CREED
and Scott Stapp
Creed was considered one of the premier successes of the Post-grunge era, having dominating songs and albums through the 1990’s and early 2000. The striking influence in the band however, were the vocals of lead singer Scott Stapp, the son of a Pentecostal minister.
I enjoyed doing the research for this article. The band Creed went through the fire in establishing themselves as huge icons in the music world, and rarely with any critical acclaim. In other words, most music critics slammed them and their music, yet in spite of it all their songs hit new records all over the charts.
I think most of us can appreciate what the band went through in pursuit of musical recognition. We Christian’s are rarely popular with the world. You’ve probably heard the phrase, “Jesus is the most hated name in the world, and Jesus is the most Loved name in the world”, but it’s fun being on the winning side because we know how the story ends.
Records and Accomplishments:
· Creed was the 1st rock act to have 4 #1 singles from a debut album
· The song “Higher” topped the Billboard mainstream rock charts for 18 weeks, a record.
· Creed had 7 consecutive #1 hits, a record.
· Their album “Weathered” debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts and stayed there for 8 weeks, a record which they share with the Beatles.
· The video for “With Arms Wide Open” is declared the VH1 92nd greatest video ever.
Creed broke up in June of 2004, but Scott Stapp went on to succeed on his own with his first solo album “The Great Divide” in 2005. Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” inspired it. The critics considered it a back to-basics rock record, but to heck with the critics, it still went Platinum.
I probably need to repeat here what many of our loyal readers already know about my writing. That is that my favorite band is Third Day; Newsboys and Jeremy Camp put on the best shows, and I’ve enjoyed reviewing everyone from Jackie Velasquez to Chris Tomlin, but I side with all Christian musicians. Those that stick with Churches and festivals, and those that crossover and are played on secular radio.
Anyway, back to Scott Stapp. When he was asked some years ago if they were a Christian band, he said no. What most critics misunderstood was that Scott’s Christian faith is very strong, but he was speaking for Creed whose goal it was to go into the world and spread the good news. That is what we are called to do, right?
Creed's sound is awesome, and after Creed Scott is continuing his Christian walk. I haven't listened to every word Creed wrote in all of its songs, but they did go into the world to spread the word. I would like to believe that there are those that came to the Lord as a result.
Staff writer-
da MC