“Drift Away” has been recorded by dozens of artists, but none of the covers matches what I always thought was the original by Dobie Gray. Turns out I was wrong — the original recording wasn’t by Gray but by one John Henry Kurtz, a country/swamp rock singer from Havertown, Pa., who released one LP, “Reunion,” in 1972. Written by Mentor Williams, brother of songwriter Paul Williams, “Drift Away” was released as a single but went nowhere.
The next year Gray, a struggling singer and actor who recorded under various names, cut the track in Nashville, with Mentor Williams producing and studio legend Reggie Young on guitar. It reached No. 5 on the Hot 100 and sold over 1 million copies.
In 2003 Uncle Kracker, who entered the industry working turntables for Kid Rock’s live act, released the song as a single from his second LP, with Gray as a guest vocalist on the track. It spent a record 28 weeks atop Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart and reached No. 9 on the Hot 100, establishing Gray as the artist with the longest time between Top 10 hits.
