Biography
New York disc jockey Enoch Gregory issued a handful of mid-'60s recordings under the adopted name Dixie Drifter. Among those releases, the spoken-word single “Soul Heaven” proved the most successful by reaching the national charts. Producer-composer Teddy Vann—chiefly known for Johnny Thunder’s 1963 hit “Loop de Loop”—wrote the track, which drew loose inspiration from “Hillbilly Heaven” and “Teenage Heaven” while paying tribute to Dinah Washington, Nat “King” Cole, and Sam Cooke. Roulette placed the single on the market in 1965 and later issued a complete album titled Tales credited to the Dixie Drifter. Two decades afterward, the Commodores revived the same idea with their non-spoken-word track “Night Shift,” achieving comparable success.