Best I Ever Had

Album: Make A Move (2013)
Charted: 75
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This tribute to life on the road was released as the lead single from Gavin DeGraw's fifth studio album. Co-written by the singer and Boys Like Girls frontman Martin Johnson (who also produced the track), the song moves to the rhythm of a brisk stomping beat. "I'm sitting in the room with Martin Johnson, the guy I'd been writing with before who's really gifted, and he's like, 'Hey man, what do you think of this track?'" DeGraw recalled to Billboard magazine. "He just starts playing this jangle-y, uptempo kind of thing, which ultimately was the foundation for 'Best I Ever Had.'" The song was released to radio and digital retailers on June 18, 2013.
  • The song's official music video finds McGraw getting close to the 2013 Miss USA titleholder, Erin Brady.
  • The song started as a crazy drum beat in the studio over which Johnson encouraged DeGraw to adopt a stream of consciousness approach for his vocals. He began to sing "Melt Antarctica, savin' Africa. I failed algebra" and Johnson added, "And I miss you sometimes." "I laughed because it was so off the wall, but at the same time that was the stroke that it needed," DeGraw told Radio.com. "The nature of the song, it almost didn't matter what we said. We had the freedom to say anything because the style and sound of the song, there's a bit of a beatnik Americana thing happening in there even though it's been modernized. It lets you be a little bit nutty as far as being a lyricist is concerned. It is very freeing."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Paul Williams

Paul WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

He's a singer and an actor, but as a songwriter Paul helped make Kermit a cultured frog, turned a bank commercial into a huge hit and made love both "exciting and new" and "soft as an easy chair."

Dexys (Kevin Rowland and Jim Paterson)

Dexys (Kevin Rowland and Jim Paterson)Songwriter Interviews

"Come On Eileen" was a colossal '80s hit, but the band - far more appreciated in their native UK than stateside - released just three albums before their split. Now, Dexys is back.

Strange Magnetics

Strange MagneticsSong Writing

How Bing Crosby, Les Paul, a US Army Signal Corps Officer, and the Nazis helped shape rock and Roll.

Artis the Spoonman

Artis the SpoonmanSong Writing

Even before Soundgarden wrote a song about him, Artis was the most famous spoon player of all time. So why has he always been broke?

George Clinton

George ClintonSongwriter Interviews

When you free your mind, your ass may follow, but you have to make sure someone else doesn't program it while it's wide open.

Philip Cody

Philip CodySongwriter Interviews

A talented lyricist, Philip helped revive Neil Sedaka's career with the words to "Laughter In The Rain" and "Bad Blood."