Creed was an American post-grunge band from Tallahassee, Florida that became popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The band won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Song for the song "With Arms Wide Open" in 2001. The band broke up in 2004 after three multiplatinum albums.Creed was formed in 1993 under the name Naked Toddler when Scott Stapp and guitarists Mark Tremonti and Brian Brasher, college friends at Florida State University, got together and started collaborating and writing songs. They soon added bassist Brian Marshall and drummer Scott Phillips.
Brian Marshall came up with the band name "Creed", taken from the name of his former band, Mattox Creed.
Once the band was complete as a five-piece in late 1993, (Scott Stapp, Mark Tremonti, Brian Brasher, Brian Marshall and Scott Phillips) the band was soon dominating the Tallahassee local music scene and was one of the only local bands playing all original music in a town where club owners wanted local bands to play cover songs and music that people know. The five members had already written and collaborated three of the songs that would go on to become chart topping singles on their debut album My Own Prison. The songs were "One", "Sister" and "What's This Life For".
They then found work at a live music bar, where they impressed promoters Jeff Hanson and Andy Levine enough to let them play at one of their bigger venues known as Floyd's Music Store on the Tennessee Street Strip in Tallahassee. Hanson and Levine liked the band so much that he convinced producer John Kurzweg to record the band.
[edit] My Own Prison
Their debut album My Own Prison was independently released in 1997 and only cost them $6,000 to produce[citation needed], and distributed to Florida radio stations. This drew the attention of several labels that agreed to see the band, only to pass. Rejected, Creed was playing a small gig when Diana Meltzer from Wind-Up Records heard the group. She had heard their independent album, and after hearing them live, signed the band to her label. After a remix to make it more radio friendly, My Own Prison was re-released by Wind-up Records across the country. The album was a surprise success, reaching the Top 40 on the Billboard Top 200, and spinning off several singles ("My Own Prison," "Torn," "What's This Life For," and "One") that topped the rock radio charts. The band's hit song "My Own Prison" was also featured as a live performance on the charity album Live in the X Lounge.
[edit] Human Clay
Their second album, Human Clay, was released in 1999 and debuted on the Billboard 200 album chart at number one, based on the strength of its first single, "Higher", which spent several weeks on the top of the rock radio charts. It wasn't until early 2000 that the single crossed over onto pop radio going to the Top Ten on the Billboard Pop Chart, and Creed became a household name. Its follow-up, "With Arms Wide Open," also hit number one that fall.
Meanwhile, Brian Marshall quit the band, and Brett Hestla (Virgos Merlot, Dark New Day) took over on the Human Clay tour, and subsequent tours. Around that time, Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit bad-mouthed Stapp at New York's Krock 92.3 "Dysfunctional Family Picnic Concert" where they were both performing. In response to this, Scott Stapp invited Fred Durst to an open boxing match.
[edit] Weathered
In the fall of 2001, "My Sacrifice", the first single off Creed's last album Weathered, was used in a series of promotional tribute videos made by World Wrestling Entertainment. They also had "Young Grow Old," a B-side to the 1999 release Human Clay, featured as the official theme song for World Wrestling Entertainment WWE's Backlash pay-per-view event in April 2002. In early 2002, "Bullets" was released as a single, along with a costly, special effects-laden video. The song and video were possibly Creed's least successful since achieving mainstream success. However, Creed rebounded quickly, with one of the summer's biggest hits, "One Last Breath".
Stapp was involved in a car accident in April 2002 and it had seemed that the tour that they had planned was not going to happen. However, Stapp recovered in time to appear in the last few shows. "Don't Stop Dancing" was a minor hit for Creed in late 2002/early 2003.
[edit] Breakup and subsequent activities
In June 2004, Creed officially announced their break-up. Stapp began recording his debut solo album, The Great Divide with Roadrunner Records recording artist Goneblind. The other band members (including former bassist Brian Marshall) formed a new band, Alter Bridge, with Myles Kennedy. Touring bassist Brett Hestla has since joined the band Dark New Day. On November 22, 2004 they released a greatest hits album.
Since Creed's disbanding, many fans have been waiting for a reunion. The three members currently involved in Alter Bridge have stated that Creed is solely in their past, and will not reunite any time in the future. Tremonti even went as far to say that he would only agree to a Creed reunion if it was for "world peace." Originally, Stapp was optimistic about Creed reuniting someday, yet his recent claims reflect that he too feels that Creed is in the past, and claims that the band will reunite if "hell freezes over".
In 2008, Mark Tremonti, along with Alter Bridge singer Myles Kennedy appeared as guests on two separate tracks on Sevendust's album Chapter VII: Hope & Sorrow.
