How Old Is Gavin Degraw?

The Short Answer

Gavin Degraw is 49 years old — born on February 4, 1977. That makes Gavin Degraw one of the most-searched public figures for age-related questions, with fans regularly looking up birthday and family details.

Gavin Degraw: Early Life and Background

Gavin Shane DeGraw (born February 4, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter. DeGraw rose to fame with his song "I Don't Want to Be" from his debut album Chariot (2003); the song became the main theme song for The WB/CW drama series One Tree Hill. Other notable singles from his debut album were the title track and "Follow Through".

His self-titled second album (2008) was preceded by the top 40-single "In Love with a Girl". His third album, Free (2009), saw a commercial decline and served as his final release with J Records. His fourth album, Sweeter (2011), spawned the hit single "Not Over You", along with "Soldier" and "Sweeter". In 2013, DeGraw released the album Make a Move, while in 2016 he released the album Something Worth Saving.

In 2022, he released Face the River and a documentary on how he made the record and how he dealt with his parents' deaths.

DeGraw's duet with Colbie Caillat on "We Both Know" for the 2013 film Safe Haven received a Grammy Award nomination.

Early life

Family and education

Career and Rise to Fame

Born February 4, 1977, DeGraw grew up in South Fallsburg, New York. His mother, Lynne (née Krieger, 1951–2017), was a detox specialist nurse practitioner, and his father, John Wayne DeGraw, was a corrections officer; he referenced his father's and mother's respective occupations in the song "I Don't Want to Be". His father was of Irish descent and his mother was of Russian Jewish ancestry.

Musical approach

DeGraw began singing and playing piano at the age of eight. He has two older siblings: a sister, Neeka, and a brother, Joey (who is also a musician). Growing up in a musical family, he was raised to regard music as part of the fabric of everyday life rather than as a remote show-business ideal. DeGraw's voice has been described as being a tenor voice with a hint of grit.

As a teenager, DeGraw experienced a personal epiphany when he discovered Ray Charles and Sam Cooke, whose combination of personal charm and emotional commitment struck a chord in the budding musician. DeGraw played in a local Catskills group called "The People's Band" with his brother Joey and with local musician and vocalist Steven Levine, Bart and Hal Coopersmith. The band was named from his father's band when he was playing. The People's Band played many of the local hotels and clubs around the Monticello area. On his brother's advice, DeGraw began writing his own songs. He attended Ithaca College on a music scholarship, but found himself spending more time in his dorm room writing songs than attending classes and dropped out after one semester. DeGraw then moved to Boston, where he attended the prestigious Berklee College of Music for two semesters while singing in a rock band and playing solo gigs on the side.

Music career

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 night at Wilson's (the noted Upper West Side restaurant inside the Lucerne hotel). The night manager, Shar Thompson, introduced DeGraw to the club's owner, Debbie Wilson, the next day. Wilson signed on as his manager. DeGraw began developing a reputation in New York's music community. DeGraw 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.

Age and Birthday Details

Gavin Degraw was born on February 4, 1977.

As of 2026, Gavin Degraw is 49 years old.

Birthday milestones for public figures like Gavin Degraw routinely trend on social media, which is why "how old is" questions generate such consistent search demand.

Personal Life and Family

In the spring of 2002, 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 live stage to 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.

On March 31, 2009, DeGraw's third studio album, Free, was released. 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".

Recent Years

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 single, "Not Over You", was co-written and produced by Ryan Tedder and was said to have been inspired by Kyle Craig. "Not Over You" is his first song to reach the top spot on the Adult Pop Songs chart; the single has been certified platinum. Sweeter contains collaborations from producers including Butch Walker, Eric Rosse, and Ron Aniello; alongside another co-written title track, "Sweeter" with Andrew Frampton. The album was recorded in many locations including Blackbird Studios in Nashville, Walker's Space in Venice and the Henson Recording Studios. Sweeter is DeGraw's first album released under RCA Records; all three of his previous albums were released under J Records. DeGraw went on to release an acoustic album based mostly on songs from Sweeter. The iTunes Session album features seven tracks and a 30-minute interview.

DeGraw sang "Baby It's Cold Outside" with Colbie Caillat on her 2012 Christmas in the Sand album. The pair also wrote the song "We Both Know" for the soundtrack of the 2013 film Safe Haven. The duo received a Grammy Award nomination.

On June 18, 2013, DeGraw released "Best I Ever Had", the first single from his fifth studio album. The album, Make a Move, was released October 15, 2013. During that year, he supported Train across their series of US shows; The Script also appeared in several of those shows.

In 2014, DeGraw opened for Billy Joel. DeGraw then released his first greatest hits album Finest Hour: The Best of Gavin DeGraw on October 21, 2014. The album includes the new songs "You Got Me" (featured in the film Dolphin Tale 2) and "Fire" (released on August 12, 2014).

In 2015, DeGraw collaborated with Swedish DJ Avicii on the song "Sunset Jesus", from his album Stories. DeGraw co-wrote the song, and he also sang it during the Avicii Tribute Concert in Stockholm in 2019.

On September 9, 2016, DeGraw released his sixth studio album, Something Worth Saving.

Frequently Asked Questions

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