation.

The Rolling Stones recorded a version of Drift Away for their “It’s Only Rock and Roll” album in November of 1973 but it didn’t make the album and has never been released except on bootlegs. It is a great version…made for Jagger’s voice but nothing tops the original.

Drift Away peaked at #5 on the Billboard 100 and #7 in Canada in 1973. You would think this would have been the start of something huge but it was his only top 10 hit on Billboard. He did have a hit in 1965 with The In Crowd which peaked at #8 in Canada and #13 on the Billboard 100.

Reggie Young, a session guitar player, played the famous intro to this song. His song Reggie Young Jr. said: “Dobie Gray asked my father to join him in playing ‘Drift Away’ live. This was the first time since 1973 that they had played the song together. In the ’80s my father was showing another guitar player how to play the intro to ‘Drift Away,’ but the other guy said he thought that my father was playing it wrong. In fact he was playing in the wrong key. Also, when this was re-recorded in 1997 for Gray’s CD Diamond Cuts, he declined, as he didn’t think he could do it any better than he did on the original.”

Mentor Williams: “I think one of the hardest things for me to learn about songwriting was to really expose my feelings and weaknesses and to write personal, emotional things. As soon as I started doing that, I realized other people were relating to my songs. You can study how to write and spend a lot of time writing, but without this emotional content in a song, it’s just not there. ‘Drift Away’ was a big breakthrough for me. It was a song where it suddenly was okay for me to write about being hurt and let people know that I had been hurt and I wasn’t afraid to expose my feelings.”

Drift Away

Day after day I’m more confused
So I look for the light in the pouring rain
You know that’s a game that I hate to lose
I’m feelin’ the strain, ain’t it a shame

Oh, give me the beat boys, and free my soul
I want to get lost in your rock and roll and drift away

Beginning to think that I’m wastin’ time
I don’t understand the things I do
The world outside looks so unkind
I’m countin’ on you to carry me through

And when my mind is free
You know a melody can move me
And when I’m feelin’ blue
The guitar’s comin’ through to soothe me
Thanks for the joy that you’ve given me
I want you to know I believe in your song
Rhythm and rhyme and harmony
You help me along makin’ me stro

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

69 thoughts on “Dobie Gray – Drift Away”

    1. Thanks for the video…I put it in there…yea I had Reggie listed at the bottom with his song…but that is cool that he played with those people. It was one of the first songs I really remember. This one and I Can See Clearly Now

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      2. Carl if you don’t mind me asking…what state are you from? I’ve found out since blogging that different cities played different songs at times in different regions…but this one was universal I think.

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      3. Max, when we were young kids in grade school I was growing (born in Cincinnati & moved when I was 3) up in Ft. Wayne, Indiana until ’72-’74 then we lived in Kalamazoo, Michigan. My Dad was a nightclub owner, television host & a manager to a couple of groups (soul) until ’72. So I was around some artists & a lot of demo 45’s & my brother & I had a radio & a television in our room & I always put it on the pop station. My parents listened to soul music pretty exclusively in those days so I always wanted variety so I always tuned the AM dial to the ‘Pop’ station. Then I became a fan of ‘Album Rock’ stations on FM which was exotic in those days with the static always in the background from those low watt stations.

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      4. Oh wow…you did get around. Your dad sounds like he was a busy guy…that is really cool…entertainment is a hard business. I love early seventies soul music as you probably have guessed.
        I remember FM album radio…it was glorious. Non stop cool album tracks.
        When I think of Kalamazoo Michigan I think of Epiphone guitars….I have one that was built there.

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      5. Oh okay…we lived in Portage when it was a trendy/hip mixed race suburb of Kalamazoo…when I was in my ‘salad days’ as a sports personality & covering the late 90’s early 2000 Indians Kalamazoo’s finest Derek Jeter was in his prime with the Yankees when I was fortunate enough to be able to cover the Indians opponents locker room & do the pre & postgame shows for the old WKNR in Cleveland…Derek once told me that where I grew up is a slum now. This was 25 years ago now, that hurt to hear that. We were only there fo 2 years in my Dad’s transistion from that world to the business world. He was a PR guy for Eckrich meats then he got a job in Idaho Falls, Idaho in ’74 & that’s where I finished my childhood. Ya’, we got around…lol. Not a lot of black kids got to see the things & lifestyle that my little brother (he’s 57 tomorrow so he’s not little anymore) & I experienced in the ’70’s & early 80’s. Idaho was even different then liberal Senator Frank Church & liberal Governor Cecil Andrus were running things there until Reagan won the White House in ’80 & everything literally changed overnight in my last couple of years in high school in Idaho. It’s been an extreme state (politically) ever since.

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      6. Jeter seems like a nice guy. I always had a lot of respect for him. There are a lot of people who say “over rated” and I say to that…bullshit. A man doesn’t get 3000 hits by accident.
        I’m glad you got to experience some good things. Yea I hate extremes on either side…politically I’m in the middle and that is a empty rare place now so I end up liking no one really. So cool that you got to meet all of those people.
        So how are you liking blogging? It’s hard as hell to build up readers. It took me 6 months before I got one like or comment.

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      7. Well Max, I’m trying to put stuff out there so that I can have a 2nd or 3rd act…lol…in the sports media. I left the business to pursue other things, got an MBA & realized that I made a mistake & should’ve hung in there. Next thing you know I’m now considered old at 60. Lol, I like blogging okay & I believe that a paper will give me a shot…stubbornly.

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      8. Carl…I would LOVE to have an MBA….right now I’m an IT Director but I got into the field when it was open to everyone (1990s)…I could have never made it in today with some college I have.
        I’m sure they will Carl…just keep pushing. Keep on commenting but I will say this…music is easy to get readers…sports is harder for some stupid reason. I have a baseball blog but I’ve never got many followers…but I haven’t looked like I should.

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      9. Thanks Max! I’m grateful for the kind words from all of those on the ‘blog’ community that’s in my life. I could use encouragement. I actually got hired to be the Sports Editor for a small paper in Marshall, Texas a year ago but my caregiver situation wouldn’t allow me to just leave my Mother. My brother & I couldn’t find adequate caregivers within her budget so I’m still here…I wasn’t just going to leave her. I believe that GOD tested me. I’m trying to be patient. Thanks for the kind words, by the way your blog is awesome man.

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      10. Yea man…that is tough. I was in that position at one time…you did the right and only thing you could. We all get tested…I totally believe that…I’m right there with you. You responded to that test with the right thing.
        I appreciate it and thank you for reading. It is a kind community out there. While I am taking this break…THIS is what I’ve missed the most…the interaction. Thank you for talking with me.

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    2. (Dig in with the blogging Carl. if nothing else blogging gets you to relate with others, with ideas and experiences far from home. In this AI phony world it’s a way of keeping things real and human)

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    1. I wrote this and it was in my draft folder over a 3-4 years ago. I didn’t realize it til this morning that it has some of Mondegreen in it…have you covered this one yet?

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    1. It’s one of those songs like “I Can See Clearly Now”….I just have to listen. I also love that guitar intro…like you said…nothing complicated but fits perfectly.

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      2. Oh cool…I’ll try to get back and check it out tomorrow. Glad you are doing well Jim. I’ve got a lot accomplished and still am. I do miss everyone…more than just blogging… I miss interacting with everyone.

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  8. A very good one. Glad he didn’t want to re-record it in the ’90s, he wouldn’t have made it better. Another great one hit wonder of the ’70s and reminder of how good AM playlists were back then. Was this soul? Pop? A little country? Who cares – it was good and that was all that mattered

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    1. They did a great version of it…it’s odd that it’s just on bootleg releases…unless they slipped it on a collection I didn’t know about.

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  10. Love this song. It takes me back to some good times amongst the hell of a dark time in my teens. It reminds me of Otis Redding’s Sittin on the Dock of the Bay. Such a sweet guitar in there. Dobie’s voice is mellow and sincere, which brings peace.

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    1. Songs are like time machines aren’t they? Some good and bad places. It’s kinda like “I Can See Clearly Now”….it just makes me feel good and I’m 6 again.

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      1. Yes, they are. I’m not sure how memory is stored, but it seems like strings get bound together and start twanging when certain sights, sounds, smells, feels get plucked. Memory is kind of like music now that I think about it…

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  11. I’m with you on this and ‘I Can See Clearly,’ to me they transcend the time they came out because they are stone cold classics on first listen.

    Love Bryan Ferry’s version of ‘The In Crowd.’

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      1. He does more than a few covers on his early 70s solo albums that I really like, plus a clunker or two. His ‘You Are My Sunshine’ is dead slow and depressing to me, but most are really decent and just different enough. ‘The In Crowd’ finishes really crazy- but good.

        Oh, and ‘A Hard Rain Is Gonna Fall.’

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      2. Yep…totally agree. Most of the songs on that album are first rate covers. His version of the ‘In Crowd’ is the right one for me though I realize it was a cover.
        Now when you come to this song, you can’t top Donie though Kracker did a fairly decent job trying

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  12. Great to seeing a post from you, Max, even if it’s a one-off until you’re back again on a more regular basis. You picked a great song I’ve always loved. While I was of the original and Uncle Kracker’s version, I had no idea the Stones covered the song as well. Man, it sounds great!

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  13. Has to be in the top 5 of my favorite songs of all time. I never tire of it. Dobie Gray was very underrated in my opinion. He was very diverse and could handle pop, soul and country with equal ease. I have a 4 disc box set that is great but his first two albums, Drift Away and Loving Arms are excellent. I think the Stones also did a version of “We Had It All”, which is another song of Dobie’s. Great song to come off of your break for.

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    1. Yes…I think it was one of the very best singles of the 70s. It’s pretty much perfect to me. I’ll check We Had It All out…thank you!
      I thought if I made a quick apperance…it might as well be a great song!

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      1. The lyrics are just so life-affirming to me, and I need all that I can get nowadays. It’s funny but I was just watching an episode of The Midnight Special from 1974 the other day. It was hosted by Charlie Rich, who I love, and the guests were Dobie Gray, The Staple Singers, and Anne Murray. What a show! Charlie Rich did a killer version of “Life’s Little Ups and Downs”. I would post a link, but my technical abilities don’t stretch that far.

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      2. I always related this song to “I Can See Clearly Now”… both of them make me feel good.
        I found it! Here it is below…it looks like a great one!

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    1. Oh no problem! I do this for a living so there is no problem at all. You have a good night! I’m going to watch this…I love the Staple Singers as well.

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  18. The song was recorded at Quad Studio in Nashville. Drift Away was written by producer/songwriter Mentor Williams in 1973. Mentor is the brother of Paul Williams. Mentor initially intended the song for John Henry Kurtz, an actor and country artist who recorded the song in 1972. However, Dobie Gray’s version, recorded the following year, became the definitive rendition.

    Your chronology is out a little here.

    This song is pretty classic. I had no idea when it was recorded but I assumed a little later.

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  20. Cool song. Cool man. Love a bit of Dobie Gray because of my Father. Funnily enough, was thinking about this song about a week or two ago when I had Out on the Floor as one of my suggested songs. Great minds, hey?

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  21. Great song. That groove is classic. Never really heard the lyrics, other than the chorus, so I was surprised by the Mentor quote. Still don’t really see the pain. This record is all about the groove, and that’s more than enough.

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    1. It’s a vibe that I just love about this song…plus it reminds me of a long ago time when I was a kid…I never get tired of hearing it.

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