The Dixie Drifter Biography & Awards

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Artist Info

Biography

The Dixie Drifter was the alias adopted by New York-based disc jockey Enoch Gregory for a series of mid-'60s record releases. The most successful of these, making the national charts, was his spoken word single "Soul Heaven." The song, authored by producer-composer Teddy Vann (perhaps best remembered for Johnny Thunder's 1963 hit "Loop de Loop") -- and no doubt loosely inspired by "Hillbilly Heaven" and "Teenage Heaven" -- was a tribute to Dinah Washington, Nat "King" Cole, and Sam Cooke. The record hit in 1965 for Roulette, which later recorded an entire album called Tales, credited to the Dixie Drifter. The Commodores' "Night Shift," although not a spoken word release, carried on the concept successfully 20 years later. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide