Creed (band)
Creed is an American rock band from Tallahassee, Florida formed in 1994. Creed was prominent in the post-grunge movement of the late 1990s and early 2000s, releasing three consecutive multi-platinum albums; their second, Human Clay (1999) received diamond (11x platinum) certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Creed has sold over 28 million records in the United States,[1] has sold over 53 million albums worldwide,[2] and was the ninth best-selling musical act of the 2000s.[3]
Creed
For most of its existence, the band has consisted of lead vocalist Scott Stapp, guitarist and vocalist Mark Tremonti, bassist Brian Marshall, and drummer Scott Phillips. Creed's first two studio albums, My Own Prison (1997) and Human Clay (1999) were released to commercial success despite unfavorable critical reception; Marshall left the band in 2000. Human Clay remains one of the best selling albums of all time and contained the Billboard Hot 100 number one single "With Arms Wide Open"—which also won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Song. The band's third album, Weathered, was released in 2001, with Tremonti on bass guitar. Creed disbanded in 2004; Stapp pursued a solo career while Tremonti, Marshall, and Phillips founded the band Alter Bridge with Myles Kennedy.
Creed reunited in 2009, releasing their fourth album Full Circle and performing several tours before separating again in 2012. After an eleven-year hiatus, Creed reunited once more in July 2023 and announced their headlining of the Summer of '99 cruise festival in April 2024.[4]
Legacy and reception[edit]
Creed was one of the most commercially successful rock bands of the late 1990s and early 2000s.[90] Their first three studio albums, My Own Prison, Human Clay, and Weathered, have all gone multi-platinum in the United States, selling six million, 11 million, and six million copies respectively.[91][92] The band also won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Song for the song "With Arms Wide Open" in 2001.[18]
However, Creed has been negatively received by some professional critics, such as Robert Christgau.[93] Jonah Weiner of Slate has tried to make the case that the band was "seriously underrated";[94] Joe Coscarelli of Mediaite countered that "most people hate Creed's combination of overwrought power-balladry and Christian-infused testosterone."[95]
In 2011, Billboard ranked Creed as the 18th-best artist of the 2000s.[96] In 2013, readers of Rolling Stone magazine voted Creed the worst band of the 1990s.[97]