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correct_leader_00102 | FactBench | 2 | 8 | https://kids.kiddle.co/Poul_Nyrup_Rasmussen | en | Poul Nyrup Rasmussen facts for kids | [
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] | null | [] | null | Learn Poul Nyrup Rasmussen facts for kids | en | /images/wk/favicon-16x16.png | https://kids.kiddle.co/Poul_Nyrup_Rasmussen | Poul Oluf Nyrup Rasmussen (Danish pronunciation: [ˈpʰʌwl ˈnyˀɔp ˈʁɑsmusn̩], informally Poul Nyrup, born 15 June 1943) is a retired Danish politician. Rasmussen was Prime Minister of Denmark from 25 January 1993 to 27 November 2001 and President of the Party of European Socialists (PES) from 2004 to 2011. He was the leader of the governing Social Democrats from 1992 to 2002. He was a member of the European Parliament from 2004 to 2009.
Rasmussen is a member of the Club of Madrid. In 2007 he published the book I grådighedens tid (In a Time of Greed), which contains harsh criticism of the role hedge and venture capital funds play in the global economy.
Early life
Rasmussen was born to a working-class family in Esbjerg in 1943. His parents were Oluf Nyrup Rasmussen and Vera Eline Nyrup Rasmussen. He studied at the University of Copenhagen, earning a M.sc. degree in Economics in 1971. While studying he was active in the social democratic student union Frit Forum, where he met some of his future political colleagues. He paid his way through university by doing several jobs, like counting traffic and being a part-time delivery boy.
Political career
Member of the Folketing 1987-1993
He was first elected to the Folketing from Western Jutland in 1987, where he became Deputy Chairman of the Social Democrats, with Svend Auken as chairman. He had together with Mogens Lykketoft made proposals for Social Democratic reforms. From 1988 to 1992 he was chairman of the Committee on Business and Trade, as well as spokesperson of Business. After the 1990 election, he was seen as a much more realistic candidate for Prime Minister than Auken.
In 1992 Rasmussen replaced Auken, the long serving leader of the Social Democrats, after his failure to form a government with the Radikale Venstre after the 1990 election, despite good results for both parties. Many in the party felt that Auken had stuck to a too left wing agenda, scuttling a possible deal with the more centrist Radikale Venstre.
Prime Minister 1993-2001
Rasmussen came to power in early 1993 when then-Prime Minister Poul Schlüter resigned after an inquiry found that he had misinformed the Folketing about the so-called Tamil Case. A coalition of Social Democrats, Social Liberals, Centre Democrats and Christian Democrats, Rasmussen's first cabinet made use of limited classical Keynesianism in connection with the so-called kick-start of 1993–94 as its economic policy. The Christian Democrats left the coalition after their defeat in the 1994 Folketing election, as did the Centre Democrats in late 1996. Key ministers were Economy and Deputy Prime Minister, Social Liberal leader Marianne Jelved, Finance Minister Mogens Lykketoft (Social Democrats) and Foreign Minister Niels Helveg Petersen (Social Liberals).
The centre-left coalition only narrowly held on to its parliamentary majority in the 1998 Folketing election. After the election Prime Minister Rasmussen stated that the government's first order of business was to secure a "yes" vote in the upcoming referendum on ratification of the Amsterdam Treaty between the member states of the European Union. Eventually there were 55% "yes" votes in the Danish Amsterdam Treaty referendum. Rasmussen's government later presided over the 2000 referendum on Danish participation in the euro, in which participation was rejected by 53.2% of the vote. A 1998 initiative, dubbed the Whitsun Packet (Danish: Pinsepakken) from the season it was issued, increased taxes, limiting private consumption. It was not universally popular with the electorate, which may have been a factor in the Social Democrats' defeat in the 2001 parliamentary election.
Rasmussen called an early election in 2001, saying this would give the next prime minister time to prepare for Denmark's upcoming presidency of the European Union in 2002. The patriarchal role Rasmussen had built for himself since the 11 September attacks had gained him and the Social Liberals their highest poll ratings in years, a lead that would be eroded in the buildup to the election.
He was up against Liberal leader Anders Fogh Rasmussen. The campaign focused mainly on immigration and refugees, which worked to the benefit of the anti-immigration Danish People's Party. Two in every three Danes now supported tighter immigration restrictions, compared to only one in two before 11 September. In the last few days of the campaign a number of predominantly left-leaning artists and intellectuals urged the Danish electorate not to vote for a rightwing government, warning that the Danish People's Party would then be likely to wield great influence on government policy.
Other campaign focuses were on welfare and health care. Poul Nyrup Rasmussen stated the aim of creating a more robust economy to deal with the economic downturn. There was little debate about the European Union as the two leaders' opinions on that subject were largely the same. The loss of power in the 2001 election to Anders Fogh Rasmussen's Venstre meant that the Social Democrats lost their position as the largest party in the Folketing, a position they had held without interruption since the 1924 Folketing election. On election night Rasmussen vowed to stay on as party leader, famously declaring, "I will not run away with my tail between my legs." He announced an effort of "renewal" within the Social Democrats, urging the promotion of centrist party members to leadership positions. Influential factions opposed Rasmussen's efforts, calling his leadership into question, and in late 2002 he announced that he would be stepping down as chairman.
European Parliament, 2004
Rasmussen became an MEP for the Party of European Socialists after winning a record number of 407,966 votes for an individual (from Denmark) in the European Parliamentary elections in 2004. He sat on both the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee.
A key issue tackled by Rasmussen in the European Parliament was the lack of regulation for private equity and hedge funds. He worked to secure greater regulation in this area. starting long before the onset of the financial crisis. His report, proposing binding rules for all players as well as greater transparency and accountability, was passed by the European Parliament in September 2008. Rasmussen has since criticised the European Commission, and in particular Commission President José Manuel Durão Barroso and Commissioner Charlie McCreevy for failing to respond to the report with sufficient speed or dedication.
Rasmussen has also slammed the commission's response to the economic crisis; in March 2009 he wrote: "A new, updated Recovery Plan is needed now, otherwise there will be 25 million unemployed in 2010. There must be real coordination focused on real investments. Europe also needs to do more for the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. It is in our common economic and political interest to prevent financial meltdown in those countries. Europe talks a lot about solidarity, now is the time it is really needed."
Party of European Socialists, 2004–11
In 2004 Rasmussen defeated Giuliano Amato to be elected President of the PES, succeeding Robin Cook in the post. He was re-elected for a further 2.5 years at the PES Congress in Porto on 8 December 2006. The position involves coordinating the political vision of the party, ensuring unity, chairing the party presidency and representing the party on a regular basis. As PES President he is also President of the Global Progressive Forum and sits on committee of Transatlantic Dialogue, which fosters cooperation between progressives from the US and Europe. Rasmussen has played a central role in making the party more inclusive and oversaw the launch of the network 'PES Activists', as well as a radically participative consultation process to construct the party's manifesto for the 2009 European election.
Rasmussen's influence in politicising the PES can be seen in the party's headline political initiative, New Social Europe. Based on a report written by Rasmussen and former President of the European Commission Jacques Delors, this aims at creating a "fairer, more inclusive, and more dynamic society". Currently, he is on the advisory board of OMFIF where he is regularly involved in meetings regarding the financial and monetary system.
Timeline
Personal life
Rasmussen was married to Lone Dybkjær, a member of the Folketing (and a former MEP) for the centrist Det Radikale Venstre from 1994 until her death in 2020. He enjoyed holidaying with his wife in their second house as well as swimming, walking, and reflecting with friends. He also likes listening to music. He is not related to his two immediate successors from Venstre (i.e. the main Danish centre-right, liberal party) as Prime Minister, namely Anders Fogh Rasmussen or Lars Løkke Rasmussen. .....
See also | |||||
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] | null | [] | null | Denmark (dĕn´märk), Dan. Danmark, officially Kingdom of Denmark, kingdom (2005 est. pop. 5,432,000), 16,629 sq mi (43,069 sq km), N Europe. It borders on Germany in the south, the North Sea [1] in the west, the Skagerrak in the north, and the Kattegat and the Øresund in the east. | en | /sites/default/files/favicon.ico | https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/history/scandinavian-history-biographies/anders-fogh-rasmussen | Danish politician Anders Fogh Rasmussen (born 1953) served as his country's prime minister during the early and middle 2000s. He found himself confronted after his election in 2001 with some of the hot-button international issues of his time: relations between the West and the Islamic world, immigration, and war in the Middle East.
Acharismatic figure who led his center-right party to its first victory over Denmark's left-leaning Social Democrats in many years, Rasmussen was emblematic of a new breed of conservatives coming to power in Western Europe. He hoped to slash the size of Denmark's large social welfare bureaucracy without eliminating the basic protections it offered, and he implemented restrictions on immigration while offering as few concessions as possible to far-right nationalist groups.
Raised on Farm
Rasmussen (ROS-muess-en) was born on January 26, 1953, in Northern Djursland, in Aarhus County in the rural eastern part of Denmark's Jutland Peninsula mainland. He grew up on the family farm with his parents, Knud and Martha Rasmussen, but he showed an instinct for political life from the start: according to an article in the Financial Times, he and his brothers often played a game they called "politics" and he would invariably choose the role of prime minister. In 1969 he enrolled at the centuries-old Viborg Cathedral School, taking courses in languages and social studies.
While he was there, he organized a chapter of a Danish national organization called Young Liberals. The term "liberal" has a connotation in Denmark (and many other countries) opposite to its meaning in the United States but close to the classical sense of the term, indicating a philosophy or political party devoted to minimizing governmental interference in the affairs of private industry. What motivated Rasmussen to become involved was the outbreak of student demonstrations around Europe in May of 1968, many of which were oriented toward Marxist or Communist ideas. "That was my reaction to the events of May 1968," he told the Economist. Rasmussen remained involved with Denmark's Liberal Party after he entered the University of Aarhus in 1972, and by 1974 he had become chairman of the party's national youth wing. He joined its national central committee in 1976.
In 1976, while still a university student, Rasmussen began doing consulting work for the Danish Federation of Crafts and Small Industries, and he continued to do that work until 1987. Finishing a master's degree in economics at Aarhus in 1978, Rasmussen was immediately elected to Denmark's Folketing, or parliament, from the Viborg district. He married, and he and his wife, Anne-Mette, raised three children. In the early 1980s Rasmussen served as vice-chairman of the Folketing's housing committee.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Rasmussen worked his way up through the Liberal Party hierarchy, moving in and out of the top echelons of government as the party's fortunes fluctuated. In 1984 he was named to the Liberals' parliamentary management committee, and he became vice-chairman of the national party the following year. From 1987 to 1992 he was Minister for Taxation in the Danish cabinet, adding the title of Minister for Economic Affairs to his portfolio in 1990. For much of the 1990s he was out of the Folketing, but he worked as the Liberal Party's national spokesman from 1992 to 1998. In 1998 he became the party's national chairman, after his predecessor, who had been expected to win that year's election, failed to come out on top. Rasmussen held several other administrative posts in the 1990s.
Authored Economic Studies
Denmark enjoyed one of the highest per-capita income figures in the world, but it had correspondingly high tax rates, second only to Sweden in personal income tax rates, by one calculation. Rasmussen's Liberals believed that the country's cradle-to-grave social welfare system had become bloated and could be pared, and a series of books authored by Rasmussen himself provided ammunition for the arguments of party members. Those books included Showdown with the Tax System (1979), The Struggle for Housing, and From Social State to Minimal State (1993).
As party chairman, Rasmussen led the Liberals into Denmark's 2001 national elections against the ruling Social Democratic party and its leader, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen (not a relative). In Denmark's parliamentary system, the leader of the party that wins the most seats in the parliament is given the chance to form a government. Rasmussen's platform was toned down from the conservative economic policies he advocated in his books; in place of the "minimal state" of his free-market 1993 broadside he merely advocated a system in which some of the services of Denmark's welfare state would be opened up to participation by private industry. Rasmussen's telegenic appearance also played a positive role in the campaign when placed in contrast with that of his bearded, lumbering opponent. The Economist called him "a professional politician to his fingertips." He also campaigned on promises to freeze taxes, reduce crime, reduce growing hospital waiting lists in the country's government-run health system, and introduce measures that would help Denmark's large elderly population.
The results of the election displaced the Social Democrats from power for the first time since the 1920s, with the Liberals taking 31 percent of the vote to the Social Democrats' 29 percent. The result was ambiguous, however, for Rasmussen was forced to seek the support of several more conservative parties in order to form a government. These included the Conservative People's Party (Konservative Folkeparti) and Danish People's Party (Dansk Folkeparti), the latter a nationalist group that called for new immigration restrictions and specifically deplored the influence of immigrant Muslims on Denmark's ethnically homogeneous society (with an immigrant population of just over 5 percent, the country was less diverse than most of the rest of Western Europe).
Anti-immigrant sentiment was rising in Denmark in the wake of the U.S. terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The Danish People's Party, which had received just over 7 percent of the vote in the elections, was still seen as extreme, but Rasmussen finessed the issue by lining up the party's support in parliamentary votes but excluding it from his cabinet. He became Danish prime minister on November 27, 2001.
Eliminated Government Boards and Committees
Rasmussen's working majority held together early in his term, and he was able to implement major sections of his agenda. By June of 2002 the governing Liberals had shaved almost $830 million of spending from Denmark's $53 billion budget. They had taken steps to benefit Danish business interests, and Rasmussen took the seemingly noncontrover-sial step of closing down 103 government boards, councils, and committees, a step that was projected to save $35.5 million. "We wish to tidy up the intermediate layer [of government], which drains our resources and removes attention from the essential matters," Rasmussen explained in his New Year's speech of 2002, according to Maria Bern-born of Europe.
One of those panels eliminated, however, was the Board for Ethnic Equality, whose disappearance drew widespread criticism. The controversy arose because the move was viewed as a concession on Rasmussen's part to the Danish People's Party. Rasmussen cut legal immigration levels, and he put new curbs on foreigners who claimed refugee status when trying to enter Denmark; refugees had to prove that they had actually been victimized by religious, political, or ethnic persecution. The number of refugees seeking asylum dropped from 12,000 in 2001 to 3,000 in 2004. Many refugees headed for other European countries, particularly Sweden, which criticized the actions of its Scandinavian neighbor.
The economic specialist Rasmussen was quickly faced with issues that had international implications. In 2003 he backed the U.S. invasion of Iraq, making Denmark one of just a few continental European countries to line up behind the U.S. and Britain, and he sent 500 Danish troops to Iraq in support of the war effort. Danish public opinion first backed the move but later turned decisively against it. A Continental economic slowdown toward the middle of Rasmussen's first term in office dented his popularity, and a massive train bombing in Madrid, Spain, on March 11, 2004, affecting one of the war's other European supporters, raised speculation that Rasmussen could be headed for defeat in the next election.
Rasmussen's Liberals bounced back after he called an election for February 8, 2005, however. Rasmussen campaigned once again on economic issues, claiming that an assortment of tax cuts had added an average of $3,000 to annual Danish family incomes. Teenagers were denied certain welfare benefits, but, noted the Economist, such moves were seen by the Danish electorate as "necessary tweaks, not a conservative revolution." And the new immigration restrictions won support across a wide spectrum of Danish public opinion, excluding only the leftmost segments of the political spectrum. In the February elections, both Rasmussen's Liberals and the Social Democrats actually lost seats, while parties farther to the left and right made gains. Rasmussen's majority in the new Danish parliament was unchanged, standing at 94 of the Folketing's 179 seats.
The major challenge in the first part of Rasmussen's second term came in early 2006, when Islamic anger exploded worldwide after a series of cartoons were published in Denmark's Jyllands-Posten (Jutland Post) newspaper late the previous year. The cartoons depicted the Prophet Muhammad in a disparaging way, with one of them showing him with a bomb-shaped turban. Protests flared in Copenhagen and in many Islamic capitals, and Danish consumer goods were removed from shelves in Islamic markets.
Rasmussen referred in his 2006 New Year's message, quoted in the Economist, to "unacceptably offensive instances" of attempts "to demonize groups of people on the basis of their religion or ethnic background," but he maintained that owing to the principle of freedom of the press in Denmark, the government had no control over what Danish newspapers printed. A group of 11 ambassadors from predominantly Islamic countries asked to meet with Rasmussen. He initially refused, drawing strong condemnation from a group of Danish foreign service officers, but later met with several of the Islamic ambassadors. The controversy simmered down slowly, and the threat of terrorist attacks in Denmark reportedly remained high through 2006 as Rasmussen turned to other aspects of his foreign agenda that included support for the European Union and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Early in 2007, Rasmussen unveiled a plan to cut Denmark's dependence on imported energy, aiming to provide 30 percent of Denmark's energy needs from wind power, hydrogen, and biofuels by 2025.
Books
Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations: World Leaders, Gale, 2003.
Periodicals
Economist, November 24, 2001; March 20, 2004; December 18, 2004; February 5, 2005; January 7, 2006.
Europe, June 2002.
Financial Times, November 22, 2001.
New York Times, November 22, 2001.
Online
"Denmark unveils plan to reduce fossil fuels, double use of renewable energy," International Herald Tribune, http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/19/europe/EU-GEN-Denmark-Cleaner-Energy.php (January 23, 2007).
"Prime Minister of Denmark: Anders Fogh Rasmussen," Prime Minister's Office of Denmark, http://www.stm.dk (January 23, 2007).
"Rasmussen, Anders Fogh," Parliament (Folketing) of Denmark, http://www.folketinget.dk (January 23, 2007).
Anders Fogh Rasmussen
Prime Minister of Denmark
Born on January 26, 1953, in Ginnerup, Nørre Djurs, Denmark; son of Knud (a farmer) and Martha Rasmussen; married to Anne-Mette; children: three.Education:Earned degree in economics from the University of Århus, 1978.
Addresses: Office—Statsministeriet (Prime Minister's Office), Christiansborg, DK-1218 Copenhagen K, Denmark.
Career
Founder and chairman of the Young Liberals organization at Viborg Cathedral School, 1970-72; first elected to Folketing (legislative assembly of Denmark), 1978; served as minister for taxation, September, 1987-November, 1992; served as minister for economic affairs, December, 1990-November, 1992; leader of Denmark's Liberal Party, 2001—; became prime minister, November, 2001, elections, and formed coalition government; reelected February, 2005.
Sidelights
Anders Fogh Rasmussen, head of Denmark's Liberal Party, has served as prime minister since 2001. That year's election results marked the first time since the 1920s that Denmark's politically dominant leftist party, the Social Democrats, had been spurned by voters. As party leader, Rasmussen became prime minister and formed a center-right coalition government with another party. In his first years in office, Rasmussen's government enacted several sweeping reforms, most aimed at curbing immigration and increasing free-market competition inside the Danish economy.
Rasmussen was born on January 26, 1953, in Ginnerup, a town in the Nørre Djurs coastal region of Denmark's Jutland peninsula. He grew up on one of the many small family farms that dotted the Århus county area, and emerged as a political leader while still in his teens. At the Viborg Cathedral School, he became one of the founders of the Young Liberals group, a youth group affiliated with Denmark's center-right Liberal Party. It was an era of widespread protest among his generation, but the Young Liberals were formed in reaction to the sweeping student movement in Western Europe that had taken a decidedly leftist tone. Denmark's Liberal Party—called Venstre ("left")—was actually less of a left-of-center group than the term "liberal" commonly denotes in North American political terminology. Generally known as a pro-business party, the Liberals called for less government regulation and lower taxes.
Rasmussen studied economics at the University of Århus, and became the national chairperson for the Young Liberals group in 1974. In 1978, the same year he earned his degree, he was elected to the Folketing, Denmark's national legislative body, on the Liberal Party ticket. Since the 1920s, the seats in the Folketing had been dominated by the Social Democrats, Denmark's traditional center-left party. Other competing factions included the Danish People's Party, the far-right group; the Conservative Party, the Socialist People's Party, and the Christian People's Party.
Rasmussen served several years in the Folketing, and became known for his economic expertise. He authored a number of books on the subject, including 1979's Opgør med skattesystemet ("Showdown with the Tax System") and Fra Socialstat til Minimal-sta ("From Social State to Minimal State"), which was published in 1993. Denmark has one of the highest tax-per-person ratios in the world, but the taxes pay for a generous social-service net and its citizens enjoy one of the world's highest standards of living. In his writings and in his political speeches, Rasmussen argued that such a system fosters a dependency on the government, and quells initiative and free enterprise.
In 1987, Rasmussen was appointed to the important cabinet post of minister for taxation. Three years later, he was made minister for economic affairs for a two-year stint; after 1992, he held his seat in the Folketing while retaining various roles in the Liberal Party leadership, including party spokesperson. In 2001, the Prime Minister, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen—no relation—thought November would be a good time for his Social Democrat Party to capitalize on a wave of solidarity stemming from the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11 of that year, and called for national elections that month. The poll results, however, brought a surprise, with the Social Democrats winning just 29 percent of the Folketing seats, and Rasmussen and the Liberal Party taking 31 percent. It marked the first time that the Social Democrats had been bested by another party since the 1920s. Another surprise was the votes cast for the far right Danish People's Party, which amounted to 12 percent of the tally. Its leader had made anti-Muslim statements that seemed to resonate with nervous Danes in the fearful post-9/11 climate, despite the country's reputation for tolerance. About six percent of Denmark are immigrants, and three percent of the total population list their faith as Muslim in what has historically been a country with a strong Lutheran tra- dition.
Since Rasmussen and his party did not win an outright majority in the Folketing, he formed a coalition government with the Conservatives, which had won nine percent of the vote. The new center-right government, led by Rasmussen, succeeded on most of the reforms it pledged to push forward during the campaign. There were new restrictions on immigration, for example, and in July of 2002 the government issued a decree that Denmark would only to accept refugees who could prove that they were victims of religious, political, or ethnic persecution. That resulted in a dramatic drop in number of those applying for asylum in Denmark, from 12,000 in 2001 down to just 3,000 in 2004.
Rasmussen supported U.S. president George W. Bush and his plans for the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, unlike many Western European leaders. Denmark even sent a contingent of troops, but public support lessened considerably for Denmark's participation over the next two years. In February of 2005, Danes went to the polls again, and though Rasmussen's Liberal Party lost four seats, it maintained its lead in the Folketing and kept control of the government. The prime minister received a high number of personal votes, more than 61,000, which was said to be the most ever won by a Danish politician. His main rival was Mogens Lykketoft, head of Social Democrat Party. Rasmussen is known for his telegenic looks and ease before both the Folketing and television cameras, by contrast to the stodgier, bearded Lykketoft, who resigned from his party leadership after the 2005 election.
Rasmussen surprised many in the spring of 2005 on the 60-year anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe, when he issued a formal apology for Denmark's wartime collaboration with Nazi Germany. The country had been invaded by Nazi Germany, and initially refused to comply with orders to identify and round up its Jewish citizens. Some 7,000 Jews were rescued by a collaborative effort between Danish authorities, the resistance movement, and ordinary citizens, but about 450 were transported to Nazi extermination camps in Eastern Europe. Rasmussen specifically apologized for the government's cooperation in the extradition of those Jews, calling it "shameful" and "a stain on Denmark's otherwise good reputation" according to a BBC News report.
Rasmussen is married and has three children. Known for his healthy lifestyle, he runs every morning, which he claims clears his head for the day's work ahead.
Sources
Books
Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations: World Leaders, Gale, 2003.
Periodicals
Europe, December 2001, p. 25; June 2002, p. 26.
Independent (London, England), February 8, 2005, p. 20.
New York Times, November 22, 2001, p. A16.
Times (London, England), November 22, 2001, p. 19.
Online
"Anders Fogh Rasmussen," Folketingnet, http:// www.folketinget.dk/BAGGRUND/Biografier_ english/Anders_Fogh_Rasmussen.htm (August 23, 2005).
"Danish PM's collaboration apology," BBC News, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4515089. stm (August 23, 2005).
"Profile: Denmark's new prime minister," BBC News, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/ europe/1669243.stm (August 23, 2005).
—CarolBrennan | |||||
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] | 2023-01-11T00:00:00 | Today on TAP: Noma, the world’s most pretentious restaurant, in Copenhagen of all places, to close. | en | The American Prospect | https://prospect.org/blogs-and-newsletters/tap/2023-01-11-denmark-social-democracy-noma-closing/ | You’ve probably read the press accounts. Grotesque, grossly overpriced, fussy food finally reaches its limits. Reindeer penis is one of the specialties. The tab is typically $500. The restaurant’s creator, chef René Redzepi, termed the business model “unsustainable.” Well, mercifully, yes.
There is no better symbol of the wretched elite excess of this era. Noma is an advertisement for more progressive taxes on income and wealth; and, as the saying goes, for eating simply so that others may simply eat. And what’s Noma doing in Copenhagen, capital of a nation known for its modesty, social solidarity, and social democracy?
I actually ate there once, through no fault of my own, as the guest of the leader of Denmark’s Social Democratic Party no less. And therein hangs a tale.
More from Robert Kuttner
In my work on the project of housebreaking capitalism, I became fascinated with Denmark, as a nation that manages to square the circle of a dynamic and flexible economy with extensive social bolsters and impressive equality of income and wealth. The secret sauce is a very powerful labor movement, a long tradition of consensual social bargaining, and a strategy known as “flexicurity” that makes it easy for workers to change jobs without losing living standards and, conversely, easy for employers to move workers and thus stay competitive.
I’ve written about this for the Prospect, for Foreign Affairs, and in my books. Over more than two decades, I’ve spent a lot of time in Denmark. I became friendly with the prime minister who served from 1993 to 2001, a former trade union economist named Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, who was a truly great man and Europe’s last truly socialist prime minister.
It was a pleasure to go out for a meal with Poul in simple neighborhood places, with no staff or bodyguards, and see ordinary Danes come by to shake his hand. It’s the way that I imagine democracy is supposed to be. He would not have been caught dead in Noma.
Fast-forward. I’m on another of my reporting trips to Copenhagen. Denmark is a small country. I’ve done scores of interviews there over the years and I’m slightly famous as an American journalist who takes Denmark seriously.
My friend Poul is out of office. The new Social Democratic leader, later to win election as prime minister, is Helle Thorning-Schmidt. I ask her office for an interview. They suggest dinner, with her and her entourage, and I’m invited to bring my wife.
It’s at Noma, where we discover what my wife calls slime-on-a rock cuisine. We are both serious cooks, even foodies. But we were dumbfounded that this is where a social democratic leader would bring American lefty guests.
Maybe, come the revolution, the entire proletariat will eat slime on a rock and reindeer penis. Let’s hope not. | |||||
correct_leader_00102 | FactBench | 1 | 16 | https://press.un.org/en/2000/20000626.db062600.doc.html | en | DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL | https://press.un.org/themes/custom/un3_press/favicon.ico | https://press.un.org/themes/custom/un3_press/favicon.ico | [
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] | null | [] | 2000-06-26T12:00:00+00:00 | 26 June 2000 Press Briefing DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL 20000626 The following is a near-verbatim transcript of todays noon briefing by Manoel de Almeida e Silva, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General. **Noon Guest and Briefing | en | /themes/custom/un3_press/favicon.ico | https://press.un.org/en/2000/20000626.db062600.doc.html | 26 June 2000
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
20000626
The following is a near-verbatim transcript of todays noon briefing by Manoel de Almeida e Silva, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General.
**Noon Guest and Briefing
Good afternoon. Hoping to set a new trend, we wont be too late in starting these briefings from now on. Today, the guest at the noon briefing will be Ian McFarlane, Policy Specialist at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), who will be here to talk to you about A Better World for All, a report on poverty reduction which was launched by the Secretary-General in Geneva today. Ill have more detail as I go on with the briefing.
Also, following the briefing today at 12:30 p.m., well have a background briefing by a senior United Nations official on southern Lebanon. Delegations are invited to watch the briefing in reviewing room number 4 located in the first basement.
**Secretary-Generals Travels
As I reported last Friday, the Secretary-General left the Middle East and went to Europe, where he arrived in the early evening Friday in Basel, Switzerland. That city was hosting the Childrens World Festival, in which families of the region hosted 2,000 children aged 13 and 14 from over 80 countries. The Secretary-General addressed the closing session of the conference, urging the young people to take risks for peace. You will be amazed how much you can achieve by acting with others, he said. All of us as individuals and groups can make a difference. The conference closed with thousands of young people waving lighters in the darkened hall singing, Give Peace a Chance.
Following that, the Secretary-General went to Geneva, where his last appointment of the day was with his Special Representative for East Timor, Sergio Vieira de Mello, who, as I announced before, is in New York this week and will be briefing the Council, and also the press. Going back to the Secretary-Generals activities, yesterday, Sunday, he attended an inter-religious service at St. Peters Cathedral in Geneva. In the afternoon, he addressed the opening of the Geneva 2000 forum, which is the gathering of non-governmental organizations meeting parallel with the General Assembly special session on social development, which opened earlier today in Geneva, as well. The Secretary-General told the participants of the Geneva 2000 forum, you and I will be delivering very similar messages to the official delegations. We will be reminding them that economic growth is not mainly about numbers, but also about people, their health, their education and their security. The full text of his speech is available in our Office upstairs.
Today in Geneva, the Secretary-General formally opened the special session of the General Assembly on social development, called to review progress on the agenda adopted at the First Social Summit in Copenhagen five years ago. He called on both rich and poor countries to do their parts. He asked the rich to further open their markets, provide deeper and faster debt relief, and give more and better-focused development aid because they cannot be indifferent to the social
Daily Press Briefing - 2 - 26 June 2000
conditions in which so many people in poor countries live. The Secretary-General then had a series of bilateral meetings. He started with the Deputy Prime Minister of China, Wen Jiabao, with whom he discussed the Social Summit and other issues. He also met with the Speaker of the Parliament of Iraq, Saadoun Hammadi, who raised with him issues related to the sanctions regime against Iraq. He also met privately with the President of Zambia, Frederick Chiluba.
At midday, he co-hosted, with the President of the special session, Theo-Ben Gurirab of Namibia, a luncheon for the heads of State and government attending the session. In the afternoon, he continued his bilateral meetings. He met with Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, the Prime Minister of Denmark, the country that hosted the First Social Summit. They discussed issues related to the special session and how it would relate to the Millennium session in September. He then had a private meeting with the Foreign Minister of Libya, Abdurrahmam Shalghem.
After that, at about 4 p.m. Geneva time, the Secretary-General participated in a press conference to launch a new report, A Better World for All, which claims that world poverty can be significantly decreased by the year 2015 if both developed and developing countries make good on their commitment to attack the roots of poverty. The report was co-authored by the United Nations, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). It is an unprecedented collaborative effort. In his opening statement, the Secretary-General said this report, originally requested by the G-8 countries, produced a common understanding, a score card and policy road map with which to measure progress in banishing extreme poverty from our world, and in achieving the targets set by the world conferences of the past decade. Well have a transcript of his press conference soon upstairs.
**Security Council
Before leaving Geneva for Warsaw, which hell do in about an hour, the Secretary-General, for the first time ever, participated by teleconference in informal consultations of the Security Council, which are taking place here in New York. That was on the Middle East, in particular the southern Lebanon situation. He briefed Council members on his trip to the region and fielded a number of questions.
Here in New York, following the part of the consultations with the Secretary-General on the Middle East, the Security Council continued in consultations, and the topic was Angola. The Council was briefed by the Special Adviser of the Secretary-General for Special Assignments in Africa, Ibrahim Gambari, who reported on his recent visit to Angola at the end of last month.
**Sierra Leone Representative in New York
Continuing now on Africa, on Sierra Leone, Oluyemi Adeniji, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Sierra Leone, is leaving today from Conakry, Guinea, for New York, where he is expected to arrive tomorrow. Mr. Adeniji will be holding meetings this week with senior United Nations officials at Headquarters. The situation in Sierra Leone remains calm, but unpredictable, with troops from the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) reinforcing key positions, including the Mile 91 area, where an estimated 35,000 internally displaced persons have gathered. Humanitarian agencies are looking into the possibility of building camps for those displaced persons after United Nations peacekeepers have strengthened the security in the area.
Yesterday, an exhumation team arrived at Rogberi Junction to examine the remains of United Nations peacekeepers who had died and been buried during fighting in that area in May. Forensic teams visited two sites and did a considerable amount of work, but will need to return. Also yesterday, UNAMSIL was able to provide rations to the 222 Indian peacekeepers and 11 military observers surrounded by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) at Kailahun and the 21 Indian peacekeepers detained at Pendembu. There has been no change in those two groups' condition since the 21 detainees were moved late last week to an abandoned International Committee of the Red Cross compound at Pendembu.
**Kosovo
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Kosovo, Bernard Kouchner, today strongly condemned the violence which occurred on Friday night when a large crowd of Kosovo Serbs entered Strpce municipality building, which houses the offices of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and smashed and destroyed everything in sight. The Kosovo Force (KFOR) Information Centre and the Registration Centres were also ransacked. The acts of vandalism against UNMIK and KFOR property followed the demonstrations in the municipality over the disappearance of a Kosovo Serb shepherd from Susice village.
Also, on Sunday, Kouchner welcomed the decision taken by the Serb National Council to rejoin Kosovos Interim Administrative Council (IAC) and Transitional Council (KTC) as observers after a temporary suspension of a couple of weeks. He said this courageous action will allow the Kosovo Serb representatives to once again play their rightful role in building a democratic, peaceful and tolerant Kosovo. More details are available in the notes we have from UNMIK in our Office.
**East Timor
Moving to the other side of the world now, to East Timor, the Prosecutors in that territory handed over the criminal files concerning investigations into so- called serious crimes, and these were handed to the Judicial Affairs Department of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET). The Prosecutors did this to respond to regulation 2000/15, which states that serious crimes, such as genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, will be prosecuted by a special panel within the Dili District Court. This panel is part of the East Timorese Judiciary and is comprised of both East Timorese and international judges. The local prosecutors and the civilian police have already carried out extensive work, and many of the cases are ready for indictment. Once the panel is established, indictments can be expected very soon.
**OECD Forum
This morning, Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette participated in OECD Forum 2000 in Paris, a meeting gathering ministers, business leaders and civil society on the broad theme of partnerships in the new economy. In her remarks, the Deputy Secretary-General highlighted the Global Compact and the growing importance for the United Nations system of partnerships with non-State actors. The United Nations cannot and does not want to usurp the role of other actors on the world stage, but to become a more effective catalyst for change and coordination among them, she said. Copies of her speech are available in our Office.
**Disarmament Commission Opens
Here in New York this morning, in Conference Room 4, was the beginning of the meeting of the Disarmament Commission. The meeting, chaired by Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, heard a statement by Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs Jayantha Dhanapala. The text is available in our Office upstairs. In addition to nuclear disarmament, the Commission's meetings this year are also to discuss practical confidence-building measures regarding conventional arms. On that topic, the Under-Secretary-General noted one recent report citing evidence that global arms expenditures have once again started to rise, and may have increased by more than 2 per cent in real terms last year.
**UNAIDS Report
A new United Nations report estimates that over one third of todays 15-year-olds will die of AIDS in the worst-affected countries. The latest Report on the Global HIV Epidemic, which includes a country-by-country update on the global epidemic, was prepared by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and will be released tomorrow in advance of the thirteenth International AIDS Conference being held in Durban, South Africa, from 9 to 14 July. We have embargoed press releases upstairs in our Office.
**Headquarters Activities
This afternoon at 3 oclock, Kensaku Hogen, Under-Secretary-General for Communication and Public Information, will receive on behalf of the Secretary- General a copy of the Olympic Torch to be used to open the 2000 Olympic Games. Hell receive the torch from Michael Knight, Minister of State of New South Wales, Australia, where, as you know, the Olympics will be held. The presentation is expected to take place outdoors near the Japanese Peace Bell. Also today, at 1 oclock this afternoon, will be the beginning of the Peace Walk marking United Nations Charter Day. It will take place in the United Nations Garden right outside.
**Budget
My last two notes before we go on to our guest today are on the budget. We have received two more payments to the regular budget for the year 2000. Croatia and Myanmar have become the ninety-third and ninety-fourth Member States to make their full payment to this year's regular budget. Croatia gave us a check for close to $315,000 and Myanmar a check for about $84,000.
**Press Conference Tomorrow
Tomorrow, therell be a press conference at 11:15 a.m. here in this room. It will be by Jargalsaikhany Enkhsaikhan of Mongolia. He will hold a press conference on the effects of the drought in Mongolia. A video produced by the Department of Public Information will be screened at the same press conference.
Are there any questions before we move onto our guest?
**Questions and Answers
Question: On East Timor, what kinds of numbers are we talking about for the prosecutions?
Deputy Spokesman: I dont think we have numbers yet. I think once the first indictments start being announced, well have a clearer understanding from the Judicial Affairs people.
Question: In Kinshasa, of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Laurent Kabila closed down the office of the Neutral Facilitator, Mr. Mesire. Does the United Nations have a position on that?
Deputy Spokesman: We have expressed our concern about the closure of that office, which happened last week. We expressed it to the Government, and it was reported to the Security Council on Friday, as well. As you know, the Facilitators office is a mechanism organized by the Organization of African Unity (OAU), but we have expressed our reaction to it.
Question: A few hours ago, the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of Great Britain announced a scientific breakthrough in the study of human genomes. Was the Secretary-General briefed on that?
Deputy Spokesman: Ill check into that and come back to you.
**New Staff
Before we move to our guest, Id like to make an announcement. We have a new colleague whos joined us in the Spokesmans Office today. His name is Stephane Dujarric from France. Hell be replacing Hannah Yilma, who has been with us for a number of months doing a wonderful job in our Office. Stephane has worked for ABC Television for many years. Youll be having more contact with him after his first week of briefings. Next week, hell start dealing directly with you. Welcome Stephane.
* *** * | |||
correct_leader_00102 | FactBench | 1 | 41 | https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/entertainment/national/story/2020-07-15/danish-prime-minister-gets-wedding-on-third-scheduling-try/ | en | Danish prime minister gets wedding on third scheduling try | [
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"Jari Tanner",
"Migration Temp"
] | 2020-07-15T00:00:00 | HELSINKI — Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has managed to get married after her wedding was postponed and then rescheduled due to a busy first year in office that included the coronavirus pandemic. Danish media reported that Frederiksen, 42, married filmmaker and photographer Bo Tengberg, 55, Wednesday at the medieval Magleby Church on Moen island in southeastern […] | en | San Diego Union-Tribune | https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/entertainment/national/story/2020-07-15/danish-prime-minister-gets-wedding-on-third-scheduling-try/ | HELSINKI — Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has managed to get married after her wedding was postponed and then rescheduled due to a busy first year in office that included the coronavirus pandemic.
Danish media reported that Frederiksen, 42, married filmmaker and photographer Bo Tengberg, 55, Wednesday at the medieval Magleby Church on Moen island in southeastern Denmark.
Frederiksen published a photo from the wedding on her Facebook page with only the word “ja” – Danish for yes — and a heart. The picture shows the smiling newlyweds coming out of the church.
Danish tabloid Ekstra Bladet called the couple’s nuptials “a secret wedding” with only a handful of invited quests present, including former Danish Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen.
Frederiksen was sworn in as Denmark’s youngest ever prime minister on June 27, 2019, becoming the second woman to hold the post.
She postponed her and Tengberg’s wedding last year because of the June 5 national election that ended up putting her Social Democratic Party in charge of a minority government.
Frederiksen announced last month she would need to reschedule her wedding a second time because it conflicted with a European Union summit this week. | |||||
correct_leader_00102 | FactBench | 0 | 76 | https://www.thetimes.com/article/private-equity-plays-with-fire-in-denmark-l5vtdg58cp5 | en | Private equity plays with fire in Denmark | [
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] | null | [
"Ian King"
] | 2010-09-30T00:01:00+00:00 | Poul Nyrup Rasmussen would win no popularity contests among private equity executives and hedge fund managers. The Socialist MEP and former Danish Prime Minister was the architect of the EU’s | en | /store/favicon-32x32.png | https://www.thetimes.com/article/private-equity-plays-with-fire-in-denmark-l5vtdg58cp5 | Poul Nyrup Rasmussen would win no popularity contests among private equity executives and hedge fund managers. The Socialist MEP and former Danish Prime Minister was the architect of the EU’s controversial Alternative Investment Fund Managers directive, which, as drafted, would stop EU-based investors from putting their money in many parts of the two industries.
His antipathy dates back to 2005 when TDC, the country’s leading telecoms operator, was bought by a consortium of private equity firms including Apax, Blackstone, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Permira in what was then Europe’s biggest leveraged buyout. Getting on for 90 per cent of the £10.2 billion purchase price was borrowed and secured on the assets of TDC, whose credit rating, after the takeover, was promptly downgraded.
Now a sale | |||||
correct_leader_00102 | FactBench | 2 | 38 | https://www.politico.eu/article/denmarks-new-champ-anders-fogh-rasmussen/ | en | Denmark’s new champ: Anders Fogh Rasmussen | [
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"European Voice Staff"
] | 2001-11-28T16:00:00+00:00 | Gareth Harding | en | https://www.politico.eu/wp-content/themes/politico/assets/images/favicon/favicon.ico | POLITICO | https://www.politico.eu/article/denmarks-new-champ-anders-fogh-rasmussen/ | IF YOU thought EU politics was confusing, try this for size: last week’s elections in Denmark were fought between two candidates called Rasmussen. In the red corner stood the EU’s longest-serving leader Poul Nyrup Rasmussen; in the blue was his Liberal challenger Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who gave his rival a real pasting.
The new heavyweight champion of Denmark is the leader of Venstre, which means ‘left’ in Danish but has been the country’s Liberal party for over a century. To add to the confusion, the Liberals are to the right of their Conservative coalition partners on most issues and would sit comfortably alongside any European Christian Democrat party.
Then you have Fogh Rasmussen himself. For most of his 23 years in politics, the newly-appointed prime minister has been a right-wing ideologue in Danish terms. He even wrote a book, From Social State to Minimal State, in which he described the welfare state as “developing a slave mentality in the people”.
However, as with Belgian premier Guy Verhofstadt – who was once nicknamed ‘baby Thatcher’ by his enemies – the economics graduate realised that to win the keys of office you have to seduce the political centre. So when Fogh Rasmussen took over the party reins from former foreign minister Uffe Elleman Jensen in 1998, he started to ditch the hard-nosed, neo-liberal rhetoric for more cuddly issues like the environment and social affairs.
Cartoonists have had a field day depicting Fogh Rasmussen as a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Danish Socialist MEP Helle Thorning-Schmidt thinks the analogy is entirely appropriate.
“A fairly right-wing party has disguised themselves as Social Democrats and won the middle ground,” she says with disgust.
Fogh Rasmussen’s pick-and-mix approach to politics might not have pleased political purists, but it certainly wooed the Danish electorate. In the
20 November election, which was rashly called by the former PM to capitalise on his post-11 September popularity, the Liberal Party and its centre-right supporters won 98 out of 179 seats in the Danish parliament.
This was not just a victory, it was a political landslide. For the first time since 1920 the Social Democrats failed to emerge as the largest party, while the Liberals notched up their biggest share of the vote in over 80 years.
Listening to the reaction of Europe’s political élite, one would have thought a palace coup had taken place
in Copenhagen.
No one quoted Marcellus’ famous line in Hamlet – “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark” – but William Shakespeare’s words were at the back of everyone’s minds. “It’s clear I’m worried,” said Sweden’s Prime Minister Göran Persson. “We now see a government that will be forced to prop itself up with anti-foreigner ideas.”
Fogh Rasmussen calmed some fears on Tuesday by refusing to offer the Danish People’s Party any cabinet posts in his minority government. However, on contentious issues such as trimming welfare, curbing immigration and putting a ceiling on taxes, Fogh Rasmussen may be forced to rely on them to secure a majority.
On the campaign trail, the Liberal leader pandered to the type of xenophobic hysteria whipped up by Pia Kjærsgaard’s DPP party, which doubled its seats in the poll. He has bluntly stated that “we have to make stricter laws so that fewer foreigners come to Denmark” and vowed to push through legislation requiring immigrants to live in the country for seven years before they are granted full access to welfare.
A sign of the seriousness with which he takes the issue is the appointment of Liberal MEP Bertel Haarder to the newly-created post of minister for immigration and European affairs.
However, it would be wrong to view Fogh Rasmussen as a rabble-rousing populist in the Jörg Haider mould. He also likes to pose as a guardian of the welfare state and when it comes to the highly divisive issue of Europe there is little to distinguish the Liberals from their centre-left rivals. Both are in favour of the euro, speedy enlargement of the EU, strict environmental laws and greater openness in the Union’s institutions.
That said, Fogh Rasmussen is probably the more free-thinking man when it comes to EU reform. He wants to get rid of the Common Agricultural Policy as it currently exists, reduce structural and cohesion fund hand-outs, limit EU busy-bodying in areas such as cultural and tourism policy, put in place a Commissioner for subsidiarity and create a council of national parliaments made up of MPs. But it is on the issue of European Parliament reform where Fogh Rasmussen really comes into his own. He describes the current farce of shuttling between Brussels and Strasbourg as an “embarrassment” and favours moving the whole parliamentary road-show to the Belgian capital.
His party also wants to give MEPs the right to sack individual Commissioners and co-decide in all areas where EU governments vote by qualified majority.
Of course, it’s easier to be radical in opposition than in government, but Fogh Rasmussen’s refreshing ideas are certain to add some spice to the rather bland ‘Future of Europe’ dish that is currently being cooked up by
EU leaders.
When it comes to European issues, the new PM will certainly be no pushover. He signed the Maastricht Treaty for Denmark and has sat through his fair share of late-night meetings as minister for taxation and finance.
However, his country’s presidency of the EU, which starts in July 2002, looks set to be the ultimate test for the dark-haired Dane. It will be during his stint at the Union’s helm that the final hurdles towards enlargement will have to be overcome. With elections looming in France and Spain holding the presidency during the first half of next year, it is unlikely there will be much progress on the two key issues of agriculture and structural funds until the summer. And in December 2002, the EU is slated to draw up its ten-year plan for fisheries policy. As Denmark has one of the largest fishing industries in the Union, expect the sort of cod-war usually found in the pages of Asterix.
When Fogh Rasmussen presented his slimmed-down cabinet to Queen Margrethe on Tuesday, it was a just reward for a lifetime of political activism. One of the few colourful anecdotes about the youthful-looking 48-year-old is that when he was a child he used to play a board game called Politics in which he always bagged the role of prime minister.
The political bug failed to go away. The farmer’s son from Jutland helped found the Young Liberals at Viborg Cathedral School and midway through his economics degree at Århus University he became leader of his party’s youth wing.
At the tender age of 25, Fogh Rasmussen became Denmark’s youngest MP and less than a decade later he was minister for taxes. He stayed in the job for five years before resigning for dodgy book-keeping. To this day it is the only blemish on his whiter-than-white record.
Fogh Rasmussen is happily married with three children, drinks moderately – the only exception was a bender in Brussels, which he blamed on his mates – and looks as dependable as a regional bank manager.
MEP Thorning-Schmidt says “the only interesting thing about the guy is that he is uninteresting”. European Liberals’ general-secretary Bo Jensen, who has known the new PM for more than 25 years, disagrees. While admitting that Fogh Rasmussen is a “political animal”, he adds that it would be “unfair to describe him as a political machine”.
He has a house in the foothills of the Pyrenées, where he likes to eat and drink well with close friends and goes jogging for an hour every day.
He is seen as one of Denmark’s more charismatic political figures, but a man of the people he is not. Serious and cerebral, he is known for his sharp mind rather than his moving oratory and his control-freakery rather than his back-slapping bonhomie.
This might not make him as immediately likeable as his predecessor as party chief, the quick-witted Elleman Jensen, but few politicians are in the trade to be liked. The more honourable of their ilk will say they are there to make a difference. Few doubt that Fogh Rasmussen will and that is probably the greatest compliment you can pay him. | ||||
correct_leader_00102 | FactBench | 3 | 1 | https://clubmadrid.org/who/members/nyrup-rasmussen-poul/ | en | Poul Nyrup Rasmussen Prime Minister Denmark, Club de Madrid Member | [
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] | null | [] | 2017-10-20T13:00:30+00:00 | Poul Nyrup Rasmussen is the former Prime Minister of Denmark (1993-2001) and a current Full Member of the Club de Madrid. | en | Club de Madrid | https://clubmadrid.org/who/members/nyrup-rasmussen-poul/ | Date and Place of Birth:
15 June 1943, Esbjerg (Denmark).
Education:
Poul Nyrup Rasmussen holds a Degree in Economics from the University of Copenhagen (1971).
Professional Experience:
Mr. Rasmussen has been Chief economist of the Danish Trade Union Council from 1980-1986. From 1986-1988, he worked as the managing director of the Employees Capital Pension Fund, as chairman of Lalandia Invest, and as a member of the Executive Board of Euroventures Nordica y Dansk Erhvervsinvestering.
Political Career:
Poul Nyrup Rasmussen became leader of the Danish Social Democrats in 1992 and was a Member of the Danish Parliament from 1988 to 2004. He became Prime Minister of Denmark in 1993 and held office until 2001. One of the main achievements of his government was the substantial reduction of unemployment through measures which successfully combined labour market flexibility and social security. This made the ‘Danish model’ of the 1990’s a blueprint for many other countries. He held the Presidency of the European Union in 1993.
Mr. Rasmussen has been President of the Party of European Socialists (PES), which brings together the Socialist, Social Democratic and Labour parties of the European Union, since 2004 and President of the Global Progressive Forum since 2003. He was a Member of the European Parliament from 2004 to 2009 where he headed the Danish Social Democratic Delegation, and was a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and a substitute in the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs. | |||||
correct_leader_00102 | FactBench | 1 | 94 | https://www.linkedin.com/posts/suramya-gupta-3760b41_the-why-the-try-of-tribe-capital-activity-7159381137784557568-UXwi | en | Suramya Gupta on LinkedIn: The Why, The Try of Tribe Capital | https://static.licdn.com/aero-v1/sc/h/c45fy346jw096z9pbphyyhdz7 | https://static.licdn.com/aero-v1/sc/h/c45fy346jw096z9pbphyyhdz7 | [
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"Suramya Gupta"
] | 2024-02-03T03:04:38.086000+00:00 | Brilliant deep dive by Arjun Sethi on the genesis of Tribe Capital and what continues to be drive his team.
https://lnkd.in/gfPVtwkX | en | https://static.licdn.com/aero-v1/sc/h/al2o9zrvru7aqj8e1x2rzsrca | https://www.linkedin.com/posts/suramya-gupta-3760b41_the-why-the-try-of-tribe-capital-activity-7159381137784557568-UXwi | Thanks DealStreetAsia for picking this up. I am happy to announce that we have acquired a substantial majority stake in Milvik Bima through CapitalSG. Milvik Bima is one of the leading digital health and insurance companies across global emerging markets. Gustaf Agartson and Mathilda Strom have built a brilliant business that already touches the lives of 20 million consumers in Asia and Africa. We look forward to working closely with Bima’s Founders and Management to help scale the business further and to build a profitable, sustainable business. We are also delighted that LeapFrog Investments continues to support Bima and has co-invested with us. There are 2 Billion emerging consumers in Asia and Africa who don’t have adequate affordable access to healthcare. Bima is working hard to solve this problem. CapitalSG is honored to be a part of this endeavor. Gustaf Agartson, Mathilda Strom, Stewart Langdon, Fatin Mattar, Michelle Nijun Duan, Bratindra Chakravorty, Mitar Milic, Mafaz Mazeen, Gibron Khalil Mirza, Damien Gueroult, Rotha Leang, Balaji Jayavelu, Harish K.
Back in 2016, we took a call to focus our VC investments in the Fintech sector in Emerging Asia. It was a relatively narrow niche then. Happily my anchor LPs (FMO Holland and SBI Holdings Japan) supported the decision. And they gave me the opportunity to build an initial Fintech portfolio over the next few years. I am delighted to see how far the Emerging Asian Fintech Sector has come in the last 5 years and the quality of the Fintech companies emerging from the region. We have been extremely selective in our investments, but I also think we got quite lucky with both the sector and the timing. While most of the companies in our Fintech portfolio are doing well, I will discuss them some other day. Today is NIUM’s day! As you must have read, Nium is now a Fintech Unicorn – a rare beast in SE Asia. What an incredible journey for a company that was started just 7 years back! I can talk about Nium's leadership or its marquee investor base. And I can talk about the resilience that Nium’s global teams have demonstrated over the last 18 months of covid. But to me the most attractive thing about Nium continues to be the massive size of the opportunity. Nium has grown from a small startup into a unicorn in 7 years – and I am convinced that the company could easily be 10-20x larger in the next few years. As a Singapore VC, its not often that you get to be involved in building a global product and brand. So kudos to Prajit Nanu and the entire NIUM team for giving us this opportunity. Looking forward to the next 5 years of this journey! Prajit Nanu Pratik Gandhi Jaap Reinking Marieke Roestenberg Arno de Vette Vivek Badgamia Makoto Miyazaki Ronald Janse Jeppe Christiansen Kasper Svarrer David A. Paradiso https://lnkd.in/giETbcQ | |||
correct_leader_00102 | FactBench | 2 | 79 | https://www.socialeurope.eu/europe-must-place-sustainable-well-being-for-all-at-its-heart | en | Europe must place sustainable well-being for all at its heart | [
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] | 2018-12-10T05:00:54+01:00 | What is at stake in the next European elections is whether or not our generations will be able to place the sustainable well-being of everyone at the very core of our common European project, | en | Social Europe | https://www.socialeurope.eu/europe-must-place-sustainable-well-being-for-all-at-its-heart | In six months, millions of Europeans will go to the ballot box to choose the next European Parliament (EP). Nationalists and self-proclaimed progressives have already designated this election as a confrontation between democrats and autocrats, and between pro- and anti-Europeans. This is not what this election is about, and it is not by demonising those who may be tempted to cast their vote for nationalist and extremist parties that those parties and their shallow politics will be defeated.
What is at stake in the next European elections is whether or not our generations will be able to place the sustainable well-being of everyone at the very core of our common European project, of our policies and of our actions. This is the challenge all of our European countries signed up to three years ago at the United Nations headquarters in New York – by agreeing to place their future policies from that moment onwards into the framework of the UN Sustainable Development Goals to be achieved by 2030. However, this is not what has happened so far.
What is at stake, therefore, is whether those who will take their seat for five years in the next EP, whether those who will run the next European Commission, and whether our national governments, will live up to the common economic, social and ecological urgencies our societies are facing. Will their common decisions and policies be capable of radically reversing current trends towards authoritarian nationalism, greater inequalities and the continued destruction of our planet?
What is at stake is whether our societies will be able to commit themselves to making a different future than the one we are moving into right now. Without radical change, our societies will continue to leave entire territories and millions of people behind; ever more wealth created by everyone will be channelled into the hands of the few; working conditions will deteriorate; and climate change and other forms of environmental degradations will fuel ever more social injustice. Our democracies will not resist such inaction.
Vision for a different future
We need to build a different future through a profoundly fair and sustainable society. In this form of society, democracies are solid and people are empowered to make their voice heard, as citizens and through strong representations, in particular trade unions and non-governmental organisations. Companies are accountable for the economic, social and environmental impact of their activity, including banks and other financial actors. A large part of the economy is composed of firms with a profound commitment towards wider social and environmental goals. Tax systems are both fair and efficient, ensuring that everyone contributes duly to the financing of a well-functioning society. Public policies are there to ensure that technological change brings new progress to everyone, not only to a minority.
Nobody is in poverty, suffering from severe material deprivation or social exclusion. All children have a guaranteed right to live in dignity, and to quality education, supported by a European child guarantee. Nobody earns less than a living wage, ensuring a decent life for all working families. Quality housing is affordable and accessible to everyone. Decent working conditions and representation through a trade union are inalienable rights. Young and long-term unemployed benefit from strong public support to find a new job or to access quality training within a short amount of time. Income and wealth inequalities are lower, and they are within socially and economically acceptable limits. Women are guaranteed equal rights and equal pay for equal work, and can play their full part in all aspects of society. No territory is left behind, as more effective regional policies succeed in helping them to develop their full potential. Industrial changes needed to fight climate change and put an end to other environmental degradations take place within just transitions. Welfare systems are equipped to prevent environmental inequalities and to address climate change consequences in order to avoid new social inequality, and environmental policy becomes a source of new social progress.
In order to frame this radically new policy approach, European and national policies will target explicit, sustainable well-being goals, which contain key economic, social and environmental objectives and indicators. Today’s budgetary rules become part of a much wider Sustainable Development Pact, which will guide policy action in accordance with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
This form of society is not utopian. We can start to build it now. The Independent Commission for Sustainable Equality, which we co-chair, has formulated more than one hundred policy actions needed to change European society in a way that will achieve sustainable well-being for everyone. Progressive political forces now need to take the lead and unite around a radical agenda for change. | |||||
correct_leader_00102 | FactBench | 3 | 35 | https://kids.kiddle.co/Anders_Fogh_Rasmussen | en | Anders Fogh Rasmussen facts for kids | [
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] | null | [] | null | Learn Anders Fogh Rasmussen facts for kids | en | /images/wk/favicon-16x16.png | https://kids.kiddle.co/Anders_Fogh_Rasmussen | Anders Fogh Rasmussen S.K. (Danish pronunciation: [ˈɑnɐs ˈfɔwˀ ˈʁɑsmusn̩]; born 26 January 1953) is a Danish politician who was the 24th Prime Minister of Denmark from November 2001 to April 2009 and the 12th Secretary General of NATO from August 2009 to October 2014. He became CEO of political consultancy Rasmussen Global and founded the Alliance of Democracies Foundation. He serves as a senior adviser to Citigroup. He also served as a senior advisor at The Boston Consulting Group.
Rasmussen was first elected to the Folketing in 1978 and served in various ministerial positions, including Minister of Tax (1987–1992) and Minister of Economic Affairs (1990–1992). In his early career, Rasmussen was a strident critic of the welfare state, writing the classical liberal book From Social State to Minimal State in 1993. However, his views moved towards the political centre through the 1990s. He was elected the leader of the conservative-liberal party Venstre in 1998 and headed a centre-right coalition with the Conservative People's Party which took office in November 2001 and won its second and third terms in February 2005 and in November 2007. Rasmussen's government relied on the Danish People's Party for support, keeping with the Danish tradition of minority government.
His government introduced tougher limits on immigration and a freeze on tax rates (skattestoppet in Danish). Certain taxes were lowered, but his coalition partners in the Conservative People's Party repeatedly argued for more tax cuts and a flat tax rate at no higher than 50%. Rasmussen's government implemented an administrative reform reducing the number of municipalities (kommuner) and replacing the thirteen counties (amter) with five regions which he referred to as "the biggest reform in thirty years". He authored several books about taxation and government structure.
He resigned as Prime Minister in April 2009 to become Secretary General of NATO, a military alliance that was expanding into Eastern Europe. He aggressively pushed NATO in new directions that extended far beyond the traditional roles of containment of the USSR and directing the Cold War in Europe. His term ended 30 September 2014.
He became a private consultant on the international stage. He is a Senior Network Member at the European Leadership Network (ELN).
Personal life
Rasmussen was born in 1953 in Ginnerup, Jutland, Denmark, to farmer Knud Rasmussen and Martha Rasmussen (née Fogh). His surname is Rasmussen, while Fogh, his mother's maiden name, is his middle name and not considered part of his last name. He is correctly referred to as Rasmussen (not Fogh Rasmussen), unless his full name (including his given name) is used. In Danish media and society, he has often been popularly referred to as Fogh Rasmussen, or merely Anders Fogh, when not referred to by his full name, mainly to distinguish him from other prominent politicians in the country with the same family name.
He matriculated in languages and social studies from Viborg Cathedral School, in 1969–1972. and studied economics at the University of Aarhus, graduating in 1978. He has been active in politics most of his life and has authored several books about taxation and government structure. He and his wife Anne-Mette (born 1958) married in 1978 and have three children: Henrik Fogh Rasmussen (born 1979), Maria (born 1981) and Christina (born 1984). Rasmussen also has six grandchildren.
As an amateur cyclist, Rasmussen completed part of the notorious Alpe d'Huez stage of the 2008 Tour de France the day after the professional race took place. His attendance at Le Tour was at the invitation of Danish former cyclist Bjarne Riis.
He is of no relation to either his predecessor Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, nor his successor Lars Løkke Rasmussen as Prime Minister of Denmark.
He received the America Award of the Italy-USA Foundation in 2017.
Early political career
He has held positions in government and opposition throughout his career, first winning a seat in the Folketing (Danish parliament) in 1978.
Politics
In general, Rasmussen is in favour of centralisation, privatisation and limiting the size of government.
Rasmussen wrote the book From Social State to Minimal State (Danish: Fra socialstat til minimalstat) in 1993, in which he advocated an extensive reform of the Danish welfare system along classic liberal lines. In particular, he favours lower taxes and less government interference in corporate and individual matters. In 1993 he was awarded the Adam Smith award by the libertarian society Libertas, partly because of this book.
Resignation as Minister of Taxation
From 1987 to 1990 he was Minister for Taxation and from 1990 Minister for Economy and Taxation in the Conservative-led Poul Schlüter government.
In 1992 Rasmussen resigned from his ministerial posts after a report from a commission of inquiry had decided that he had provided the Folketing with inaccurate and incomplete information regarding his decision to postpone payment of several bills from Regnecentralen and Kommunedata from one accounting year to the next. Rasmussen disagreed with the findings of the commission, but faced with the threat of a motion of no confidence, he left his posts voluntarily.
2001 election
His Liberal (Venstre) Party won power in the November 2001 election, defeating the Social Democratic government of Poul Nyrup Rasmussen and enabling him to form his first cabinet. That election marked a dramatic change in Danish politics. It was the first time since 1920 that the Social Democratic Party lost its position as the largest party in the Folketing (parliament), mainly due to a loss of working class votes to Dansk Folkeparti (The Danish People's Party).
Prime Minister of Denmark
Following the 2001 election, Venstre formed a government in a parliamentary coalition with the Conservative People's Party to form a minority government with the parliamentary support of Dansk Folkeparti. Together these three parties survived both the 2005 election and the 2007 election.
After becoming Prime Minister, Rasmussen distanced himself from his earlier writings and announced the death of neoliberalism during the national elections of 2005. Commonly regarded to have been inspired by the success of Tony Blair, Rasmussen now seemed more in favour of the theories of Anthony Giddens and his third way. There was talk in Libertas of revoking Fogh Rasmussen's award as a result of this, though this never happened.
His government enacted tough measures designed to limit the number of immigrants coming to Denmark, specifically as asylum seekers or through arranged marriages. However, his governments depended on the support of Dansk Folkeparti, and it is impossible to draw a clear dividing line between his personal ideology and the required compromises with Dansk Folkeparti.
Tax reform
After the 2001 elections, Venstre banned all tax increases. Venstre campaigned by claiming that taxes had been growing constantly during the previous eight years under the Social Democrats. While the overall tax burden was more or less unchanged from 1993 until 2001, there was a shift from the taxation of income, both corporate and personal, to a personal consumption (especially through the "ecological taxes" (da. grønne afgifter)), which gave the average citizen the impression of rising taxes.
This "tax stop" was criticised by left wing parties, allegedly for being "antisocial" and "only for the rich." Since the tax stop also froze the tax on real property (da. ejendomsværdiskat, 1%), it was beneficial to homeowners in densely populated regions that had experienced rising real estate values. The property tax was set at a nominal level – not at a relative level. While the rate was one percent when the tax stop was enacted, the rate is much less today when recent increases in property value (+20%/p.a. in large cities) are considered. The Danish Economic Council criticized this as unfairly benefiting current homeowners.
Even though the total tax burden was marginally higher in 2005 than in 2001, the tax stop was popular among voters. Thus, in January 2005, the Social Democrats announced that they accepted the principle of a tax stop until at least one right-wing party was willing to participate in tax reform.
The tax stop has, however, been ineffective, judging by Venstre's intentions. Its goal was to halt the growth of public expenditures (and halt the growth of taxes), but even with cuts in public spending (which were considered aggressive by the political left wing), overall spending continued to rise by approximately one percentage point above inflation each year.
From 2004 and onwards, minor tax cuts came into effect, on two accounts:
People with jobs got a 3% tax reduction on the 5.5% "bottom tax" (da. bundskat).
An "employment deduction" (da. beskæftigelsesfradrag) was introduced. This initiative was to encourage people to get off welfare and take jobs instead.
The bottom limit of the "middle tax" (da. mellemskat) of 6%, was raised by 12.000 DKK every year, over the next four years. This was supposed to limit the income stresses of middle incomes and families with children.
In 2009 a major tax reform was implemented. The overall marginal tax rate was reduced by 7.5%. In the end, the top tax rate (topskatten) was not changed, but the income level at which it applied was raised. This had the effect of removing 350,000 Danes from the top tax bracket. The medium tax rate was eliminated, and the lowest was reduced by 1.5%. Various other tax reforms were enacted such as an increase in the old age pension, incentives for renovation, and various initiatives designed to improve energy efficiency. Finance Minister, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, called it the biggest reduction in the marginal tax rate since the introduction of income tax in 1903. In 2009 tax revenue was 777,375 million Krone. It had grown to 831,172 million in 2011, 901,001 million in 2013, 954,473 million in 2015, and 995,058 million in 2017. It's important to note that from 2011 to 2015 Social Democrat Helle Thorning-Schmidt was the prime minister, however, she passed a tax-reform with support from the liberal-conservative opposition. It raised the top tax threshold, effectively lowering tax rates for high income earners.
2002 EU Presidency
Rasmussen held the rotating presidency of the European Union from July to December 2002, proving his dedication to a pro-EU agenda and the guiding principles of the Ellemann-Jensen doctrine. He pursued this to its logical conclusion by publicly denouncing the Danish collaboration policy during its second World War occupation, the first official apology on behalf of Denmark for this.
War in Iraq
See also: The letter of the eight
As Prime Minister, Rasmussen strongly supported the 2003 Iraq War. As in most European countries he faced considerable opposition, both in the parliament and in the general population. Subsequent opinion polls suggested the Danish population's opinion was split on the issue. One vocal protester managed to get into the Danish parliament during the period before the war, where he poured red paint on the prime minister while yelling "Du har blod på dine hænder" (literally: "You have blood on your hands"). A member of the Danish parliament for the socialist Red-Green Alliance, Pernille Rosenkrantz-Theil, stated that it was a reaction she might have made under the circumstances, although she later denounced such behaviour. Denmark was one of only five countries to take part in the actual invasion operations (the others being the U.S., UK, Poland and Australia) though the contingent mainly consisted of two minor warships and staff and radio units that were never involved in actual combat. In the months after the initial phase of the war, Danish troops participated in the multi-national force stationed in Iraq. Approximately 550 Danish troops were stationed in Iraq from 2004 and into 2007, first at "Camp Dannevang" and later at "Camp Einherjer", both near Basra. When the contingent of troops left around August 2007, it was not replaced and Denmark shifted its focus to non-military support around Baghdad. The official reason provided is that the Iraqi government should now be able to handle security in the Basra area. Critics of Rasmussen argued that the withdrawal was motivated by decreasing domestic support for the war.
In 2004 Rasmussen's government came under attack based on questions of how much intelligence it had with regard to Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. The government held hearings, and was forced to publish classified reports it had consulted about the likelihood of banned weapons existing in Iraq. While the Blair and Bush administrations became the subject of criticism for extended periods because of their reliance on questionable intelligence, Rasmussen stayed clear of this controversy. This is probably largely because the motion passed by parliament (Folketinget) authorising the deployment of Danish troops states as the reason for the deployment Iraq's continued refusal to cooperate with UN inspectors in violation of the UN Security Council's resolution. The Danish deployment of troops was thus not formally based on a claim that Iraq had WMD's.
In March 2003, Rasmussen stated as one of the reasons to support a military intervention, "Irak har masseødelæggelsesvåben. Det er ikke noget vi tror. Vi ved det. Irak har selv indrømmet, at det har haft sennepsgas, nervegas, miltbrand, men Saddam vil ikke afregne. Han vil ikke fortælle os, hvor og hvordan de våben er blevet destrueret. Det ved vi fra FN's inspektører, så der er ingen tvivl i mit sind." In English, this translates to:
Iraq has weapons of mass destruction. This is not something we think. We know it. Iraq has itself admitted that it had mustard gas, nerve gas, anthrax, but Saddam will not settle. He will not tell us where and how the weapons have been destroyed. We know from the UN inspectors, so there is no doubt in my mind.
Gay marriage
Civil unions between gay couples became legal in Denmark in 1989. In January 2004, Rasmussen stated his belief that homosexuals should be able to marry in religious ceremonies, which were not allowed at the time in the Evangelical Lutheran State Church of Denmark, but he has said it should be up to religious communities to decide whether to perform ceremonies for gay couples.
2005 election
On 18 January 2005 Rasmussen called an election for 8 February 2005. He delayed the call by a couple of weeks because of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake which killed several Danes. His government was criticized for its allegedly slow response to that crisis, although a clear majority applauded the government's actions.
Although his party's support was reduced from the 2001 election, costing it four seats, Venstre was able to maintain its coalition through gains by other parties, and on 18 February Rasmussen formed the Cabinet of Anders Fogh Rasmussen II.
Rasmussen received the most "personal votes" ever of any politician in the Folketing (Denmark's Parliament) with 61,792.
Muhammad cartoons and Danish goods boycott
Main article: Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy
A major period of conflict in Rasmussen's political career concerned a set of cartoons printed in Jyllands-Posten, a major Danish newspaper. In September 2005 the newspaper printed a full page with 12 cartoons depicting various interpretations of Muhammad. Due to the cartoons portraying Muhammad as a terrorist, some Muslims found the cartoons offensive. Rasmussen denied a request from 11 ambassadors of Middle-Eastern countries to discuss the issue. Rasmussen described the controversy as Denmark's worst international crisis since World War II. Later he stated, that he "was deeply distressed that the cartoons were seen by some Muslims as an attempt by Denmark to mark and insult or behave disrespectfully towards Islam or Mohammed."
Municipal reform
Main article: Municipalities of Denmark § Municipal Reform 2007
One of Rasmussen's main initiatives was the introduction of municipal reform, the aim of which was the geographic and administrative consolidation of smaller municipalities and the abolition of counties. Major areas of public services, such as the national health service, were consolidated into five regional bodies, while the number of municipalities was reduced from 271 to 98. The reform was ratified on 16 June 2005 and was effective as of 1 January 2007.
2007 election and resignation
In October 2007, Rasmussen called the 2007 general election, which was held on 13 November. His official reason for doing so was to allow parliament to face important upcoming decisions without being distracted by a future election, with welfare reform being cited as an example. Initial polls had predicted that neither the incumbent alliance nor the left-wing opposition would win a majority, leaving the centrist New Alliance with the balance of power.
At 11:30 p.m. on the night of the election, Rasmussen claimed victory on the basis of almost-complete results. By the morning of 14 November 2007, after results came through from the Faroe Islands and Greenland, his centre-right coalition of the Liberals, the Conservative People's Party and the Danish People's Party secured 90 seats, the minimum number required for a majority. Rasmussen went on to become the longest-ruling Liberal Prime Minister of Denmark.
Shortly after his second reelection in 2007, rumours began to spread in the Danish media that Rasmussen was a candidate for high-profile international jobs. A first rumour was that he was informally one of the top candidates for the new position of President of the European Council that could be created when the Lisbon Treaty would come into effect. Following the Irish rejection of the treaty in June 2008, it became obvious that this position would not be created in the near future. Rumors then spread around Rasmussen's candidacy for Secretary General of NATO. Rasmussen denied the rumors until a few days before the official announcement of his selection was made.
Rasmussen expressed support for Israel's right to defend itself during the Gaza–Israel conflict. He said that, "it was Hamas that broke the truce, and Hamas started the conflict by firing rockets on Israel. No country can just passively accept being fired on."
After he was confirmed as the NATO Secretary General, Rasmussen announced that he would resign as Prime Minister of Denmark on 5 April 2009.
NATO Secretary General
See also: NATO–Russia relations and Ukraine–NATO relations
2009
Anders Fogh Rasmussen became the 12th NATO Secretary General on 1 August 2009, succeeding Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, who held the post from 2004 until 2009. The announcement was made on 4 April 2009, at the 2009 Strasbourg–Kehl summit in Strasbourg. During the final selection process only one country, Turkey, remained opposed to Rasmussen's candidacy, partly because of his handling of the cartoon episode in 2005, when the publication in some Danish newspapers of cartoons of Muhammad caused violent protests. Another major element of Turkey's opposition was Denmark's tolerance of Roj TV, which is claimed by the Turkish government to be a mouthpiece for the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Eventually, Turkey withdrew its opposition to Rasmussen's appointment in exchange of assurances Roj TV would be closed down.
After his accession on 1 August 2009, Rasmussen's first mission was a visit to Afghanistan, where he met with President Karzai and senior Afghan ministers, including Minister for Foreign Affairs Spanta, Minister for Defence General Wardak, and Minister of Interior Atmar to discuss the then impending presidential and provincial council elections.
2010
On 28 January 2010 Rasmussen attended the 2010 International Conference on Afghanistan at Lancaster House in London. It was at this event that the framework for the next decade of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was settled by the Afghan president Hamid Karzai and his successor Ashraf Ghani and their donors. As seen at right, Gordon Brown, Hillary Clinton, Catherine Ashton and Hermann van Rompuy amongst other Western leaders were in attendance.
2011
In April 2011, in relation to the 2011 Libyan civil war Rasmussen said that on the day NATO started taking command of the mission under the U.N. mandate, the alliance ruled out arming the rebels. Rasmussen said the coalition under his control was clear about its mission. "We are not in Libya to arm people. We are in Libya to protect civilians against attacks" from loyalists of the country's Muammar Gaddafi government, he said at that time.
In October 2011, the intensive 7-month NATO intervention had "now moved much closer" to its end, according to Rasmussen. The last two major outposts of Gaddafi loyalists—Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte and the town of Bani Walid—had fallen and the deposed leader had been killed as he tried to flee from Sirte toward Misrata. Gaddafi's killing came with close NATO aerial support of Libyan ground forces.
2012
The Secretary General normally serves for a term of four years with a one-year extension option. On 3 October 2012, Fogh Rasmussens term was extended one year, so it ended on 31 July 2014.
2013
In February 2013 in the first visit of a NATO Secretary General to Ireland for a meeting with EU defence ministers, he said NATO had an "open-door policy" towards membership of the organisation. "Our door remains open for European countries, European democracies that fulfil the necessary criteria and can contribute to Euro-Atlantic security, but of course it's for individual partners to decide how they want to develop their relationship and partnership with NATO." Ireland is not a member of the organisation but ties through the Partnership for Peace Programme (PFP), a bilateral programme that allows for Irish forces to be used for peacekeeping and crisis management where there is a UN mandate and parliamentary approval.
On 19 December 2013 Rasmussen was invited to speak at a periodic meeting of the European Council by the Prime Minister of the UK, David Cameron, in opposition to plans proposed by the External Action Service of HRUFASC Catherine Ashton to create a European Air Force composed of surveillance drones, heavy transport airplanes, and air-to-air refuelling planes. This plan was supported by France, Spain, Italy, Poland and Germany who together have QMV majority. Rasmussen's position was opposed to that of European Parliament President Martin Schulz, who made a presentation at the same meeting where he said that "If we wish to defend our values and interests, if we wish to maintain the security of our citizens, then a majority of MEPs consider that we need a headquarters for civil and military missions in Brussels and deployable troops." Rasmussen was satisfied with the role of NATO in European defence matters and saw every reason to maintain the status quo.
2014
See also: NATO–Russia relations and Ukraine–NATO relations
On 28 March 2014, Jens Stoltenberg was nominated as Rasmussen's successor as secretary-general. He was to take office on 1 October 2014.
During the first week of April, the Foreign Ministers met at Brussels NATO HQ.
On 6 April, Rasmussen wrote an op-ed piece in London's The Daily Telegraph to warn allies to invest in their armed forces, and to maintain that "Russia's illegal aggression against Ukraine and its continued breach of international law" were clear. Russian Foreign Ministry blamed Rasmussen for his "active employment of double standards."
On 15 April, an EU Defence Ministers' meeting took place in Luxembourg with the Secretary-General. The next day, the Defence Ministers meeting of the North Atlantic Council was convened, one day in advance of the meeting in Geneva between Russia, Ukraine, the US and the EU over the Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation. Rasmussen said: "NATO's core task is to protect and defend our Allies. We have already taken a series of steps, including enhancing our Air Policing mission in the Baltic States, and AWACS surveillance flights over Poland and Romania... We will have more planes in the air, more ships on the water, and more readiness on the land. For example, air policing aircraft will fly more sorties over the Baltic region. Allied ships will deploy to the Baltic Sea, the Eastern Mediterranean and elsewhere, as required. Military staff from Allied nations will deploy to enhance our preparedness, training and exercises. Our defence plans will be reviewed and reinforced."
In June 2014, Rasmussen claimed that Russia "engaged actively with so-called non-governmental organisations – environmental organisations working against shale gas – to maintain European dependence on imported Russian gas", without providing evidence for this claim.
Organizations
Rasmussen Global
On 1 October 2014 as Rasmussen was succeeded by Jens Stoltenberg, the former Prime Minister of Norway., he declared the launch of the political consultancy Rasmussen Global to provide support on issues regarding security policy, Transatlantic relations, the European Union, Brexit and Economic development. Furthermore, in 2016 he published a book called 'The Will to Lead', giving his view that the USA should 'restore America's role as a global leader'
On 27 May 2016 Rasmussen became non-staff advisor to President Poroshenko of Ukraine. Rasmussen also convened the Friends of Ukraine group of sitting and former senior politicians and diplomats to raise international awareness of Ukraine and to keep domestic reform on the agenda.
On 2 April 2020 global bank Citi announced Rasmussen would join as a senior advisor in Citi's European, Middle East and Africa business, with a primary focus on the Nordic region.
Alliance of Democracies Foundation
In 2017 Rasmussen founded the Alliance of Democracies Foundation a non-profit organisation dedicated to the advancement of democracy and free markets across the globe. Its initiatives include the Copenhagen Democracy Summit, an annual conference bringing together political and business leaders, including current and former heads of government, from the world's democracies. The first summit in 2018 was addressed by Joe Biden and other speakers have included Tony Blair, Mike Pompeo and John Kerry.
The Foundation also hosts the Transatlantic Commission on Election Integrity, which 'helps advance solutions to protect integrity of democratic elections.' The commission was founded by Rasmussen, Former US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Joe Biden.
Honours and decorations
Commander of the Order of Dannebrog (Denmark, 7 April 2001)
Commander 1st Class of the Order of Dannebrog (Denmark, 2002)
Grand Cross of the Order of Dannebrog (Denmark, 7 April 2009)
Medal of Merit in Gold (Denmark, 17 December 2002)
Grand Cross of the Order of the Southern Cross (Brazil, 2009)
Knight 1st class of the Order of the Balkan Mountains, awarded by the President of Bulgaria (11 April 2014)
St. George Medal, 1st Class, awarded by the Defence Minister of Bulgaria (11 April 2014)
Knight of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana (Estonia, 4 February 2009)
Grand cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Germany, 2002)
Knight Grand Cross in the Order of Orange-Nassau (Netherlands, 30 January 2014)
Grand Cross of the Order of Ruben Darío (Nicaragua, 2003)
Grand Cross of the Order of Pedro Joaquín Chamorro (Nicaragua)
Grand Officer of the Order of the Three Stars (Latvia, 16 April 2004)
Grand Cross of the Order of the Grand Duke Gediminas (Lithuania, 21 April 2004)
Grand Cross of the Order of the Oak Crown (Luxembourg, 2003)
Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland (Poland, 2003)
Grand cross of the Order of Merit (Portugal, 1992)
Grand Cross of the Order of the Star of Romania (Romania, 2004)
Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star (Sweden, 2007)
Order of Liberty, awarded by the President of Ukraine, 7 August 2014 "For his significant contribution to the development of cooperation between the Ukrainian state and the Atlantic Alliance and the strong support in defending the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine"
Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (United Kingdom, 30 November 2015)
Doctor Honoris Causa title by the University of Bucharest on 24 May 2013, for his work in Denmark, in Europe and at NATO.
Filmography
Fogh bag facaden, 58 min., Danish documentary, by Christoffer Guldbrandsen [da], 2003,
Den hemmelige krig, 58 min., Danish documentary, by Christoffer Guldbrandsen, 2006,
AFR, 83 min., Danish mockumentary, by Morten Hartz Kaplers, 2007, AFR
CIA's danske forbindelse, by Mette Aaby, 2008,
See also
In Spanish: Anders Fogh Rasmussen para niños | |||||
correct_leader_00102 | FactBench | 3 | 42 | https://vlada.gov.cz/en/clenove-vlady/premier/vyznamne-projevy/the-prime-ministers-address-at-the-opening-of-the-plenary-meeting-of-the-european-parliament--25-march-in-strasbourg-55756/ | en | The Prime Minister's Address at the Opening of the Plenary Meeting of the European Parliament, 25 March in Strasbourg | [
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] | null | [] | null | The Prime Minister's Address at the Opening of the Plenary Meeting of the European Parliament, 25 March in Strasbourg | en | /images/favicon/apple-touch-icon.png | null | Good day. My greetings to you all at the regular report of the Chairman of the European Council after the spring summit of the European Council.
First, I would like to apologise to you that I will not remain for the entire time of the meetings of the plenary, as is usual; Deputy Prime Minister Vondra will represent me in the second part after the appearances of the fraction leaders.
The main reason I must return to Prague is, as Hans Gert Pöttering has already said, unprecedented obstruction from the side of the socialists, which by the way we have faced for the entire period of the Czech presidency, and I have never made a secret of it. That the government will be in resignation will certainly not threaten the presidency; that the socialists did not take into account that the Czech Republic is chairing the European Council, that they deny a basic level of cooperation, this harms the Social Democrats the most.
The presidency should not suffer, because I am deeply convinced that we have undoubtedly managed to do what I said here in my introductory appearance before the European Parliament - that we will try to moderate discussion and achieve compromise - and the spring European Council is proof of this.
In the Czech Republic it is then the custom that when the speaker speaks, that others do not interrupt, but maybe the customs here are somewhat different. So this may be an introduction.
Allow me to switch over and I will adhere strictly to the conclusions of the European Council. Allow me to switch over to why I am actually here today, why we took certain steps at the European Council, and despite that, please allow me before that to comment on what occurred even before it, and that was the so-called tripartite – the summit with social partners.
It was a relatively strong cast; aside from myself and the Chairman of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, the two subsequent prime ministers, both Prime Minister Reinfeldt of the Kingdom of Sweden and Prime Minister Zapatero of the Kingdom of Spain. I was in a relatively positive mood after that meeting and was very surprised by the consensus of social partners; not only in the goals of the presidency but in general with the solutions to the situation in which employees, or possibly those unemployed as a result of the worldwide financial crisis and economic recession are earning and can receive.
I must say that if there is interest, I will say more about the tripartite, but we agree on three basic principles, which are to enable far greater flexibility on the labour market, labour force mobility, to work far more intensively on a higher extent of education and skill for labour forces so that they may bring this to bear on the labour market, etc.
The spring European Council was the second meeting of heads of state that we have led, but nonetheless it was the first full formal summit. Obviously the most watched topic was the issue of a solution to the current economic crisis. At the outset, I completely and absolutely refuse those voices who say we are doing too little, that we are doing too few deep things. I would present a single number: EUR 400 billion.
EUR 400 billion, which is 3.3 % of the EU's GDP, is an unprecedented step and in connection with the automatic stabilisers the EU has and which the USA, for example, does not. I think that the example that José Manuel Barroso presents is absolutely educative; a worker who is laid off from Saab in Sweden and a worker who is laid off from General Motors somewhere in Chicago have absolutely differing social standards, absolutely differing approaches from their governments. These automatic stabilisers are precisely what multiplies this EUR 400 billion amount to one that is fundamentally higher, giving us an undisputable advantage in this as compared to the USA.
The basic underpinning of the agreement of the entire EU-27 is the confirmation of the validity of the Lisbon Strategy, which is one of the four pillars on which this entire agreement stands. Yesterday we had Gordon Brown here, and he certainly had the ability to explain the approach of the entire EU-27, the mandate for the G20 summit. All the short-term measures - and we agreed on this – must be temporary, and have also been conceived of as temporary. The mid- and long-term priorities and directions of the Lisbon Strategy were confirmed, and the short-term ones must be consistent with them.
I must openly say that after the comments by Timothy Geithner, the Treasury Secretary of the USA, about "permanent action," there was more or less consternation at the European Council. Not only because America is repeating the mistakes of the 1930s, which are wide-ranging stimuli, the tendency and calls for protectionism, the Buy American campaign, etc. All of these steps, their combination and, what's worse, the initiative for their permanent establishment, are the road to hell.
It is necessary to read the historic textbooks, which have evidently become covered with dust. I consider the clear refusal of these roads and this short-sighted approach to be the greatest success of the meetings of the spring council.
I must clearly refuse the words of the chairman of the European Socialists, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, who said that the European Council has done too little against the crisis, and that we are waiting for rescue from the the USA. Not only because the road chosen by the USA has already discredited itself historically, but also because, as I have said before, the level of social security and the securing of citizens' social needs overall is sharply different in the USA and at a sharply lower level.
For this reason the road is dangerous because the Americans will need cash to finance their social stimulus – they can easily get this, because there will always be someone to buy American bonds. But this threatens market liquidity, it draws down liquidity from the global financial market and other bonds, maybe European, but completely certainly Polish, Czech and possibly other countries, will have their sale threatened, and then there will be no cash in the system. This approach induces fears, and in my opinion it will also be a topic for discussion at the G20 summit.
The G20 summit will be one of the opportunities we will have to speak about it, then at the informal EU-27 summit with the American administration and with Barack Obama in Prague can be a continuation of this discussion. I believe we will find a common way out with the USA, because by no means do we want to set the USA and Europe against each other. At the present time, and this crisis has only shown us this again, there is no such thing as an isolated economy, and the extent of connectedness is very high, which means in times of crisis that we all have a problem and also that we can only resolve it together.
The second pillar of agreement in the area of the search for solutions against the current crisis are prepared for the G20 summit. The materials Gordon Brown has prepared with his administration are excellent, and you had the possibility to become acquainted with these yesterday. This three-pillar approach - which means solutions in the financial sector and fiscal stimulus, regulation and correction of the mistakes in the framework of this system and third pillar is the renewal and liberalization of world trade, meaning pressure to renew the Doha talks in the framework of the WTO – is precisely what in my opinion is a certain package of solutions which the European Council is offering and to which it unanimously agreed.
I would also like to highlight the agreement on that, that in the end we stated a specific number in increasing the available financial capacity of the international and currency fund and that we have defined this specific potential commitment to be EUR 75 billion. The EU-27 has a united position before the G20, one voice and a common goal. I have regarded this as absolutely the greatest success, because the entire European Council was a test of European unity, European solidarity and the unified European internal market. If any of these were to crash, then we would absolutely come out of this crisis weakened, but not in the event that we respect these basic attributes; I think we will be strengthened.
For this reason, there is no reason for pessimism before the G20 meeting, as Poul Nyrup Rasmussen fears. I think we have all understood that it is necessary to act in solidarity and to cooperate, which is confirmed by the words of Graham Watson of the Liberal fraction.
The current crisis, as we all say, is a crisis of confidence. The third area, which is key for resolving the crisis, is the renewal of confidence – it is not enough to only pour money into the system; we have tried this and despite it the banks do not lend - it is necessary that the banks loan this money, and banks will not do this if they will not have confidence. The liquidity they have available has not solved the problem.
Confidence can be neither decreed nor bought. As part of renewing confidence, we have therefore taken another step toward strengthening it - we have doubled the guarantee framework in case of need for countries outside the eurozone to EUR 50 billion.
We have agreed that it is necessary not to take a bloc approach to every bank in every country but to approach it individually, and at this time we consider the one-size-fits-all approach to be dangerous. The markets are nervous and they react immediately exaggeratedly and negatively. For this reason, better regulation is in order here. I emphasise better, or, in places where none existed, then implementation of those regulations.
This is where you, Members of the European Parliament, enter the game. We would like to come to an agreement, and I have signals that it is possible for legislative acts, which essentially complement our vision and concept of better regulation relating to rating agencies, the solvency of insurers, banks' capital requirements, cross-border payments and electronic funds, etc. I would be happy if, during your terms in office, these norms were approved, and that they come into validity, so that we can immediately put them into practice. Importantly, I welcome and we welcome all of the de Larosier report, which is brilliant in its analytical sections and very instructional in its realisation section, and in this regard the European Council has made clear conclusions.
Perhaps the most principal task of the spring European Council was the evaluation of the implementation of the Recovery Plan up to now, as the Council established it in December. It is here that there is the most noise and criticism - I think undeserved - and that this plan is allegedly insufficient, slow, unambitious… I would like to set this straight here. EU fiscal measures have reached EUR 400 billion, which is roughly 3.3 % of EUR GDP, where resources for bank recapitalisation, bank guarantees are not calculated, which is a value greater than 10 % of GDP.
It is simply a level that the European Union can allow at the given time, and despite this it will mean a very sharp interference with the Growth and Stability Pact, into the growth of public debt, into the correction of things in the "day after" period, meaning the day after the end of the crisis, if I would want to simplify it as such. I think that even for that EUR 5 billion, just a small part of the gigantic amount of EUR 400 billion, is and finally was approved, it was a very complicated negotiation, which a number of states attacked.
First because either the anti-crisis measures, if not drawn down in 2009 and 2010 - which is true, that it is not a transparent system of project evaluation, that it is not a good list of projects at all, etc., that something was missing there, or that there was a surplus there. In the end, after complicated talks, we found - and here the Czech presidency unequivocally played a dominant role that an agreement was found - that the EUR 5 billion would be approved and sent to you in the European Parliament for you to consider. I must say that the Renewal Plan has its community level, and today there is roughly EUR 30 billion available, and its national level, where every Member State as part of this plan will carry out their own fiscal stimulus. I believe it is key that what the European Council agreed upon is the validity of the Growth and Stability Pact.
If we as the entire EU want to go through the crisis unharmed and strengthened, then we must respect our own rules. We would be making the greatest mistake now if we were to set new packages without regard for the fact that all national and community actions have been initialised, without knowing their impact and without knowing whether or not additional fiscal stimulus was necessary, and even on this the European Council agreed. If it will be imperative, the European Council will take additional measures, but at this time we do not know whether it should or should not. Nobody knows where the bottom of this crisis is; nobody knows its end. It is absolutely unreasonable for us to take additional measures without knowing what the effects are of these steps of the EUR 400 billion fiscal stimulus. The plan is ambitious, diversified and comprehensive, and in individual countries, each a bit different according to the situation, it deals with growth as well as employment, and of course the problems that are associated with the economic situation.
The second major topic of the European Council was the situation or the issue of energy and the climate. As with energy security in this area, we have made meaningful progress in protection of the climate. The need for energy security, aside from it being one of the main priorities of our presidency, was shown in January. The gas crisis has still not been resolved. The gas crisis could begin tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, a month from now, next year, whenever. As evidence of what I am saying, one anti-crisis package of EUR 5 billion is also aimed primarily, even if not exclusively, at connecting European countries and the most varied mechanisms and projects which should decrease independence on a single supply route. We have agreed that the anti-crisis mechanism in the event of a loss of supply must be ready by next winter so that it can possibly react to the problems that come. It is more than apparent that we need it. This was shown in January, and it was shown most in Slovakia and Bulgaria and in certain other countries.
Discussion on climate.
Talks and preparations for the Copenhagen conference are beginning already. Denmark as the host country, Sweden, during whose presidency this affair will take place, as well as the Czech Republic are intensively working on this today. We are trying to find not only a common position on a European level, but we are starting to hold talks with the largest players, without whom the success of the Copenhagen conference is not secured. Those are the USA, and of course Japan, China, India, other major countries and major polluters.
The greatest discussion - and I would like to pause for a moment on this – was whether we should set not only mechanisms but also individual EU countries' share in this package of money we will provide for assistance to developing countries, third countries to fulfil their commitments as part of the fight to protect the climate. The decision we made is correct. In a situation when we are negotiating with all the major players, who thus far are talking more than they are doing, it would be very untactical and very bad if we ourselves were to set barriers and limits that the others would not respect.
The negotiating position is far better when we have we have these hands free, and the countries which in the end put the final proposal on the table - Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Great Britain and Poland - agreed on this. Here, of course, the interests of countries that have a bit of fear of this mechanism are respected, as well as the interests of countries that are leaders on issues of climate protection. What remains before us is to find the specific mechanism, key and formulation far enough in advance before the Copenhagen conference; this was agreed upon by all countries as well as those who take this as their absolute priority.
To the third, the area of external relations.
The European Council formally approved the Eastern Partnership initiative as a complement to our foreign policy or the close neighborhood policy, where, if there are icebergs to the north, the Atlantic to the west, then our neighbours live to the south and west, and these are countries that could potentially threaten our economy, as well as the social and security situations.
The Eastern Partnership was a goal of the Czech presidency and I am very happy that it was approved, that the clear amount of EUR 600 million was provided and I will anticipate your question about the participation of Belarus; we are considering it, it is part of the project. Belarus has made certain progress, the validity of the ban on granting visas to the regime's leaders has been extended. At this moment the doors to Belarus are opening, but nevertheless a decision has not been made. If the Member States do not agree, and it will not be a decision of all 27, then we simply will not invite Lukashenko, despite both the opposition and neighbouring countries recommending that we do so. I think this is an issue which, if you will ask about at this time, I will not know how to answer, and for this reason I am anticipating it.
I have informed the European Council about the meeting and informal summit with President Obama on 5 April for the fulfilling of additional priorities and that is the trans-Atlantic bond. Organisational issues have not yet been completed. You will all be informed in detail. Thematically, the summit will be framed into three main blocs - the introductory discussion on the results of the G20 summit, cooperation on energy and climate, where the EU wants to remain a key player, just as the USA.
And the third point will be external relations.
Circumscribed, this is the geostrategic area from the Mediterranean to the Caspian. This means Afghanistan, Pakistan, the situation in Iran, the Middle East. The summit with the USA is important, but nevertheless it shows that we should not have exaggerated expectations. No messiah has come; the USA has a lot of domestic problems it must solve and for this reason it is good that Barack Obama will certainly give one of the important speeches of this year, where of course he will want to send a message to the citizens of the EU on the main positions and main goals of the new American administration. I think that there were a whole range of other details at the European Council which I am prepared to answer. If I left something out, I will fill it in in the discussion, which will follow after the appearance of the chairpersons of the fractions.
We will probably not meet again in this make-up, because you are leaving to start your campaigns, but I would be happy if you would not start to do this just today. I hope that the fight for individual seats in the European Parliament will be fair, and that after the elections you will meet again and continue with your work.
Thank you for your attention. | |||||
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] | null | [] | 1943-06-15T00:00:00 | Profile page - Poul Nyrup RASMUSSEN - Profile page of a current Member of the European Parliament - History of parliamentary service during the 6th legislative term including memberships in political groups, national parties, parliamentary committees and delegations as well as parliamentary activities and the declaration of financial interests. | en | https://www.europarl.europa.eu/meps/en/28149/POUL+NYRUP_RASMUSSEN/history/6 | A rapporteur is appointed in the responsible parliamentary committee to draft a report on proposals of a legislative or budgetary nature, or other issues. In drafting their report, rapporteurs may consult with relevant experts and stakeholders. They are also responsible for the drafting of compromise amendments and negotiations with shadow rapporteurs. Reports adopted at committee level are then examined and voted on in plenary. Rule 55
Committees may draft an opinion to a report of the responsible committee covering the elements linked to their committee remit. Rapporteurs of such opinions are also responsible for the drafting of compromise amendments and negotiations with shadow rapporteurs of the opinion. Rule 56, Rule 57, Annex VI
Members can table an individual motion on issues falling within the EU’s sphere of activity. This motion is forwarded to the responsible committee for consideration.Rule 143
Questions for oral answer with debate may be tabled by a committee, a political group or at least 5% of Parliament’s component Members . The addressees are other EU institutions. The Conference of Presidents decides whether, and in what order, questions are placed on the final draft agenda for a Plenary sitting. Rule 128
Members can put questions for written reply to the ECB and questions concerning the Single Supervisory Mechanism and the Single Resolution Mechanism. Such questions are first submitted to the Chair of the responsible committee.Rule 140, Rule 141, Annex III
This attendance record is an extract from the Minutes of plenary sittings of the 6th parliamentary term. The information therein is supplied for information purposes only and covers the Member's term of office in the European Parliament. It is raw data and does not include corrections for justified absence because of illness, maternal/paternal leave, authorised parliamentary delegation business etc. | ||||||
correct_leader_00102 | FactBench | 3 | 15 | https://www.stm.dk/statsministeren/taler/address-by-the-prime-minister-of-denmark-mr-poul-nyrup-rasmussen-to-the-seventh-annual-session-of-the-osce-parliamentary-assembly-7-10-july-1998/ | en | Address by the Prime Minister of Denmark Mr. Poul Nyrup Rasmussen to The Seventh Annual Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly 7 – 10 July 1998 | [
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] | null | [] | null | da | /dist/images/stm/favicons/apple-touch-icon.png | Statsministeriet | https://www.stm.dk/statsministeren/taler/address-by-the-prime-minister-of-denmark-mr-poul-nyrup-rasmussen-to-the-seventh-annual-session-of-the-osce-parliamentary-assembly-7-10-july-1998/ | Mr. President, Mr. Janvier Ruperez, Vicepresident, Secretary General, Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Colleagues,
It is a pleasure and a privilege for me to address you today on the occasion of the Seventh Annual Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.
It is a pleasure to welcome you warmly to Denmark and to Copenhagen. I hope you will enjoy your stay.
It is also a privilege to address you. Your assembly represents one of the core principles we have fought for: The right of every citizen to express his or her political beliefs in a free and open society. And the right of every citizen to have his or her views represented in a parliamentary democracy. You are a token of this fundamental principle. Your assembly gives the OSCE a direct link to the people. If we did not have the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly we would have to invent one immediately.
Mr. President,
During the past decade: New states have emerged to become members of the European family of nations.
This development has been accompanied by broad processes of co-operation and integration at the regional and sub-regional level.
The OSCE itself is the broadest of these fora comprising all states in Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia and the United States and Canada.
The European Union, NATO and the Council of Europe are all major players who have also opened up towards the new states through membership or co-operative arrangements.
At the sub-regional level, co-operation has developed around the Baltic, the Barents and the Black Sea, in Central Europe and in South-East Europe, as well as in other regions.
This co-operation brings together states with different backgrounds – and often with different prospects for participation in the over-all co-operation processes.
Therefore it deals pragmatically with concrete issues close to the their citizens, often involving local levels of government. In doing so it provides an important contribution to creating an undivided Europ.
An undivided Europe. To use these words is still new and yet so close to our vision for Europe. We have set ourselves common goals. We have come to share the same basic values of democracy, the rule of law, respect for human rights, and market economy.
We have, Mr. President, a historic opportunity for creating free and open societies throughout the OSCE area.
But there are obstacles to the new opportunities. New risks and challenges have emerged that threaten our common security. In some cases they have had – and still have – tragic consequences in the very heart of Europe. We see conflicts re-emerge. And here I can not but mention the tragic situation in Kosovo.
We must unite all our efforts and prevent the situation from escalating further.
Because today, we can stand together and combat the common dangers.
Because we must, because we have learned, because we have not forgotten.
And because we know, that security, prosperity, and welfare of a state and its people can never be built in isolation. Only when all states and peoples enjoy the same prospects and opportunities can we reach this goal.
May I underline: We can not have a secure state without secure people inside.
Why are we here today ? For one fundamental reason:
Dealing with these new risks and challenges to security is the most formidable task confronting our generation. I believe we are fit to meet the challenge. Because we do remember from our history what could happen if we fail. To be divided is to create the basis for conflict.
To co-operate and to treat each others minorities in the same way as you want to be treated yourself - that is to establish the basis for lasting peace.
Learning from the mistakes of the past and drawing on the principles we share we must build the world of tomorrow – a world offering security, prosperity and democracy to all.
Mr. President,
In addressing this challenge we must never forget the simple basic philosophy: Prevention is better than cure.
And prevention is best served by offering assistance to those facing problems. We must help to make our common values a living reality in all OSCE states.
In this endeavour, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly plays an important role. A decisive role in my mind.
Firstly, because building democracy, peace and stability, both nationally and internationally, requires openness, readiness to share experience, to learn, and to improve. The meetings and discussions of the Parliamentary Assembly contribute positively to both national and international political dialogue. The bringing together of parliamentarians from all OSCE participating States gives a unique opportunity for an exchange of views, of information and of best practices. In this way, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly serves as an engine for promoting democratic developments in Europe.
Secondly, because the debates and recommendations of the OSCE parliamentary Assembly contribute to the ongoing work of the OSCE within the fields of conflict prevention, crises management and post-conflict rehabilitation.
And I want to stress that Denmark strongly supports strengthening the ties between the Parliamentary Assembly and OSCE institutions and activities. We support frequent visits by parliamentarians to Vienna and to OSCE missions in the field. We encourage your participation in OSCE meetings and seminars. Also, we appreciate very much the participation of you, Mr. President, and of the Secretary General of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, in the meetings of the OSCE Ministerial Troika.
And we have started a good practice by sending out to different missions the President of the Assembly as the personal representative of the chairman in office.
That brings me to the third reason why the role of The Parliamentary assembly is so important: OSCE parliamentarians play an increasingly important role in promoting democratic values at their very root: The election process. Elections provide legitimacy and accountability in democratic societies. The ability to carry out elections and the will to accept and implement their results is a precondition for democratic development. In new or emerging democracies, international observation of elections is often useful for securing transparency and openness in the electoral process.
I highly recommend the members of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly for their active participation in this important task. Their engagement – and indeed your personal engagement, Mr. President – in the elections in Albania, in Bosnia-Herzegovina, in Montenegro and elsewhere has contributed greatly to results achieved. 'Even if we are late', as the president indicated. Small steps in the right direction are better than no steps at all. But we have to make even further progress.
Making the tools and instruments of the OSCE and its institutions more effective is high on our common agenda. You have chosen a very central theme for this year’s session - The development of the structures, institutions and perspectives of the OSCE. A theme which offers a valuable contribution to this work.
It is also a theme which is very relevant at this time.
Relevant because making the tools and instruments of the OSCE and its institutions more effective is high on our common agenda.
And relevant because Denmark as other nations strongly supports strengthening the ties between the Parliamentary Assembly and OSCE institutions and activities.
I therefore encourage the discussions which are to take place here in the next few days.
During this session you are also going to discuss the very important issue of how to empower and engage women to participate in the OSCE work of conflict prevention. I strongly encourage this discussion. Because the participation of women is fundamental in obtaining effective and durable conflict prevention.
Mr. President,
Denmark attaches great importance to further improving the ability of the international community to promote democratic development through assistance to and monitoring of elections. To this end it is paramount that the international actors work together in a mutually reinforcing way. Much has been achieved already. Within the OSCE, co-operation between the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the ODIHR is on track. And there is a growing understanding of the need to further improve co-operation with the Council of Europe, including with its Parliamentary Assembly.
At the Copenhagen Ministerial Council Meeting in December 1997, participating States set out guidelines for an OSCE Document-Charter on European Security. A key element was the elaboration of a Platform for Co-operative Security, comprising a Common Concept for the development of co-operation between mutually reinforcing institutions. The objective: To strengthen the OSCE’s relationship with those organisations and institutions concerned with the promotion of comprehensive security within the OSCE area.
Security, Mr President, for all the citizens of Europe is based on democracy.
Democracy is based on parliaments. The Platform for Co-operative Security should, therefore, also have a parliamentary dimension. As the broadest based Assembly in the Trans-Atlantic, Eurasian area the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly is particularly well suited to strengthen co-operation between the parliamentary assemblies.
Mr. President, Dear colleagues,
We share more knowledge of what is right and what is wrong than ever before.
Democracy is sometimes taken for granted. But we must never do so. Democracy and freedom of thought and expression are not given things. History has shown us that they can be lost.
I know that we can not fulfil all our commitments overnight. I know that.
To preserve democracy, we must make it work. You, dear colleagues, do this every day by addressing problems and seeking solutions in your own national parliaments.
Today, you are doing it by addressing important issues facing us at the international level. By taking your mandate to the international level, you are furthering co-operation and promoting better understanding between the peoples you represent. You are, indeed, making democracy work at a higher level.
I salute you for this effort and I wish you a fruitful annual session.
Thank you. | |||||
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] | 2009-12-08T17:59:26+00:00 | Amid the global financial crisis, left-wing parties struggle to offer a credible alternative. | en | /Content/responsive/RFE/img/webApp/favicon.svg | RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty | https://www.rferl.org/a/Whats_Happened_To_Social_Democracy_In_Europe_/1898665.html | When a new European Parliament convened in Strasbourg last July, its makeup reflected a major trend: socialist and social democratic parties had chalked up historic losses in elections the previous month.
Center-right leaders currently hold office in the European powerhouses France and Germany, and many believe British conservatives will take power next year. Across the continent, center-right politicians are increasingly in charge just as the global financial crisis has forced European states to play an unprecedented role in economic affairs.
The irony hasn’t been lost on Europe's left-wing politicians.
This week, members of the Party of European Socialists, which unites leftist politicians across Europe, convened for a congress in Prague. The mood was decidedly grim. Under the vaulted ceilings of a 19th-century exhibition hall, delegates applauded as party leaders issued a stream of laments about their dismal prospects.
Sigmar Gabriel, chairman of Germany's Social Democratic Party, the SPD, asked how it was possible that Germans were voting for conservative parties that drew support from the financial industry players who had caused the global financial crisis.
Irish Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore explained that while left-wing parties tell their electorates they "feel their pain," voters "aren't sure the left can offer a credible alternative to what the right is doing."
"There's a certain irony," he said, "that at a time when capitalism is in trouble, when the markets are in trouble, it is the state that is blamed. And we are identified with the state."
'Sofa Party'
The European Socialist Party president, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, pointed to a record-low turnout of just more than 43 percent in elections for the European Parliament in June.
"The biggest opponent of our socialist party," he said, "was not the conservatives, not those to the left of us. One big party got 57 percent of all votes [in the European Parliament elections]. It's the so-called 'sofa party,' the 'apathy party.' "
Serbian President Boris Tadic (left) with Nenad Canak, the leader of the League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina
The speakers urged the European left to reconnect to voters by uniting to lay out a concrete, coordinated agenda. Martin Schulz of Germany's SPD, who's expected to become president of the European Parliament in 2012, exhorted his colleagues to make a case for regulation.
"We need courage to say clearly, 'Yes, we are an anticapitalist movement!' " he said. "I'm proud to say I'm not a capitalist. The worldwide, money-driven economy and unlimited speculation led to the deepest crisis we've seen since World War II."
In an interview after his speech, Schulz said the left is suffering from a lack of credibility because it failed to oppose the right-wing argument in the 1990s that the fall of the Berlin Wall meant "capitalism had won."
"We didn’t put on the table the necessary question, 'Is the failure of the Soviet Union the victory of capitalism?' " he said. "That's the wrong question. Capitalism has showed that if it's not controlled -- if free trade, free market, is uncontrolled -- capitalism leads to big crises."
Schulz says the "third way" propounded by center-left leaders such as Britain's Tony Blair in the late 1990s was a justification of their capitulation.
'No Leg To Stand On'
Thomas Klau of the European Council on Foreign Relations agrees. He says Blair's New Labour Party and Germany's SPD under then-Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder positioned themselves as reformers, but did it by enabling deregulation and partly discarding their social democratic heritage of calling for social protection.
"Of course what happened is that that particular brand of capitalism which they were trying to manage imploded," he says. "So in a sense they're left ideologically with no leg to stand on."
Klau says center-right leaders such as French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have since "broken barriers" by appropriating social democratic policies to rescue the financial sector in the wake of the global financial crisis.
At the same time, he says, the left has been unable to provide answers to universal problems now facing societies -- such as global warming and international financial regulation to protect the weakest in society -- that individual countries alone can’t address.
"Socialists and social democratic parties," he says, "have a really hard time agreeing to meaningful policies, coherent policies, at a European level. There are huge gaps, for instance, between what New Labour was pushing for and what the French socialists were saying they wanted."
Klau says while left-wing politicians may have begun understanding their problems, their fortunes may not have hit rock-bottom. He says European socialists' failure to agree on a single candidate for European Commission president earlier this year -- and the torturous selection of Britain's Catherine Ashton "out of a hat at the last minute" for the new job of European Union high representative for foreign affairs last month -- shows they have a long way to go to begin reversing the dramatic decline of the European left. | ||||
correct_leader_00102 | FactBench | 0 | 56 | https://medium.com/%40pressxpress/evolution-of-bangladesh-denmark-relations-sustainable-development-partners-335cd4354e4f | en | Evolution of Bangladesh-Denmark Relations: Sustainable Development Partners | [
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] | 2023-09-14T13:57:56.063000+00:00 | Denmark is often listed among the globe’s happiest and most prosperous nations. But when you think of “Denmark,” does an image of genuine, beaming happiness come to mind, or perhaps something else… | en | Medium | https://medium.com/@pressxpress/evolution-of-bangladesh-denmark-relations-sustainable-development-partners-335cd4354e4f | In a forward-looking statement, Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen of Denmark declared that Danish businesses and the government are poised to enhance their collaboration with Bangladesh. He emphasized that this endeavor represents a fresh start, not the culmination, and hinted at the possibility of Danish technology and engineering teachers coming to Bangladesh to share their expertise with local students, igniting innovation
Article Source: Press Xpress
Denmark is often listed among the globe’s happiest and most prosperous nations. But when you think of “Denmark,” does an image of genuine, beaming happiness come to mind, or perhaps something else entirely? Vikings, perhaps? The vibrant hues of Lego bricks or houses? Let’s not forget the significant Danish contributions to medical research, such as the discovery of insulin, and their pioneering work in the field of wind power innovation!
You can also read: Bangladesh, Denmark Ink Green Framework Agreement
Since its independence in 1971, Bangladesh has been a recipient of Danish development assistance, which covers a range of areas such as transportation, water transport, agriculture, fisheries, and rural development. Denmark also actively promotes human rights and civil society in Bangladesh.
Freshly Established Cooperative ventures
Bangladesh and Denmark’s Joint Initiative Promises Safer and Sustainable Food
On August 17, Bangladesh and Denmark signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) at the Ministry of Food. The two nations shared a commitment to furthering cooperation in the food and agricultural sector, as outlined in the “Sustainable and Green Framework Engagement.
This MoU is designed to facilitate strategic sectoral cooperation and elevate scientific, technical, and regulatory coordination in the domains of food safety and sustainable food production between the two countries.
Denmark Partners with Bangladesh in Green Technology
On June 9, Denmark and Bangladesh agreed to collaborate on green technology. Denmark expressed interest in enhancing its partnership with Bangladesh across various sectors including renewable energy, energy efficiency, circular economy, sustainable urbanization, water management, climate change adaptation, agro-food processing, maritime, ICT, and the Blue Economy.
The Political Consultations were co-led by Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen and Lotte Machon, State Secretary for Development Policy from the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Bangladesh and Denmark Ink 474C Framework for Development Program
The press release issued on June 7th 2023, emphasizes that the strategic goals of the Framework Agreement from 2023 to 2028 will include priorities such as enhancing democracy, empowering youth, and advancing gender equality by empowering women and girls.
Combined Trade Volume of Denmark and Bangladesh
According to data from the United Nations COMTRADE database, Denmark shipped goods worth US$121.94 million to Bangladesh in 2022.
Denmark’s Imports from Bangladesh were US$1.28 billion in 2022.
Anticipated investment avenues
Danish businesses operating in Bangladesh have shown a longstanding interest in the food and agriculture sector, spanning various aspects such as dairy production, food and beverage manufacturing, and cold chain logistics. Anticipated market growth will necessitate the development of cutting-edge testing facilities and equipment, as well as capacity building for key stakeholders in the value chain, including public authorities, to collaborate and provide constructive support to manufacturers and exporters by ensuring the quality control and certification of food products.
The provision of clean and safe drinking water for all is a shared objective, with the Danish private sector offering substantial expertise in both knowledge and technical solutions. The government is mandated to secure access to clean and safe drinking water for all citizens and is prepared to allocate significant funding, especially in challenging areas like the remote islands and coastal zones of Bangladesh.
Danish Firms Pledge $1.3 Billion for Offshore Wind Project in Bangladesh
In alignment with the Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and Copenhagen Offshore Partners (COP), have officially offered a $1.3 billion investment proposal to the Government of Bangladesh. The purpose of this proposal is to advance the establishment of a commercial offshore wind project in the Bay of Bengal. This was disclosed in a COP press release on 11 July 2023.
“With its susceptibility to climate change, Bangladesh could experience a significant drop of up to 9% in its annual GDP by the middle of the century. Bangladesh must swiftly adapt to climate change, embrace cleaner and more efficient technologies to facilitate sustainable development and growth over the coming decades, reduce dependence on fossil fuel imports, and curtail emissions in pursuit of its goal of attaining high-income status and eradicating absolute poverty by 2041,” according to World Bank.
Denmark is actively looking to funnel investments into Bangladesh’s IT sector
Departing Danish Ambassador to Bangladesh Winnie Estrup Petersen expressed Denmark’s strong interest in investing across multiple sectors in Bangladesh, with a particular focus on information technology (IT). During her farewell meeting with President Mohammed Shahabuddin in Dhaka, she also reaffirmed Denmark’s commitment to ongoing cooperation in support of Bangladesh’s socio-economic development.
The president expressed his thanks to Denmark, the pioneering European Union nation that recognized Bangladesh’s sovereignty after independence, appreciating the support from the Danish government and its people.
Snapshot of Bangladesh-Denmark Bilateral Connections
Bangladesh established its Resident Mission in Copenhagen in May 2015, while the Royal Danish Embassy had already been set up in Dhaka by 1972.
In November 2017, Bangladesh and Denmark convened their inaugural Foreign Office Consultations (FOC), resulting in the signing of two agreements: one on routine bilateral consultations and another pertaining to support for the Rohingya issue.
The Danish government has earmarked $8 million in aid for Rohingya refugees via the World Food Programme (WFP) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Denmark is home to roughly 2,500 Bangladeshis, the majority of whom came to the country via the Green Card Scheme and are currently working in IT and managerial positions.
The Danish Prime Minister, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, announced a commitment to a more substantial partnership between Danish businesses, the government, and Bangladesh. He emphasized that this initiative signifies the start of a promising journey, with the potential for Danish technology and engineering educators to play a pivotal role in educating Bangladeshi students about science, thereby nurturing innovation. | |||||
correct_leader_00102 | FactBench | 2 | 18 | http://www.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/europe/11/21/denmark.result0440/index.html | en | Right sweeps to victory in Denmark | [
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] | null | [] | null | null | COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- Denmark's next prime minister has pledged to tighten immigration laws after the centre-right won a stunning election victory.
Anders Fogh Rasmussen, leader of the Liberal Party, said that he also aimed to cap taxes and improve welfare provision when he formally takes power after beating veteran Social Democrat Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen in Tuesday's vote.
In a bitter election battle, Fogh Rasmussen, 48, had campaigned under the slogan "Time For Change" and his victory is seen as a marked shift to the right.
With 98.9 percent of the vote counted, the Liberal Party and its allies, including the anti-immigration Danish People's Party, had 98 seats in the 179-seat parliament, well above the 90 needed for a majority.
The ruling and once deemed electorally invincible Social Democrats and their parliamentary supporters won just 77 seats. In the last election in 1998, Nyrup Rasmussen had an 88-87 majority.
Fogh Rasmussen's Liberals won 31.2 percent of the vote, up from 24.0 in 1998 and replacing the Social Democrats as Denmark's biggest party for the first time in 80 years. The Social Democrats won 29.3 percent, down from 35.9.
MORE STORIES
PROFILE: Rise of Denmark's 'Mr Perfect'
RESOURCES
Fogh Rasmussen:Career at a glance
WEBSITE
CNN.dk
Nyrup Rasmussen, in office since 1993 and the EU's longest serving PM, was due to hand his resignation to Queen Margrethe at 0900 GMT on Wednesday. He made a tearful concession of defeat on Tuesday night.
After meeting other party leaders, the queen seemed certain to ask Fogh Rasmussen, a former tax and economy minister, to try to form a new government. The two Rasmussens are not related.
Fogh Rasmussen told a TV interviewer of his plans for the first 100 days of office: "We want to reform hospitals, ensure better care of the elderly, increase maternity leave to one year... tighten policy regarding foreigners and, from day one, put a lid on taxes."
His calls for stricter limits on asylum seekers and refugees, seen as "spongers" by right-wingers, became the biggest campaign issue in a nation where the main parties showed little difference on economic policy. Both pledged to keep unemployment at its 25-year low.
The defeat was a major rebuff to Nyrup Rasmussen, 58, who called the snap election in a gamble that voters would unite behind his nine-year leadership after the September 11 attacks on the United States.
Denmark is the second Scandinavian nation after Norway to oust ditch a Social Democratic government this year in favour of the centre-right. Norway's Labour Party, blamed for failing to update a cradle-to-grave welfare state, lost a September election.
In Sweden, Social Democratic Prime Minister Goran Persson faces an election in September 2002. His party won just 36.6 percent of the vote at the last elections in 1998, the party's worst result since 1920.
The new prime minister will have to form a government with the Conservatives and centrist parties but will depend on informal backing from the far-right Danish People's Party which is strongly anti-immigrant.
Turnout on Tuesday was 89.3 percent, a near record. | ||||||||
correct_leader_00102 | FactBench | 1 | 36 | https://ciaotest.cc.columbia.edu/isa/mam01/ | en | Globalization: A Third Way Gospel that Travels World Wide | [
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] | null | [] | null | null | Martin Marcussen, PhD
International Studies Association
41st Annual Convention
Los Angeles, CA
March 14-18, 2000
Abstract
By the end of the 90s, social democratic leaders world-wide have being referring to unspecified processes of globalization when undertaking unpopular domestic reforms of organizational structures and policies. Globalization is overall considered to be an irreversible process to which national politicians will have to adapt in order to avoid future crises. Thus, we can talk about a structural-determinist discourse, or a discourse which is traditionally applied in neo-liberal circles stating that there is no alternative'.
The questions dealt with in the paper concern the origins of this particular globalization discourse and the conditions under which it has been diffused world-wide. It is concluded that it is not the inherent qualities of the globalization idea itself that has made it so widely shared, nor has it much to do with objective or real globalization processes. The dynamics of the globalization idea can be better understood by focusing on the ideational entrepreneurs who formulated the idea in the first place, the power-base of the politicians who started to talk the globalization discourse, the role of international economic organizations in diffusing the idea, and the national politicians and civil servants who in the end implemented the globalization discourse in concrete national settings. In other words, the life-cycle of the structural-determinist discourse seems very much to be actor-driven.
Introduction 1
The Socialist International does it:
1. Humankind is witnessing a new change of era marked by the phenomenon of globalisation [...] Macroeconomic policies which are disciplined by the operation of the global financial markets have been constrained in what they can attempt to achieve and compelled to meet stringent requirements relating to public deficits, inflation etc. 2
Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, Prime Minister of Mali and President of ADEMA-PASJ, does it:
Globalisation brings troubles and worries, but also greater opportunities than ever before [...] None of us is opposed to globalisation just as none of us at this moment when we are struggling almost alone to ensure that the policies of structural adjustment take account of the social dimension of development is proposing policies at variance with rigorous macro-economic equilibrium. 3
The Danish Prime Minister, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, chair of the Danish social democratic party, does it:
Globaliseringseffekt og benhård konkurrence præger os. Økonomi blandet med ustabilitet [...] En globalisering, som ikke er en naturlov, men som er et vilkår, hvorpå vi må forme vor strategi og vores politik. Og globaliseringen er over os i et tempo og en udstrækning, som er ganske tankevækkende [...] Jeg ser i øvrigt Europa i et globalt perspektiv, som den region der må påtage sig sit globale "social leadership" - fordi der ikke er nogle andre, der gør det, selvom behovet er stort B og fordi vi er bedst til det [...] Og jeg tilføjer: Hvis vi ikke havde EU, måtte vi opfinde et regionalt, institutionelt samarbejde. Man skal forstå, at i den globaliserede verden er politik tilstedeværelse. 4
The British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, does it:
Globalisation has transformed our economies and our working practices [...] Any Government that thinks it can go it alone is wrong. If the markets dont like your policies they will punish you 5
Tony Blair even does it together with Gerhard Schröder:
In fast allen Ländern der Europäischen Union regieren Sozialdemokraten [...] In einer Welt immer rascherer Globalisierung und wissenschaftlicher Veränderungen müssen wir Bedingungen schaffen, in denen bestehende Unternehmen prosperieren, sich entwickeln und neue Unternehmen entstehen und wachsen können. 6
The French Socialist Prime Minister, Lionel Jospin, does it:
La question nest plus de savoir si nous voulons ou non la mondialisation. Elle est un fait : les trois quarts des échanges mondiaux de biens sont totalement libéralisés ou soumis á des droits de douane négligeables. Cest aussi le cas des mouvements de capitaux. La question est de savoir comment nous maîtrisions cette mondialisation. 7
And the American Vice-President, Al Core, does it too:
We cannot compete and thrive in the global marketplace if we are battling bureaucracy and apathy on our own shores [...] In this fast-moving, fast-changing global economy -- when the free flow of dollars and data are source of economic and political strength, and whole new industries are born every day -- governments must be lean, nimble, and creative, or they will surely be left behind 8
What is it that these prominent people do? They all talk the globalization discourse! Apart from that, they are all belonging to a social democratic family, they all talk the globalization discourse in a very particular way, and they all do it at a very specific point of time.
Social democrats across the world are not alike. As Tod Lindberg (1999) argued in The Wall Street Journal, "the specifics of Third Wayism vary drastically from country to country [...] the Third Way as practiced in one country might seem left-wing in another and harshly conservative in a third." 9 Within the European context, one can even speak about various social democratic families. In Great Britain it is easy to identify a Third Way which is market-oriented in its approach to the state and the labour market. In Germany and the Netherlands the neue mitte allows for more state activity in the economy as well as on the labor markets. In Scandinavia the Ny Start implies a reform of the welfare state thoroughly reformulating social and educational policies while keeping the labor markets on an arms length. Finally, in France, volontarisme requires the state to play a pro-active role on the labor markets and in the economy as such. In short, we talk about various ways in which social democracy is lived in practice. Nevertheless, despite their differences in approach, all the social democratic families, as indicated with the citations above, seem to talk a 'globalization discourse'.
Globalization as discourse is nothing new in itself. In earlier stages, political elites of all ideological origins talked about internationalization, external pressure and interdependencies. Particularly, they did so when discussing their own and their countrys role and strategy in international fora like the IMF, World Bank, EC, OECD and others. Various common declarations and international treaties actually contained references to developments at a global scale. The following two are just casual illustrations of the kind.
OECD Council Meeting, 1981:
In a world of progressive interdependence any attempt to steer a single-handed economic course is doomed to failure 10
OECD Council Meeting, 1982:
The key features of the past two decades - the rising share of trade in economic activity, the rapid growth of financial interdependence, and the internationalisation of business - are likely to continue. Ministers recognise that this means that their economies are going to be more and more strongly influenced by developments in other countries 11
However, by the end of the 90s, the new thing is the amazing uniformity in which and the increasing frequency with which globalization is being used in the domestic political discourse. More often than not, globalization is an integrated part of the ideological vocabulary of any social democratic leader and in any party program or declaration. In the following examples, globalization is being coupled to an argument in favor of Economic and Monetary Union in Europe. Whether the speaker is Scandinavian or French social democrat or whether it is an extract from a German social democratic party resolution, the EMU is presented at the domestic scene as a shield against globalization.
Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, Danish Social Democratic Prime Minister:
Der handles og investeres som aldrig før over enorme afstande. Vi går ikke fri af den internationale markedsøkonomis bevægelser. Vi så det i 1997, i 1998, hvor en voldsom økonomisk krise ramte Europa og ramte os, men den ramte ikke Portugal og Spanien, som den normalt ellers ville gøre, for de var på vej ind i den fælles valuta. Vi oplevede det samme forløb i Europa i 1992 og 1993, hvor det fælles europæiske valutasamarbejde ikke kunne stå for trykket udefra. Det har vi lært af. Det handler den fælles valuta, euroen, også om. Danmark har en interesse i ikke længere at skulle leve med den usikkerhed. Det vil være godt for virksomhederne. Det vil være godt for vores befolkninger at få en større stabilitet i det fælles valutaområde. Oliekriserne fra 1970erne har også sendt os klare erfaringer herom. Et dansk medlemskab af den fælles valuta giver store muligheder for at varetage vores lands interesser bedre end før 12
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, French social democratic minister of finance:
Leuro est porteur de réformes profondes. Il est le meilleur instrument possible de maîtrise de la mondialisation. Il nous rend une capacité de mener des politiques économiques actives. A nous de lutiliser au mieux dans ce but, pour la croissance et lemploi en Europe 13
The German Social Democratic Party, SPD:
EMU is an answer to the challenges of globalised financial markets [...] EMU is a chance to regain the ability of control under the conditions of globalised financial markets 14
Representatives of the European Commission have of course supported the Globalization-EMU link. Rt Hon Sir Leon Brittan QC., vice-president of the European Commission:
If national governments ever had the illusion that they could resist or delay globalisation, technological progress and the advent of the Internet made this an impossible proposition [...] I believe that the right response to globalisation is to see it as an opportunity: an opportunity to put ones own house in order, to maximise ones potential and to become capable of competing with the best [...] I can say without hesitation that the kind of structural reforms made necessary because of EMU are also the kind of changes necessary to meet the challenge of globalisation [...] Globalisation is a fact of life. To succeed in life you have to face facts. But the fact of globalisation can be turned into an opportunity if we have the courage to proceed vigorously with the programme of internal reform and push boldly for markets to be opened up world-wide. 15
Other examples of coupling can be given. In the citations listed at the beginning of this paper, some of the social democratic spokes-persons couple globalization to a certain way of thinking about the economy. A sustainable, healthy, sound and responsible economic policy strategy is one which is rigorous on inflation, budgetary deficits, foreign debt and currency stability. Everything is explained in the light of globalization. On other occasions - also exemplified with the citations above - globalization is being coupled to lean, reinvented and flexible government. Government, in the views of the social democrats of the late 90s, has to be competitive in the age of globalization. Øyvin Østerud (1999: 36) argues that in the last decades, market solutions, liberalized trade and capital movements, and deregulations have been implemented in large parts of the western world and that the large social democratic parties in Western Europe - having gone through a major ideological shift - now are supporting such a political strategy. Basically, Øyvin Østerud (ibid: 116) argues that social democratic authorities in many countries may be tempted at the domestic level to exaggerate the degree to which globalization is undermining their autonomy to act independently. Most social democratic leaders today actually wish to liberalize the economy, but in the public discourse they seem to prefer to scapegoat processes of globalization for these unpopular measures rather than admitting that their political priorities at the end of the 90s are in line with the priorities of previous conservative leaders. This is what the globalization discourse is all about. The globalization discourse is synonym to the tendency for social democratic leaders to bring the term globalization into the public debate whenever it serves their purposes. The globalization discourse is disconnected from the reality out there and serving as an explanatory category for organizational reform, economic restructuring, administrative change, international cooperation and regional integration.
Thus, globalization is hip. But it is a special variant of the globalization discourse which is at stake. In the following, I will refer to this particular variant as the structural determinist discourse. As we have seen, there are various ways in which different social democratic families can speak the structural determinist globalization discourse. On one extreme, the British Third Way uses globalization to keep the state away and the economy prudent.
Tony Blair, 22nd April1999:
'In the field of politics, too, ideas are becoming globalised. As problems become global - competitivity, changes in technology, crime, drugs, family breakdown - so the search for solutions becomes global too [...] Certain key ideas and principles are emerging. Britain is following them [...] Let me summarise the new political agenda we stand for: (1) Financial prudence as the foundation of economic success. In Britain, we have eliminated the massive Budget deficit we inherited; put in new fiscal rules; granted Bank of England independence - and were proud of it. (2) On top of that foundation, there is a new economic role for Government. We dont believe in laissez-faire. But the role is not picking winners, heavy handed intervention, old-style corporatism, but: education, skills, technology, small business entrepreneurship. Of these, education is recognised now as much for its economic as its social necessity. It is our top priority as a Government. (3) We are reforming welfare systems and public services. In Britain, we are introducing measures to tackle failing schools and reform the teaching profession that would have been unthinkable by any Government even a few years ago. Plus big changes to the NHS. For the first two years of this Government, welfare bills have fallen for the first time in two decades. (4) We are all tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime. The debate between "liberals" and "hardliners" is over. No one disputes the causes of crime. In particular social exclusion - a hardcore of society outside its mainstream - needs a special focus. We wont solve it just by general economic success. But we dont excuse crime either. Criminals get punished. Thats justice. Fairness. (5)We are reinventing or reforming Government itself. The Government machine is being overhauled. Here, Al Gore has led the way. But the whole basis of how we deliver Government services is being altered' 16
On the other extreme, the French volontarisme uses globalization to keep the state busy when it comes to social regulation at both the national and international levels.
Lionel Jospin, 16th November 1999:
'We fully recognize globalisation. But we do not see its form as inevitable. We seek to create a regulatory system for the capitalist economy. We believe that through common European action - in a Europe fired by social democratic ideals - we can succeed in the regulation of key areas, whether finance, trade or information [...] This need to take control in adapting to reality places a special responsibility on the state. The state is in a position to provide the necessary direction, without taking the place of other factors in society. Often it is the only agent that can clear away or navigate around the archaic forces standing in the way of changes that society wants. In France we call this approach volontarisme. The concept of volontarisme, or an active state, is a key part of our approach to modernisation'. 17
On both occasions we can talk about a structural determinist version of the globalization discourse because globalization is taken to leave the policy-maker with no other choice than just to adapt to external forces. In Great Britain, Tony Blair argues that globalization demands a leaner state in a context of market competition, whereas in France, Lionel Jospin argues that globalization requires that the role of the state should be strengthened in the economy. Both use globalization as an argument to promote reforms.
How can we explain this sudden resurgence of the structural determinist globalization discourse amongst the social democratic leaders at the end of the 90s?
One straightforward explanation could be that political leaders actually are constrained by external forces, that globalization leaves nothing for the Left to be done in terms of traditional social democratic policy-making. The puzzle can then be explained right-away by arguing that the actor optimists are wrong! Actor optimists are dreamers, academics living in their ivory-tower excluded from the nitty-gritty details of everyday life, saved from the harsh reality in which people fight for their political, business and physical lives. According to that argument, the structural determinists have proved their worth by predicting uniformity, irreversible processes of adaptation, and fatalistic attitudes to destiny. In short correct ideas (structural determinism) get powerful, wrong ideas (actor optimists) fall into oblivion.
However, a brief look at the academic globalization literature within the disciplines of International Political Economy, sociology and comparative politics does not outright support such a claim. Rather, if the prevalent globalization discourse is characterized by structural determinism, then the Structural determinists within mainstream academic debate about globalization are now more on the retreat than actually framing the debate. The Actor-optimists seem to be in a majority now.
Øyvind Østerud (1999: 12-13) distinguishes between four groups of globalization scholars along two dimensions: globalization and the role of the state. On one dimension one can distinguish between those who consider globalization to be a qualitative and quantitative new phenomenon, and those who argue that globalization is neither new, nor particular strong as an external constraint. On the other dimension we find those who are little optimistic about the capabilities of the state to pursue autonomous policy strategies, and those who draw less pessimistic conclusions about state sovereignty. The following table can then be constructed:
The Field of Globalization Scholars
Globalization strong and new Globalization weak and old State sovereignty lost: Structural determinists Actor pessimists State is still sovereign Structural moderates Actor optimists
Each of the cells in the table can be exemplified by a set of scholars who apparently have not got much in common apart from their specific globalization approach. Amongst the structural determinists, we will find scholars such as Kenichi Ohmae (1990) and probably also the sociologist Zygmunt Bayman (1998) as well as Alain Minc (1997). These scholars do not leave the state in its present form much leeway when it comes to changing the course of the so-called irreversible forces of globalization. The state is withering away and new organizational forms on other levels of governance and in various issue areas are coming to the fore. The structural moderates can be exemplified by Stephen Gill and David Law (1988), Viviane Forrester (1996), James Goldsmith (1994), and The Economist (1995, 1997), who, like the structural determinists, are just as serious about the magnitude and consequences of present days forces of globalization but, contrary to the structural determinists, actually see the state as being a major actor in this process which, if it so may be, can be turned in other directions, can be slowed down or redefined, or simply is an expression of and a consolidation of the ultra-capitalist eras distribution of material and ideological power resources.
The actor pessimists are probably best represented by Paul Hirst & Grahame Thompson (1996 [1999]), Élie Cohen (1996) and Susan Strange (1994). For them, globalization is neither new, nor global; however, present days international political economy, global or not, have not left the state with much sovereignty, when it comes to handling purely domestic issues. The state is one actor among many, and the international economy is interwoven on many levels and in many dimensions. Finally, the actor optimists are scholars like Linda Weiss (1997, 1998) and Robert Gilpin (1987) who basically call for a note of caution when it comes to declaring the present state as dead and irrelevant in the international political economy. Neither when it comes to domestic issues nor when it comes to handling international economic relations are there many signs that the state is withering away. Furthermore, according to the actor optimists, the so-called globalization tendencies are neither new nor particular different from what we otherwise know from studying the international political economy.
Without going into any details of this globalization debate between academic scholars, suffice to conclude, that there is no consensus amongst those scholars about the degree to which globalization constitutes a factor (new or old) that undermines the role of the state in policy-making processes at home and abroad. In other words, it is not because now-a-days social democratic leaders have a firm and consistent academic debate to support their claims, that they seem to have undertaken a structural determinists globalization discourse. In short, they will not find consistent academic evidence for their discursive strategies if they cared to look for such support. Prevalent and consensually shared ideas do not have inherent characteristics that make them powerful compared to so-called wrong ideas. There are no inherently correct, as opposed to wrong, ideas when it comes to globalization discourse.
What then can explain the apparent wide-spread, and quite simplistic, structural determinist version of the social democratic globalization discourse? Maybe the fact that the structural determinist version indeed is simplistic can help us understand its common use in todays domestic political discourse. Today, probably more then ever, politicians need short story-lines in their confrontation with the public, they need convincing and easy-to-understand stories when they undertake to communicate with a more and more diverse group of listeners and potential voters. Furthermore, politicians make their arguments in increasingly competitive contexts. There are more and more active politicians who want to sell more and more political products, and they want to do this in a context in which the speed of communication is accelerating, in which the issues they want to have an opinion about are constantly moving targets, and in which the technical media to be used in the communication process requires more and more specialists skills. The structural determinist story-line is sufficiently simple and it fulfills all the criteria which can be established with a view to get the message through. In short, one could argue that simple ideas get their way, complex and less intuitively clear ideas fall along the way-side. This has nothing to do with whether one idea or another is factually or morally correct; rather, this explanation is based on the process in which ideas are being framed in modern politics. It is less a question about content, than about form. However, there is one problem with this explanation. It is not the case that the actor optimist line is more complex, less easy to understand and slower to communicate. This might have been the case with the actor pessimists or the structural moderates which can be said to be inherently illogical (whether they are correct or wrong) in the way their story-lines are framed. But the actor optimist story is just as simple and straight-forward as is the structural determinist. The nothing-has-changed-so-we-can-do-as-before story, is just as easy to tell as the everything-has-changed-so-we-have-adapt story. In other words, political framing of ideas cannot help us understand the prevalence of the structural determinist version of the social democratic globalization discourse.
In the present paper, it is argued that it is not the inherent qualities of the ideas themselves, nor the way they are being framed in the political debate, that make some ideas rather than others powerful. Rather, there is a set of mechanisms which, under certain conditions, can empower particular ideas thereby rendering them an almost hegemonic status in elite circles world-wide. The question then becomes to trace the origins of the present hegemonic structural determinist version of globalization discourse and account for the mechanisms which made a difference for its birth, survival and upraising through an ideational life-cycle. 18
The rest of the paper will be organized in three small sections. Firstly, I will attempt to trace the origins of the structural determinist version of the social democratic globalization discourse. Of course, one can never be sure about the exact origins, which probably always are multiple. A few attempts will be made anyway. Secondly, I will discuss the role of international economic organizations in diffusing the structural determinist globalization discourse world-wide. One could argue that, in order to get diffused so quickly and in such a powerful way, that international fora of socialization must have had an impact. Particular focus will be put on the OECD. Finally, I will study how the structural determinist discourse is being operationalized in a concrete national political context - to be more precise, in the Danish political landscape. Denmark is a particularly interesting case because here we talk about a country which, paradoxically, have pursued an active, demand-oriented and regulatory economic policy while its social democratic leaders have conducted the structural determinist globalization discourse - it is a bumblebee that is not supposed to fly. Finally, I will conclude the paper on a more general line, making comparisons to the other papers presented in this panel.
The Origins of the Globalization Discourse
In the mind of journalists and others, the Third Way is closely linked to the philosophy of Anthony Giddens 19 (Calinicos, 1999: 79). 20 And it is indeed true that Giddens, in a British context, has been one of the latter years entrepreneurs behind the New Labour, and it is true that Giddens version of the Third Way does promote the globalization discourse when formulating so-called modern political strategies for the 21st century. In his book (Giddens, 1998: 28-33) The Third Way - The Renewal of Social Democracy and in his recent Reith Lectures 21 this comes out in clear:
'Different thinkers have taken almost completely opposite views about globalisation in debates that have sprung up over the past few years. Some dispute the whole thing. Ill call them the sceptics. According to the sceptics, all the talk about globalisation is only that - just talk [...] Others, however, take a very different position. Ill label them the radicals. The radicals argue that not only is globalisation very real, but that its consequences can be felt everywhere [...] The sceptics tend to be on the political left, especially the old left. For if all of this is essentially a myth, governments can still intervene in economic life and the welfare state remain intact. The notion of globalisation, according to the sceptics, is an ideology put about by free-marketeers who wish to dismantle welfare systems and cut back on state expenditures [...] Well, who is right in this debate? I think it is the radicals [...] I would have no hesitation, therefore, in saying that globalisation, as we are experiencing it, is in many respects not only new, but revolutionary'
Giddens takes side in supporting what he calls the radical view of globalization. He argues that globalization is not only a quantitative and qualitative new phenomenon, but also that it has consequences for the state everywhere. This is in line with his line of argument in The Consequences of Modernity (1990) in which he argues that globalization can be seen as the secularization and as a Westernization of the globe as such (Østerud, 1999: 71). In the previous section, I classified such a point of view in the category of structural determinists. This is opposed to Giddens category The Sceptics, which I have called the actor optimists.
Although Giddens is very much present in the current globalization debate and in the continuous framing of the Third Way, the globalization discourse which he represents in his writings, is older. Tod Lindberg (1999) argues that in the 1970s, the Third Way was the term for the Swedish model. For the purposes here, it suffices to go back to the mid 80s when Al From and others started the Third Way movement in the USA with the founding of the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) 22 - a group of centrist and conservative Democrats (Marlowe, 1999). DLC defines itself as an "idea center, catalyst, and national voice for a reform movement that is reshaping American politics by moving it beyond the old left-right debate" and it coined the term the third way when preparing Bill Clintons presidential campaign in 1992. The present president of DLC, Al From, played a prominent role in the 1992 election of president Bill Clinton and was appointed by Clinton to be his personal representative on the Democratic Platform Drafting Committee and deputy director for domestic policy for the Presidential Transition Team. Previously, From was executive director of the House Democratic Caucus, served in President Jimmy Carters White House, and was staff director of the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Intergovernmental Relations. 23 In a resolution entitled The New American Choice, which was adopted at the DLC Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, May 1991, the groundwork for the 1992 Democratic Party platform was laid down. In it, the first elements of the globalization discourse came to the fore. In Al Froms own words, the clearest, most complete articulation of the Third Way philosophy to date is The New Progressive Declaration, published in July 1996. Already in its subtitle, the reader is told that the world has changed as a result of which politics is bound to change as well: A Political Philosophy for the Information Age.' 24 In it, one reads:
'Global confusion. The end of the Cold War has weakened the domestic consensus behind vigorous U.S. global leadership, leaving us uncertain of our role in the world, torn between the impulse to lead and the temptation to turn inward. These challenges demand more new policies, they demand sweeping changes in the basic structure of government [...] As the era of big government comes to a close, we must reconstruct the progressive agenda in keeping with the organizational, political, and social imperatives of the Information Age'(p.4)
Today, the DLC is happy to take the responsibility for the fact that The Third Way Goes Global' 25 It argues that starting with Bill Clintons Presidential campaign in 1992, Third Way thinking is reshaping progressive politics throughout the world. Then Tony Blair, when leading a New Labour party back to power in 1997, is said to have been inspired by the example of Clinton and the New Democrats. Furthermore, the victory of Gerhard Schröder and the Social Democrats in Germany in 1998 is taken by the DLC to confirm the power of the think tank throughout the European Union. 26
However, the diffusion of ideas does not only depend on them being taken up by a new president. They have to be launched internationally, in international fora. Once in power, Bill Clinton, in a G7 context formulated a so-called "global growth strategy" (Putnam, 1994) 27 that would "involve mutually supportive policy shifts by each of the major summit actors." The US was supposed to reduce its budgetary deficits, Japan should boost its fiscal policies and Germany should make the Bundesbank relax monetary policy. Thus, what we are talking about here is an attempt made by Clinton to coordinate macro-economic policy strategies at a global level. We talk global coordination of individual countries demand-management - tightening in the USA and loosening in Japan and Germany. What happened, however, was that this strategy soon ran into the sands! Both Germany - whose political leaders probably still remembered that they were caught on their wrong leg in the G7-meeting in Bonn back in 1978 (Putnam & Henning, 1989) - and Japan refused to let themselves be coordinated by the US. Finally, also Clinton himself backed away from the "global growth strategy", because, according to Putnam (ibid), the Clinton administration is much less committed philosophically to international macro-economic policy coordination than was the Carter Administration, as a result of which Clinton turned inwards to find solutions to immediate growth problems. Putnam (ibid) cites an of-the-record comment from a senior Clinton official, that the problem is not the summit process, the problem is domestic politics.
After the marked failure of the demand-side growth strategy in which global macroeconomic coordination was at the center-stage, Clinton then turned inwards to look for new strategies and soon a so-called structural adaptation strategy was launched in the G7 forum. The problem was now seen to be rooted at the domestic level, at the supply-side of the economy, in the structural rigidities of capital and labor markets and counterproductive tax and regulatory policies. Gradually, argues Putnam (ibid), European leaders had come to share this diagnosis and we see the structural-determinist globalization discourse take shape at an international level. Within the G7 summit framework, this supply-side growth strategy, takes the form of a "global job strategy" which was launched in Detroit in March 12-13, 1994. On Behalf of the G-7 Jobs Conference, the US Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen, made the following statement:
Let me say that were facing tremendous change [...] We need to extract the most from change that we can. Thats why it is critical that we prepare our economies, and most importantly, our people, for the challenge that awaits us in the next century [...] In our differing economies and societies, structural reforms can make our labor markets and employment systems far more adaptable to change. We need, carefully and in our own ways, to pursue policies to take down barriers, and to strengthen our markets. Actively anticipating and responding to labor market needs can help meet the challenge of change [...] The structural reforms in labor and social programs will be more successful if they are supported by sound macroeconomic policies that promote growth. 28
Globalization is, in this particular meeting, framed as tremendous change which necessitates structural reform of labor markets, the strengthening of markets and sound macro-economic policies. In the follow-up meeting in Naples on July 8-10, 1994, the summit communiqué was even clearer in its structural determinist recommendations - a diffuse idea/globalization discourse had now undertaken an almost programmatic form:
We have gathered at a time of extraordinary change in the world economy. New forms of international inter-action are having enormous effects on the lives of our peoples and are leading to the globalization of our economies [...] How can we adapt existing institutions and build new institutions to ensure the future prosperity and security of our people? [...] We will concentrate on the following structural measures. We will: increase investment in our people [...] reduce labour rigidities which add to employments cost or deter job creation, eliminate excessive regulations and ensure that indirect costs of employing people are reduced wherever possible [...] pursue active labour market policies [...] encourage and promote innovation [...] promote competition, through eliminating unnecessary regulations and through removing impediments to small and medium-sized firms 29
The following year, at the Halifax G7 Summit on June 15-17, 1995, this strategy was confirmed - as it has been in any summit communiqué since then. 30 Prior to the Halifax meeting, Managing Directors of other international economic organizations also prepared the ground with the globalization discourse. Take IMF director Michel Camdessus as an example:
Michel Camdessus, IMF, June 15, 1995:
But judge for yourselves: Mexico, Barings, the dollar crisis. These three crises bear the marks of a new world dominated by the forces of globalization, a world to which our countries and our institutions must urgently adapt as best they can. It is against this background of globalization that the Halifax Summit will take place. 31
One further thing which happened in Halifax - and this is crucial for the purposes of this paper - was that the G7 communiqué resulting from this particular meeting explicitly recommended that the OECD in Paris would start consider the issue of globalization and its consequences for domestic institutional adaptation. The role of the OECD in helping to establish the Globalization discourse in the minds of social democratic leaders will be investigated in the next session. The main strategy seems to have been for various OECD committees to couple the structural determinist version of the globalization discourse to different policy issues, such as sound policy (Economic and Political Committee), new public management (Public Management Committee) and flexible labor markets (Industrial Committee).
In summary, I have now focused on a few and admittedly sketchy elements in our search for the origins of the present hegemonic globalization discourse. From being nowhere but represented, in casual and unsystematic ways, in declarations from international economic organizations, the structural determinist globalization discourse has been working its way onto the global social democratic agenda from an American think tank preparing Clintons presidential campaign in 1992, onwards to the G7 agenda in 1994 - after other, less successful, ideas have felt along the way-side - and ending up on the agenda of the OECD in 1995.
The Role of the OECD in Diffusing the Globalization Discourse
OECD is not the only international economic organization which have started to talk the globalization discourse during the 90s. IMF and the EU could just as well have been chosen to illustrate the point I want to make in this section: International organizations not only diffuse ideas through their activities and their production of public discourse, they also to a certain extent transform, or rather extend, the original ideas so as to make them applicable for their present purposes. International organizations, as I have indicated in the previous section, do not necessarily invent new ideas, they most typically receive a set of ready-made ideas from someone or something, in this case from the American President and his think tanks, but ideas almost never survives their passage through international organizations in their original form.
Particularly the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund has been concrete in his display of the structural-determinist version of the globalization discourse in the period from the mid 90s till his departure from the IMF beginning 2000. 32 In the following extract, globalization is mainly seen as a risk, which one - both the rich and the poor countries - will have to adapt to. An arch example of a structural determinist version of the globalization discourse.
Michel Camdessus, IMF, 28 November 1995:
the most important trends in the world economy today--globalization [...] Those of you who follow the Bretton Woods institutions closely may be surprised to see how frequently the concept of globalization appears in my remarks. However, the explanation for this is simple: this is the aspect of the international economy that contrasts the most sharply with the world of segmented markets and pervasive exchange and capital controls that existed when the Bretton Woods institutions were established. This is why we must explore, and invite the world to explore, how to adapt to it [...] In my view, one of the greatest risks of globalization is the very serious possibility that countries that are unwilling or unable to adjust to its demands, especially the poorest, will become increasingly marginalized [...] I think there is also a tendency to give insufficient attention to the challenges that globalization poses to industrial countries. One such challenge is the increased market discipline over the management of fiscal deficits. In the EU context, the papers of Ben Rosamond and Knud Erik Jørgensen in this panel provides plenty of examples of the globalization discourse in the same time-period. Recently, particularly Vice President of the European Commission, Leon Brittan, has been eager and consistent in his promotion of the globalization discourse. 33
Globalization is widely viewed as one of the most powerful forces shaping the modern world [...] Let me make my own position crystal clear from the start: I am a convinced supporter of global economic liberalization, not only because I think new technology and reduced transport costs make it inevitable, but above all because I believe the process is conducive to continuing economic growth and therefore greater human well-being [...] What is abundantly true, however, is that globalization does require a greater willingness to accept change. Change is not new, of course. As Heraclitus said Aonly change is constant@ [...] In conclusion, globalization is a very real phenomenon which poses substantial challenges to the way we run our affairs both politically and economically. The European Union has proved itself as a uniquely effective response to these modern challenges and has enabled nation-states to extend a much greater degree of effective sovereignty over the new international order than they would have been able to do on their own. 34
In short there is no genuine alternative to globalisation. Anything else would be a blind alley. 35
Globalisation is a fact of life, and will continue irrespective and independent of the activities of government. The issue is not whether we can accept or reject it, but how to ensure it is channelled in positive directions. It is vital that national and international organisations acknowledge the impact of globalisation and respond accordingly. 36
The IMF, the EU and other international fora are all relevant for studying the ways in which the globalization discourse is being disseminated throughout the world and the ways in which the standard structural-determinist globalization discourse is being linked to various specific policy issues in an internal policy transformation process. For illustrative purposes, focus is at present on the OECD and one of ifs committees, the Public Management Committee (PUMA). 37
The PUMA-Committee gathers twice a year at the level of senior civil servants from the OECD member countries. Its mission is to "provide information, analysis, assessment andrecommendation on public management; exchange good practice; and report on issues and developments." 38 The Committee in the present form has existed since 1989, and it is supported by the Public Management Service, employing about 15 permanent staff and various research assistants and sub-contracted consultants. The PUMA-service has always been in search of a niche and identity within the overall OECD framework, 39 which has been dominated by the larger and older departments such as the Economics Department, 40 the Development Cooperation Directorate, 41 the Directorate for Science, Technology and Industry, 42 and the Directorate for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries. 43
Faced with cut-down threats the PUMA has in recent years been forced to manifest itself more directly on the general OECD scene, and the document Governance in Transition (1995) is generally seen as exactly constituting an attempt of the PUMA committee and service to make a programmatic statement with a view to find a raison dêtre (Lerdell & Sahlin-Andersson, 1997). In the foreword, the secretary general of the OECD, Jean-Claude Paye, underlines that the report should be seen as a synthesis of current and past work carried out in the Public Management Service and in it one finds plenty of examples of the structural-determinist version of the globalization discourse. The recipe is always the same: a set of solutions (urgent reform of the public sector) is desperately looking around for a problem (globalization - here termed a global market place). This bears evidence of a committee and service in search of a new role. Take these few examples:
increasing global interdependence, uncertainty, and accelerating change is a major challenge [...] Governments must strive to do things better, with fewer resources, and, above all, differently (p. 7).
An increasingly open international economy puts a premium on national competitiveness [...] Radical change is required in order to protect the very capacity to govern and deliver services (p. 15).
A variety of factors have come together to make reform a burning issue. Key among these [is] the development of the global market-place, which highlighted the impact of government activities on national competitiveness (p. 19).
The external environment of the public sector has changed dramatically. A global market-place has developed [...] The freedom of national governments to act individually is significantly restrained (p. 21).
In the main part of the report, the solutions to the identified urgent globalization problem are identified, solutions which is identical to what one now-a-days knows under the heading New Public Management. 44 In its 1995 report, PUMAs reform suggestions can be summarized as (i) performance pay, (ii) performance targets, (iii) using IT, (iv) service delivery to clients, (v) user charges, (vi) contracting out; (vii) competition in the public sector, (viii) private sector style of management, (ix) discipline in use of resources, and (x) deregulation.
The following year, a working paper entitled Globalization: What Challenges and Opportunities for Governments? (1996) 45 is published by the PUMA Service. Its definition of Globalization is clearly structural-determinist:
globalisation and its many manifestations mean that borders - of all sorts - are becoming increasingly difficult for governments to define, let alone maintain. In consequence, national governments are being forced to redefine their roles, responsibilities and policy relationships
And it directly recommends the OECD (read PUMA) as an entity which can help states reorganizing and rethinking their organizational structures, procedures and cultures: International organizations such as the OECD - by providing both real and virtual fora for exchange - can also act as an important conduit in this process. 46
By 1999, the globalization discourse is complete, and safely consolidated in the PUMA context. This is exemplified by the document Synthesis of reform Experiences in Nine OECD Countries (1999). In this particular document the entire story-line behind the globalization-and-New-Public-Management link is spelled out in detail. The argument goes in two steps illustrated by the figure below.
In a first step, a crisis is identified; governments are overextended and unaffordable, and citizens are less and less satisfied with the services they get from government. A gulf between citizens expectations and the capability of governments to meet those expectations grew larger and larger. Then, in a second step, globalization comes into the picture:
With the onset of globalisation, decisions on roles and functions that were previously a domestic responsibility were greatly influenced by the international arena, raising concerns about sovereignty being impinged (p. 3).
Globalization, defined as capital, information, ideas, technologies, goods and services, as well as people, moving at an unprecedented volume and speed across national boundaries (p. 4), increases the need, according to the report, for public administrations to become more competitive. Competitiveness is here understood as the ability of the government to produce the demanded services, at the lowest possible price. One basic prerequisite for government managers to turn their governments into competitive organizations is, according to this logic, what is called strategic thinking. Strategic thinking involves a profound understanding of the existing realities, a clear vision and understanding of the direction of the reform, and a determination of the roles and responsibilities of those carrying out reform so that the actions taken have a good potential to lead the reform towards the stated objectives (p. 23). In other words, strategic thinking is needed to be able to implement strategic management, or what we earlier called New Public management. The argumentative chain is then brought to an end. The OECDs contribution to these profound administrative reforms is a very special and interesting one. The report itself states that:
external bodies, such as the OECD and WTO, often influenced the direction of reform and supported it through the publication of comparative information about countries. This provided objective information to politicians and the public alike, challenged the status quo, revealed different ways of operating, and put pressure on governments to respond. Even where a country lacked economic imperatives to reform, and had the luxury of not doing so, reputation-conscious governments, sensitive to unfavorable comparisons with others, initiated albeit moderate change (p.4 my italics)!
In other words, one secret behind the power of an idea - in this case the link between globalization and NPM - is that it must become consensually shared among those who participate in international organizations. If a member country for some reason or another does not feel the irreversible pressures for reform emanating from globalization, then this country is put under considerable social pressure to undertake public management reform. The fear for social exclusion at the level of international economic elites - the fear of not being member of the OECD organizational field - the fear of losing international legitimacy - the fear of not being part of the in group apparently sometimes is enough - disregarding the actual pressures deriving from globalization - for a country to start undertaking profound organizational reforms.
A final indication that the structural-determinist version of the globalization discourse has gained ground in the PUMA framework, is the fact that it is replicated in the newly adopted PUMA-mandate for the period 2000-2004:
As PUMA considers a new mandate and new directions in which to take its work at the outset of the 21st century, its mission can be stated in concise terms: to promote good governance [...] The growing demand for "good governance" can be traced to many sources. In an age characterized by what is called "globalization", countries face challenges of keeping up with an irreversible process of increasing linkages which in some cases is straining social relations [...] globalisation of economic and social policies creates a need for new capacities to exploit new opportunities (PUMA(99)7/rev1; November 3, 1999)
In the discussion above focus has only been on the adaptation of the globalization discourse to the demands of a single - and rather small - service within the OECD secretariat. A fast glance at the web-pages of the Economics Department and the Directorate for Science, Technology and Industry will quickly convince the researcher that other links are being made. Within the Economic Policy Committee (EPC), a causal link is consistently made between globalization and so-called sound economic policy. Similarly within the Industrial Committee a link is made between globalization and regulatory reform:
Globalisation, increased competition and rapid technological change continually alter the environment in which industry operates, putting pressure on industry to adapt but also creating opportunities for growth and efficiency gains. Governments, for their part, are anxious to maximise these opportunities so as to increase employment, raise living standards and fund essential government services 47
The point which is made here is that international economic organizations play various roles when it comes to the globalization discourse. Firstly, once it has been promoted by a particularly influential source, the international economic organization takes up an idea and replicates it through its own official discourse. Not any idea has a chance to become integrated into the vocabulary of an international organization, ideas need powerful ideational carriers to become powerful. Secondly, international economic organizations help to diffuse this idea amongst its member countries. At some point an idea reach a tipping point among member countries and at that stage no-one can afford to ignore the idea if they want to remain legitimate within the international economic elite society (Finnenmore & Sikkink, 1998). After the tipping point, diffusion takes place by itself and the idea becomes consensually shared at an amazing speed. Thirdly, various departments in international economic organizations exploit the reigning idea as it fits their immediate purposes. If one department, which is otherwise close to being closed down, succeeds in making a link between the dominating idea and one of the main issues dealt with by the department, then the department can count on being saved from closure, and sometimes it can even aspire to a future in relative economic prosperity. One does simply not close departments which are promoting powerful and consensually shared ideas! At this point, however, one note of caution should be made. It is not argued that the structural-determinist globalization discourse is the only one out-there, which makes a difference for international economic organizations. Rather we should imagine various ideas which the international economic organization will have to deal with when they pop up. What I do argue, though, is that by the end of the 90s, the globalization discourse has become so frequently used, both among social democrats around the world and in international economic organizations, that this in itself really can be an example of something becoming globalized. In the next section we will study how the globalization discourse is being operationalized in a concrete national context - the Danish case.
The Globalization Discourse in Practice - the Danish Case
Together with an increased focus on globalization within the OECD framework 48 the Danish economic ministries started to speak the globalization discourse in 1996 and 1997. Civil servants within the Danish Ministry of Industrial Affairs and the Ministry of Finance 49 had already started to discuss the issue of globalization during 1996, basically because globalization became a highly prioritized issue on the agenda of the OECD Industrial Committee earlier that year. The 1996-report of the Ministry of Industrial Affairs already showed elements of the increased focus on globalization:
Globalisering er andet og mere end internationalisering. Globalisering betegner en udvikling, hvor virksomheder i stigende grad betragter verden, snarere end nationalstaten, som det mest naturlige marked, ikke kun for at sælge varer, men også for at købe arbejdskraft og tjenester, skaffe kapital, opnå kendskab til ny teknologi og viden og finde samarbejdspartnere ... Globaliseringens drivkraft er konkurrencen mellem virksomhederne ... formår vi ikke at tage ordentlig bestik af udfordringerne og indrette os på de nye betingelser, vil det svække fundamentet for det velfærdssamfund, som vi kender i dag ... Fordi globaliseringen betyder, at virksomheder, kapital og borgere bliver mere mobile, kan globaliseringen blive en udfordring for velfærdssamfundet (pp. 20-21).
Derfor skaber globaliseringen et pres på de enkelte lande for at tilvejebringe erhvervsmæssige vilkår, der ikke er ringere end vilkårene i andre lande ... For velfærdssamfundet betyder globaliseringen derfor, at den makroøkonomiske disciplin er blevet strammere (p. 22). 50
During 1997, these discussions materialized in more reports, meetings and conferences. In October 1997 a closed globalization conference was convened with Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen as chairperson. 51 Invited were mainly top civil servants and politicians from the economic ministries and experts from the OECD who had experience in dealing with processes of globalization. 52 Formally, the conference was based on the three reports: Globalisering og Dansk Økonomi, 53 Internationalisering og den økonomiske politik, 54 and Erhvervspolitik i et Globalt Perspektiv. 55 All reports bear clear elements of a structural determinist perspective on globalization:
[globaliseringen] fordrer, at omstillingsevnen i den danske økonomi understøttes. Nødvendigheden i at være parat til omstilling og forandring øges yderligere af, at det er vanskeligt at forudsige de fremtidige strukturelle påvirkninger [...] Kravene til makropolitikken er også skærpet. Globaliseringen har betydet, at de finansielle markeder reagerer hurtigere end tidligere, således at ubalancer i økonomien relativt hurtigt straffes med højere rente eller forringelse af valutakursen [...] Endelig skærper globaliseringen behovet for internationalt samarbejde for bla. at undgå konkurrence på skattemæssige særregler, subsidier, tekniske handelshindringer etc. (pp. 3-4).
Globaliseringen øger kravene til den økonomiske politik. På en række områder forstærker globaliseringen dog blot behovet for at føre politik på en måde, der under alle omstændigheder ville styrke økonomien (p. 21). 56
The Ministry of Industrial Affairs furthermore extends its discussion of globalization in its annual report for 1997:
For at kunne høste alle frugterne af globaliseringen skal de enkelte økonomier kunne omstille og tilpasse sig de strukturelle forandringer i erhvervene, som følger i kølvandet på den globale økonomi (p. 16).
Den nye globale konkurrence, hvor varer og kapital flytter sig ubesværet over landegrænser, har betydning for det enkelte lands behov og muligheder for at føre politik ... Kravene kan rubriceres under tre overskrifter: større fokus på erhvervenes rammevilkår; større behov for fælles international spilleregler; større behov for et velfærdssamfund. Stabile makroøkonomiske rammer er afgørende for, at virksomhederne kan disponere langsigtet. Derfor er det vigtigt, at Danmark gennem de senere år har opnået forbedringer af den offentlige sektors finanser, samtidig med at der er opretholdt et overskud på betalingsbalancen, lav inflation og stabil valutakurs (pp. 18-19).
Den største udfordring ved globaliseringen er derfor at sammensætte en politik, der giver virksomhederne mulighed for at deltage i den globale økonomi og samtidig sikrer, at de samfundsmæssige gevindster fortsat bliver jævnt fordelt (p. 66). 57
Today, the globalization discourse has become an integrated element in most official declarations from national economic ministries. In Spring 2000 the present minister of Industrial Affairs, Pia Gellerup, will be publishing a report on Globalisering og vidensøkonomi: strategi for den erhvervsmæssige udvikling i Danmark 58 involving no less than eight ministries. At this point, we will be able to get a more precise idea about the extent to which the globalization discourse is being shared within the Danish central administration.
The argument about the need for structural adaptation to processes of globalization seems to be supplementing, or maybe even replacing, the commonly used story-line about Denmark in Europe. The argument about Denmarks need to adapt to requirements from Brussels has so far been used extensively when explaining or informing the public about domestic reform measures. This scapegoating mechanism has probably added to the development of a rather skeptical popular attitude towards European integration in general and the Brussels-bureaucracy in particular. If the globalization discourse is slowly replacing the European discourse in a Danish context, this might have the effect of opening up the European debate in Denmark so that Europe can be discussed openly in visionary terms rather than constantly in structural determinist terms. But it might also have the effect that globalization will quickly appear in the public discourse as processes to be protected against, rather than as processes in which Denmark actively partakes. Structural determinist discourses can be thought of as discourses that liberate elected politicians from the responsibility of governance through government, thereby leaving the responsibility for governance with either the indefinable markets or cross-sectoral and transnational issue-networks of unaccountable actors. Therefore, a discussion about globalization as discourse also implies that normative issues about democracy and power come to the center-stage.
Preliminary Conclusions
The term globalization discourse has been applied as a short-cut the for the tendency of social democratic leaders world-wide to circulate a so-called structural determinist version of current globalization processes. At present, social democracy seems to imply (among many other things, of course) that a link can legitimately be made between diffuse processes of globalization and a postulated need for political leaders to adapt domestic structures and policies. The structural determinist slogan there is no alternative has gained ground, not only on the traditional right wing but now also on the traditional left wing.
This cannot be explained only by reference to a parallel consensus amongst academic scholars studying the phenomenon of globalization. On the contrary, scholars seem to disagree about whether globalization is new or old, whether it is global or not, and about the extent to which processes of globalization undermine the sovereignty of the state. So, if there indeed seems to have been created a consensus amongst social democrats about the extent and consequences of globalization, how should we then understand such a consensus?
This paper has made a few preliminary and indicative steps in an attempt to trace the globalization discourse back in time amongst social democratic leaders. It did so in view of discussing some of the conditions which allow one particular version of the globalization debate - the structural determinist globalization discourse - to be disseminated world wide. The figure below indicates some of the major steps in the development of the globalization discourse.
At this stage, it should be emphasized that the picture of the life-cycle of the structural determinist globalization discourse of course is highly simplified and ignores a series of actors and processes. It should also be noted that the degree of consensus amongst social democratic leaders world-wide about the globalization discourse should not be exaggerated. There is simply not enough evidence in this paper to support such a strong claim. Furthermore, one can legitimately ask what kind of evidence is needed in order to substantiate a claim about the existence of a hegemonic discourse? Who should converge in their statements and how much convergence is needed in order to be able to talk about a real world-wide consensus? Is it enough that people talk the same globalization discourse or should they also act accordingly, and even believe in what they say themselves? Questions like these can legitimately, and indeed should, be asked to studies like the present one, which makes huge claims on the basis of a very limited and at times casual data-set.
If, however, we have these sound and skeptical considerations in mind and if we make educated guesses or probability probes (Eckstein, 1975: 108) rather than make general and law-like conclusions, then the paper has pointed to a series of factors which might be of help in understanding why one particular globalization discourse rather than another made the day amongst social democratic leaders at the end of the 90s.
For a beginning, it seems reasonable to exclude that ideas from the outset succeed if they are good or correct, whereas ideas which are bad or wrong fall along the way-side. What constitutes a good or bad idea is to a large extent socially constructed and of course depends on the very particular social environment in which the idea is brought up for discussion.
Second, it seems to be of some importance that ideas which are simple and straightforward (the structural determinist discourse and the actor optimist discourse) have a better chance to survive the ideational life-cycle than ideas which to many seem to be illogical constructions (the structural moderate discourse and the actor pessimist discourse). In principle, anything can be promoted as a bright idea if it is framed in a simple and easy-to-understand way. Furthermore, the framing aspect becomes particularly important if a certain idea is meant to be sold to a larger audience located world-wide in multiple social contexts. However, simplicity and good promotion does not tell us exactly which idea will turn out to become the basis for a new hegemonic discourse. Many ideas are simple, and we need to know which one of these simple ideas makes the day. The structure and form of an idea can only be a necessary but never a sufficient factor behind a powerful idea.
Third, it takes an ideational entrepreneur to formulate an idea (or rather re-formulate an idea, because most ideas have already been formulated for many years and in other contexts, which means that it is more correct to talk about ideas being re-invented rather than invented anew). The Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) might be an example of such an ideational entrepreneur, who framed old ideas so that they fitted into a new context - in this case, Bill Clintons Presidential campaign in 1992.
Fourth, once an idea has been formulated, it takes a certain power-base to diffuse it world-wide. Not anybody with a clearly framed idea has the capability to make this idea trustworthy in other social contexts - processes of dissemination take a certain time and a lot of energy, both on the part of those who diffuse the idea (The US President and his administration), and on the part of those who are on the receivers side (Political leaders from other countries).
Fifth, power is not all! Many powerful leaders have tried to diffuse various ideas without being particularly successful in that regard. Apart from an efficient and powerful supply mechanism, there needs to be an explicit demand mechanism. The receivers of ideas need to perceive that they need new ideas to replace old ideas. Receivers need to believe that they cannot do without a powerful new idea. Such a perception needs not relate to an objective stage of crisis, but it will relate to a commonly perceived sense of crisis or a strong and explicit will to make a new beginning. During the 90s social democrats world-wide came to power in a situation of economic hardship. They needed to show that they could make a difference - they needed a new discourse - a new defining myth. It was in this context that Bill Clinton and others were able to successfully diffuse a third way including a structural determinist globalization discourse.
Sixth, however, even if there is such a commonly perceived sense of crisis - a critical juncture - then it is not possible to sell just any idea out there. New ideas somehow have to resonate with existing belief structures in order for them to have a chance to be considered relevant as an element in a new mythic political discourse. At the time Clinton came to power, he did not succeed in diffusing a global demand-side version of the globalization discourse. In the 90s times were simply not up for demand-side strategies. Clinton quickly realized that such was the situation, so he started to diffuse a domestic supply-side version of the globalization discourse. This last version apparently hit something that was already established as recognized and established knowledge amongst the receiver nations. It was easier for the idea-receivers to accept supply-side ideas than demand-side ideas, even if the receivers were all social democrats.
Seventh, international organizations might help some ideas on their way in the international community. In international organizations people meet, talk, negotiate and learn new things. These processes can be described as being coercive, benevolent or simply communicative (Risse, 2000), but the point is that through an international forum an idea can reach a tipping point in an amazingly short time period. The OECD, IMF and EU constitute prominent examples of highly prestigious fora in which the richest and most modern states in the world regularly meet to interchange ideas and to formulate and coordinate common policy strategies.
Eight, international organizations also seem to exploit potential powerful ideas for their own purposes. International organizations make links between the original idea and new issues so as to be more convincing in their own production of services for their member countries and, eventually, avoid budget cuts. PUMA is such an example which has successfully integrated the globalization discourse in its permanent promotion of New Public Management reforms. Other departments within the OECD framework construct other kinds of links between the consensually shared globalization discourse and concrete, department-specific activity areas.
Ninth, at the national levels, not only politicians, but also civil servants become the driving forces behind the consolidation and institutionalization of a particular idea. Once being a integral part of the international consensual discourse, the globalization discourse is systematically being integrated into policy documents produced in the various national ministries. The internationally shared idea becomes modern and it becomes illegitimate not to explicitly show that this new idea indeed has become a natural part of any small organizations idea-basis. Ideas which have reached the tipping point internationally become increasingly powerful in the sense that they start to define rules of appropriate action and rules for group membership. These regulative, normative and cognitive aspects of ideas are powerful social mechanisms of exclusion and exclusion within the domestic as well as international political communities.
This latter point deals with what can be called the power of ideas. Once an idea has been established, through an ideational life-cycle, as hegemonic discourse and sometimes also replicated in formal procedures, rules and organizations at the national as well as at the international levels, an idea becomes a powerful social mechanism of exclusion and inclusion. The dynamics of ideas goes hand-in-hand with the power of ideas - a theme which is also present in the other papers of this panel.
Ben Rosamond investigates how the institutions of the European Union, after the end of the cold war, explicitly constructs a globalization discourse helping it to redefine a European community, or in-group, which includes the east- and central-European countries. The globalization discourse thus creates a social entity where there was none before, thereby also creating new legitimacy foundations for further attempts of integration. In Rosamonds paper the actors behind identity politics at the European scale is pinpointed and the social consequences in the form of new identity constructions are discussed. This problematique can be seen as closely linked to the issues dealt with by Knud Erik Jørgensen. Knud Erik Jørgensen considers the duality between European integration and processes of globalization. On one hand, globalization is commonly constructed as being a major reason behind further processes of European integration. Globalization thus constitutes the basis of legitimacy for various commissioners integrative initiatives on behalf of the European Commission. On the other hand, according to Knud Erik Jørgensen, the European Union is itself a major engine behind processes of globalization, both when it comes to so-called real economic and political processes as well as when it comes to diffusing the globalization discourse world-wide.
Mette Zølner, for her part, has chosen to illustrate the mechanisms of identity constructions by investigating the ways in which French business elites perceive of processes of globalization at the end of the 90s. At the level of French national politicians and French media, there exists a strong anti-American globalization discourse, which help French political and media elites to reinvigorate an old myth of the American other in a period in which French national identities are perceived to be threatened from European integration and immigration. At the level of French business elites, however, the official definition of an American other is only one element in a more complex process in which the French nation is being re-imagined. The point is that the official anti-American globalization discourse only partly is having an impact on the ways in which business elites perceive of themselves, the nation, and their own roles within the statist French political system. Other factors are their individual life-worlds and the historical codes of the French nation. In other words, Mette Zølners papers illustrates the limits of the social consequences of powerful ideas. Ideas which are consensually shared at the level of political and media elites, need not have a clear and coherent impact on the ways in which other societal elites perceive of themselves. Identity constructions are complex and multifaceted, and it seems as if we have to be weary of generalizations.
Finally, Sven Bislev et al. have chosen to focus on the ways in which the globalization discourse has been linked to New Public Management reforms in places so varied as the municipalities of Denmark, Great Britain, Germany, United States and Mexico. How is it possible that a link between a structural determinist globalization discourse and a very specific marketized concept of public administration can be diffused so powerfully in such a variety of places, and how is the NPM management reforms actually being implemented in these places? In other words, Sven Bislev et al. investigate not only the processes through which a very specific conception of public management is being diffused in the name of globalization, he also investigates the concrete impact of these ideas in different social contexts and the factors which are facilitating or constraining some ideas in some places and not in others.
In conclusion, these papers in common seem to indicate that there indeed is a basis for studying globalization as being more than just objective flows of information, capital, goods and services across boundaries - there seems to be a basis for also considering globalization as discourse.
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Endnotes
Note 1: This paper is written within the framework of a research project on The Internationalization of Domestic Structures in Denmark and Sweden' financed by the Danish Social Science Research Council'. Back.
Note 2: Socialist International. 1999. Declaration of Paris - The Challenges of Globalisation' The XXIs Congress of the Socialist International, Paris, 8-10 November 1999 (www.socialistinternational.org/5Congress/XXISICONGRESS/DeclParis e.html) Back.
Note 3: Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. 1999. "Setting the global agenda for Africa", Socialist Affairs, 48(1), www.socialistinternational.org/9SocAffairs/1 V48/eKeita.html. Back.
Note 4: Statsminister Poul Nyrup Rasmussens tale ved Industriens Årsdag i Bella Centret, tirsdag den 21. september 1999, "Hvilken rolle skal Danmark påtage sig i verdenspolitikken?" (www.stm.dk/taler/taler/tale43.htm). Back.
Note 5: "Doctrine of the International Community", Remarks by British PM Tony Blair, Economic Club of Chicago, Chicago, IL, April 22, 1999, www.dlcppi.org/speeches/blairdoctrine.htm Back.
Note 6: "Der Weg nach vorne für Europas Sozialdemokraten" (Die Welt, 09.06.1999), Ein Vorschlag von Gerhard Schröder und Tony Blair (www.welt.de/daten/1999/06/09/0609fo117239.htx) Back.
Note 7: Intervention du Premier ministre Lionel Jospin au colloque de la Tribune "Objectif France 2001", Paris, le 23 novembre 1999 (www.premier ministre.gouv.fr/PM/D231199.HTM): Back.
Note 8: Remarks by Al Core."Opening Session of International REGO (Re-inventing Government) Conference, Thursday, January 14, 1999 (/www.gore2000.org/speeches/interego.html) Back.
Note 9: Tod Lindberg. 1999. Why the `Third Way' Is Winning, The Wall Street Journal, May 26 (www.dlcppi.org/press/news/articles/052699_wsj.htm). See also Martin Walker. 1999. Third Way Club Gathers Members Prosperity And Stability Become Holy Grail Of The Blair Generation, The Guardian, May 3 (www.dlcppi.org/press/news/articles/050399_guardian.htm). Back.
Note 10: Hans-Werner Lautenschlager, State Secretary, Federal Office, Germany, OECD Council Meeting at Ministerial Level, 16-17 June 1981, OECD Observer, no. 111, July 1981, p.8. Back.
Note 11: OECD Council Meeting at Ministerial Level, Communiqué, 10-11 May 1982, OECD Observer, no. 116, May 1982, p. 5. Back.
Note 12: Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, Folketinget, 8. December 1999, tale 4, www.ft.dk/samling/19991/salen/f28_beh1_30_2_4.htm Back.
Note 13: Intervention de Dominique Strauss-Kahn, "Pour un pacte de croissance européen", Club de convictions, le 17 mars 1999, www.finances.gouv.fr/discours/ Back.
Note 14: SPD, "Europe a united continent of peace, welfare and social security", Resolution adopted by the Party Conference held from 2 to 4 December, 1997 in Hanover, www.spd.de/aktuell/leiteuropa_e.htm. Back.
Note 15: Rt Hon Sir Leon Brittan QC. 1999. "Responding to the Challenges of Globalisation: an Opportunity for Reform", The Economist Conference, 28 April, europa.eu.int/comm/dg01/slb2904.htm. Back.
Note 16: "Doctrine of the International Community", Remarks by British PM Tony Blair, Economic Club of Chicago, Chicago, IL, April 22, 1999, www.dlcppi.org/speeches/blairdoctrine.htm Back.
Note 17: Lionel Jospin, Only on our Terms - Global capitalism is a fact but Europe must act in concert to regulate it', The Guardian, Thursday, November 16, 1999 (www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,3930837,00.html). Back.
Note 18: For the concept ideational life-cycle', see Marcussen (1999) and Marcussen et al. (1999). Back.
Note 19: www.lse.ac.uk/Giddens/ Back.
Note 20: See for instance, Le Monde, 1st October 1998; The Guardian, 11th March 1999 and 21st November 1999; Berlingske Tidende 14th December 1999. Back.
Note 21: Anthony Giddens, Lecture 1: "Globalisation" , BBC Reith Lectures, Radio 4, 7th April 1999, kl.20.02 (news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/events/reith_99/week1/week1.htm). Back.
Note 22: www.dlcppi.org/ Back.
Note 23: The New Democrat, September/October 1998, www.dlcppi.org/tnd/memos/septoct98.htm Back.
Note 24: Al From. 1998. "Understanding the Third Way - A Primer on the New Politics for the Information Age", The New Democrat, September/October, www.dlcppi.org/tnd/memos/septoct98.htm Back.
Note 25: www.dlcppi.org/ppi/3way/3wayglobal.htm Back.
Note 26: www.dlcppi.org/ppi/3way/3way.htm. In parallel to the developments in American think tanks, British thinks tanks in particular have been going in the same direction. Denham & Garnett (1998: 181-188) mention the following three which can be said to be linked, some way or the other, to New Labour: The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR, www.ippr.org.uk/), Nexus (www.netnexus.org/), and Demos (www.demos.co.uk/). The IPPR was established already in 1988, but at no point has it been promoting a globalization discourse - be it structural determinist or actor optimist. Globalization does not seem to have been on the agenda what-so-ever. The same goes for Demos which was launched in 1993 and Nexus which was not created until 1996. See also Lucy Hodges. 1998. "The Wonks at Work in Blair's Think Tank', The Independent, July 23 (www.dlcppi.org/ppi/3way/articles/980723_ind.htm). Back.
Note 27: www.library.utoronto.ca/g7/scholar/putnam1994/document.html Back.
Note 28: Summary Statement of Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen on Behalf of the G-7 Jobs Conference, Detroit, Mich., March 15, 1994 (www.library.utoronto.ca/g7/adhoc/g7jobs.htm). Back.
Note 29: www.library.utoronto.ca/g7/summit/1994naples/communique/ Back.
Note 30: See for instance the Economic communiqué from the Lyon, 27-29 June 1996 summit entitled `Making a success of globalization for the benefit of all': 1. We, the Heads of State or Government of seven major industrialized democracies and the President of the European Commission, have met in Lyons for our 22nd annual Summit. Our discussions have taken place within the framework of a reflection on benefits and challenges posed by increasing economic globalization. 2. Economic growth and progress in today's interdependent world is bound up with the process of globalization. Globalization provides great opportunities for the future, not only for our countries, but for all others too. [...] 3. Globalization also poses challenges to societies and economies [...] 4. Our countries have made a decisive contribution to the progress of liberalization and globalization. We must do our best to ensure that this process fully responds to the hopes it has aroused and that globalization serves the interest of people, their jobs and their quality of life. [...] 5. This requires increased international cooperation. The adaptation of our international institutional structures; liberalization of markets, fair rules and their extension to new players; the capacity to respond to crises of varying scale and nature, as well as a readiness to support the efforts of those countries striving to escape from the miseries of economic underdevelopment will be necessary for future progress [...] 7. Since we met in Halifax, economic developments have been on the whole positive and disparities of economic performance among us have been narrowing. Back.
Note 31: Michel Camdessus. 1995. "The IMF in a Globalized World Economy--The Tasks Ahead", Third Annual Sylvia Ostry Lecture, Ottawa, June 7, 1995, www.imf.org/external/np/sec/mds/1995/MDS9510.htm Back.
Note 32: In Michel Camdessus' recent speeches globalization dictates a so-called duty of excellence' implying economic rigour and lean state-bureaucracy with a view to move to an economy which is more worthy of the human race'!
1. Whether a country is large or small, any crisis can become systemic through contagion on the globalized markets. Domestic economic policy therefore must, now more than ever, take into account its potential worldwide impact; a duty of universal responsibility is incumbent upon all. Every country, large or small, is responsible for the stability and quality of the entire world growth. 2. This adds a new dimension to the duty of excellence that is required of every government in the management of its economy. I use the word "excellence"; I could also say "absolute rectitude." Globalization is, in fact, a prodigious factor in accelerating and spreading the international repercussions of domestic policies -- for better or for worse. No country can escape, and all are fully aware of this.
("From the Crises of the 1990s to the New Millennium", International Graduate School of Management (IESE), Palacio de Congresos, Madrid, Spain, 27.11.1999, www.imf.org/external/np/speeches/1999/112799.htm). Back.
Note 33: Michel Camdessus. 1995. "The International Monetary Fund and the Challenges of Globalization", The Free University, Amsterdam, November 28, www.imf.org/external/np/sec/mds/1995/MDS9520.htm. See also Michel Camdessus. 1995. "The IMF and the Challenges of Globalization - The Fund's Evolving Approach to its Constant Mission: The Case of Mexico", the Zurich Economics Society, Zurich, November 14, www.imf.org/external/np/sec/mds/1995/MDS9517.htm. Back.
Note 34: Sir Leon Brittan. 1997. "Globalization vs Sovereignty? The European Response" Rede Lecture, Cambridge University 20th February, europa.eu.int/comm/dg01/sp200297.htm. Back.
Note 35: Sir Leon Brittan. 1997. "Globalisation: Responding to new political and moral challenges", World Economic Forum, Davos, 30th January, europa.eu.int/comm/dg01/sp300197.htm. Back.
Note 36: Rt Hon Sir Leon Brittan QC. 1999. "The contribution of the WTO Millennium Round to globalisation: an EU view", First Herbert Batliner Symposium: Europe in the Era of Globalisation B Economic Order and Economic Law, Vienna, 29 April 1999, europa.eu.int/comm/dg01/slb3004.htm. Back.
Note 37: www.oecd.org/puma/ Back.
Note 38: www.oecd.org/puma/about/index.htm Back.
Note 39: For a general organization diagram: www.oecd.org/about/general/orgchart-e.pdf Back.
Note 40: www.oecd.org/eco/eco/ Back.
Note 41: www.oecd.org/dac/ Back.
Note 42: www.oecd.org/dsti/sti/ Back.
Note 43: www.oecd.org/agr/ Back.
Note 44: Standard texts on New Public Management are: Hood (1991), Pollitt (1990), Osborne and Gaebler (1992), Massey (1993), Aucoin (1990). Back.
Note 45: www.oecd.org//puma/gvrnance/strat/pubs/glo96/toc.htm Back.
Note 46: For another example in which the OECD (read PUMA) is explicitly suggested as a forum which can help states out of their globalization dilemma, see PUMA Service employee: Sally Washington. 1996. Globalization and Governance', The OECD Observer, no. 199, April/May, pp. 24-27. Back.
Note 47: OECD Policy Brief, no. 3, 1997, "New Directions for Industrial Policy", (www.oecd.org/publications/pol_brief/9703_pol.htm). Back.
Note 48: Exemplified by publications such as: OECD. 1997. Towards a New Global Age: Challenges and Opportunities - Policy Report, Paris; OECD. 1997. Globalization and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Paris; OECD. 1997. Societal Cohesion and the Globalising Economy, Paris; and by Secretary-General of the OECD, Donald J. Johnston. 1997. "A New Global Age", OECD Observer, no. 207, August/September. Back.
Note 49: Interviews with the author in January and November 1999. Back.
Note 50: Erhvervsministeriet. 1996. Erhvervsredegørelse, København, Oktober. Back.
Note 51: Poul Nyrup Rasmussen's welcome remarks to the globalization conference on 27th October 1997 (www.statsministeriet.dk/taler/taler/tale4.htm). Back.
Note 52: Interview in the Economics Department, OECD, Paris, October 1999. Back.
Note 53: www.fm.dk/udgivelser/publikationer/forgang2/index.htm Back.
Note 54: www.fm.dk/udgivelser/publikationer/forgang1/index.htm Back.
Note 55: www.fm.dk/udgivelser/publikationer/forgang3/index.htm Back.
Note 56: Finansministeriet. 1997. Danmark som foregangsland: Globalisering og dansk økonomi, København, September. Back.
Note 57: Erhvervsministeriet. 1997. Erhvervsredegørelse, København, September. Back. | ||||||||
correct_leader_00102 | FactBench | 0 | 6 | https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/exchange-with-reporters-prior-discussions-with-prime-minister-poul-nyrup-rasmussen-denmark | en | Exchange With Reporters Prior to Discussions With Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen of Denmark in Copenhagen | [
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Q. Have you been—[inaudible]?
President Clinton. We've made a very clear statement that every democracy in Europe who wishes to join should be eligible to join at the appropriate time and that we will take regular reviews, the first one in 1999. And that applies to the Baltics as well as other countries. I must say that I want to thank the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister for taking the same position. We should remain open for business, if you will, for all, because we're trying to bring Europe together, including Russia and Ukraine and others, and that is our mission.
Q. Are they in a better position today than before the Madrid Summit—the Baltic countries?
President Clinton. I think they are, because it's the first time NATO has taken this public position, with the heads of governments saying we would be open to all. They've said it before, but in a different forum. So this is the first sort of public statement about our long-term plan over the next decade or two.
Denmark-U.S. Relations
Q. Will you—[inaudible]?
President Clinton. Sorry, I'm hard of hearing. Well, let me say, we have had a wonderful partnership with Denmark. It's been an unusual one, and I think we will continue our partnership.
President's Visit
Q. How do you like your visit?
President Clinton. I love it. You know, I was last here in 1969 as a poor student, and I had a wonderful time and I have never forgotten it. I've always wanted to come back. I only wish I could stay longer, especially because it's so warm and the jazz festival is going on.
Prime Minister Rasmussen. We wish that too, President.
Q. How do you like the Danish hospitality?
President Clinton. I love it, don't you?
Q. Is this the first time you've been here?
President Clinton. Since 1969. I was here in December of 1969. I loved it then, and I like it now, a lot.
Q. Mr. President, is this a fitting end to a busy week?
President Clinton. It's a wonderful end to a busy week because we have had no stronger ally and freedom has had no stronger friend than Denmark over the last several years. Denmark has taken a leading role in NATO and is working for expansion and working for the resolution of our agreement with Russia and Ukraine and in Bosnia. Denmark has been with us in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Denmark has been in Albania, where we have not been. It is a remarkable country, and this is a fitting end of the week because this is the week in which together, we with our NATO allies, I believe went a very long way toward creating a Europe which will be free of war, which will have more freedom, and which will be undivided, really for the first time in its history.
Bosnia
Q. You know Congress has voted that you— we cease any operations or any participation in Bosnia after June 1998. Do you go along with that?
President Clinton. I believe the present operation will have run its course by then, and we'll have to discuss what, if any, involvement the United States should have there. I will say this. Our involvement there in the last—the SFOR operation, which is much, much reduced; we have fewer than half the troops we had there when we started. It's been much less expensive and much less hazardous to America than a resumption of full-scale war in Bosnia would be. So I think it's been a very good thing we've done, and I would hope the American people are very proud of it. | |||||||
correct_leader_00102 | FactBench | 2 | 34 | https://www.politico.eu/article/socialist-chiefs-to-wield-axe-as-far-right-joins-slovak-coalition/ | en | Socialist chiefs to wield axe as far-right joins Slovak coalition | [
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] | 2006-07-05T16:00:00+00:00 | The Party of European Socialists (PES) is set to suspend from membership the Slovak Social Democratic Party (SMER), in protest at the decision of its leader Robert Fico to form a coalition government with a nationalist party. | en | https://www.politico.eu/wp-content/themes/politico/assets/images/favicon/favicon.ico | POLITICO | https://www.politico.eu/article/socialist-chiefs-to-wield-axe-as-far-right-joins-slovak-coalition/ | PES leader Poul Nyrup Rasmussen said yesterday that he had no choice but to recommend suspending SMER, after Fico, the newly elected prime minister, formed a coalition with the nationalist SNS party, which has a very aggressive stance to the country’s Hungarian minority and Roma population.
“I can’t be the frontrunner against populism, xenophobia and nationalism and accept a government with populist, xenophobic and nationalist members,” said Rasmussen, following a meeting with Fico in Strasbourg yesterday (5 July).
SMER’s MEPs are also likely to be suspended from the Socialist group in the European Parliament.
Rasmussen said following the meeting with Fico that he had warned the SMER leader that going ahead with the planned coalition meant that “Europe would turn its back on Slovakia”.
The move carries echoes of events in 2000, when the Christian Democrat Party in Austria formed a coalition with the right-wing Freedom Party, provoking protests in Strasbourg and Brussels.
Rasmussen wrote to Fico last week, warning him of the consequences of forming a coalition with nationalist parties, urging him to seek other allies.
But Fico wants to water down some of the liberal economic policies of his centre-right predecessor Mikulásù Dzurinda including a 19% flat tax. He would not have had support for doing this from centre-right parties or the Hungarian minority party.
Rasmussen said that SMER would remain suspended as long as it remained in coalition with SNS.
The decision to suspend must formally be taken by the PES praesidium, whose next meeting is scheduled for October. But Rasmussen said there could be an extraordinary meeting before then so that the decision could be taken as soon as possible.
If, as expected, the PES’s 32 other member parties vote to suspend SMER, the party and its leaders would lose the rights to attend all PES summits, meetings and seminars.
SMER would also cease to be a member of the Socialist group in the European Parliament which only admits PES members.
SMER’s three MEPs would then have to apply to join the group as associate members which could mean them being barred from prestigious committee positions.
Socialist group leader Martin Schulz said that suspension of SMER from the PES was “inevitable”.
After meeting Fico in Strasbourg yesterday (5 July), Schulz said that it was a “point of principle” that Socialist parties could not form coalitions with parties like SNS.
Fico’s new government, including SNS and the HZDS party of former prime minister Vladimir Meciar, was sworn into office on Tuesday (4 July).
Meciar was shunned by western governments amid accusation of authoritarianism when he led the country after its “velvet divorce” of separation from the Czech Republic in 1993. Negotiations on entry to the EU were put on hold and Slovakia had to work hard to catch up its preparation for joining the Union.
Slovak SMER MEP Vladimir Manka told European Voice that his party fully respected the PES group’s “opinion and fears” but also had to take account of the “political reality” after the Slovak elections. “This coalition was not a preferred one for our party but the outcome of the negotiations has been like this. Our aim is to convince the PES that we are able to manage consequent social democratic government with positive results for Slovak citizens,” he said. The party would also consult on its government programme with the PES, said Manka, promising that the inclusion of the Slovak National Party (SNS) in the government “will not cause any damage to anyone”. | ||||
correct_leader_00102 | FactBench | 1 | 77 | https://agenda.euractiv.com/events/fighting-democracy-europetogether-176463 | en | Fighting for Democracy! #EuropeTogether | [
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25 years have passed since the Copenhagen Criteria were agreed upon. These rules determine the eligibility for EU membership based on, among other criteria, the preservation of democratic values. | EURACTIV's Agenda | https://agenda.euractiv.com/events/fighting-democracy-europetogether-176463 | |||||||
correct_leader_00102 | FactBench | 1 | 20 | https://ecf.com/news-and-events/news/meet-denmark-international-bicycle-darling-member-month | en | Meet Denmark, the International Bicycle Darling: Member of the Month | http://ecf.com/files/wp-content/uploads/Girls-on-bike-in-Copenhagen-660x373.jpg | [
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] | null | [] | 2012-01-27T11:41:05+01:00 | en | ECF | https://ecf.com/news-and-events/news/meet-denmark-international-bicycle-darling-member-month | When the bicycle came to Denmark
As in many other countries, the bicycle came to Denmark in the late 1800s. This mechanical invention created a lot of debate – “the bicycle war” as one national newspaper called it. Some saw the potential right away and declared that those who cycled “will be much better at enjoying their lecture and their music in the evening than the rest, for by exercising their bodily strengths also their mental abilities will be enhanced and enlivened” (Danish Sport Tidings, 1889), while others found the bicycle the devil of a modern world. One priest publicly announced that there are three things that he simply would never allow his daughter: “to smoke, to study and to bicycle!” Others were outraged by the fact that more and more “ugly and skinny legged cyclists” appeared in the streets and worst of all “women who sat astride two-wheeled cycles – had these women no dignity?”
It came and it stayed
Not everybody welcomed the bicycle into the Danish culture – but thankfully two wheels prevailed! This is,
let’s not forget, largely due to more than 100 years of bicycle advocacy from the Danish Cyclists’ Federation, one of ECF’s members.
Up until the 50s, bicycling became an increasingly dominant mode of transportation and pedaling blond girls in flowing robes were a typical picture on Danish tourist posters. But when the economic boom of the sixties came rolling in so did the automobile, finding its way into every Dane’s ordinary life. Urban planners started planning for the car and by 1972 the number of Danish cyclists was at an all-time low. Luckily Denmark was blessed with two oil crises and enormous bicycle demonstrations, orchestrated by members of the Danish Cyclists’ Federation, in the late seventies. Slowly but surely cycling became a natural part of planners and citizen’s life.
Tailwind on all bicycle paths
It can be hard to explain the Danes relationship to the bicycle. The response is normally something along the lines of: “I don’t know - it’s just something I do”. Don’t be fooled though! Bicycling plays a big role in the Danish consciousness.
In 1974 “Cykelsangen - jeg er så glad for min cykel” (The Bicycle Song - I’m so happy for my bike) by the beloved singer-songwriter, Povl Kjøller, instantly became a Danish hit. (If you find a Dane who cannot at least hum the melody of that song you should immediately report it to ECF).
Twenty years later, in 1994, a Danish comedian, Jacob Haugaard, ran for election at the Danish parliament as a practical joke. One of his most popular political promises was tailwind on all bicycle paths. The man won and worked as a Danish politician for four years.
Meanwhile, in 1995, Danish Prime Minister, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, was publicly mocked by the whole nation, not for a sex scandal, but because he wore a bicycle helmet that was too small to a political demonstration. Even though the Danes have a hard time explaining how or why, the two-wheeler has indeed become a part of the Danish mindset.
And now, after the turn of the millennium, Denmark’s bike culture has been placed in the international spotlight. As modest as the Danes try to be, they still secretly gorge themselves on the attention. But why did the Danish bike culture suddenly become so popular and how will Danish bicycle culture evolve in the future? EFC asked its three Danish members, the Danish Cyclists’ Federation, Copenhagenize Consulting, and De Frie Fugle, those questions. Here are the members of the months perspective on the pedaling phenomenon in Denmark.
Why the sudden national and international spotlight?
When it comes to the sudden international attention Danish Cyclists’ Federation believes that the most recent bicycle popularity push happened in the late last decade. The challenges of reducing CO2 emissions and improving health conditions put cycling back on the political agenda. DCF also believes that the “Danish Bicycle trademark” has grown stronger because of the international demand for solutions that tackle urban challenges like congestion, health and climate problems. De Frie Fugle seems to partly agree that it has to do with a change of political focus and agenda, but also thinks, like Copenhagenize Consulting, that change was caused by the social media’s bottom-up effect.
“The power of social media created the focus. Back then few hotels had bicycles for rent for their guests and little material focusing on bicycles was available at the tourist office. We googled "bike Copenhagen", "bicycle Copenhagen" back in early 2007 and there were few hits on Google. If you google those words now, it's a different story. Because of the focus placed on Copenhagen as a bicycle city through blogs, the bicycle has now become a major branding angle for the city and the word we coined - Copenhagenize - is as well-known as Cycle Chic throughout the world”, says Copenhagenize Consulting.
What are the pros and cons about the Danish bicycle culture in the future?
All three members are looking forward with relative confidence regarding to the future of Danish bicycle culture. “Right now there is a window of opportunity to improve and develop the bicycle conditions, because of the recession, the environmental and climate debate” says DCF, while Copenhagenize Consulting emphasizes the importance of a continuous positive branding of cycling. They think that the perception of cycling, in Denmark, has suffered due to helmet promotion and fights to reverse that trend and to promote cycling positively once again.
The challenges as De Frie Fugle sees them is “to make people cycle more also in the countryside” and this calls for “more elegant technical solutions […] including electrical bikes, bicycle bridges and sheltered bike tracks etc.”
Top 3 best practices when developing a bicycle culture? | |||||
correct_leader_00102 | FactBench | 0 | 83 | https://pressxpress.org/2023/09/14/evolution-of-bangladesh-denmark-relations-sustainable-development-partners/ | en | Evolution of Bangladesh-Denmark Relations: Sustainable Development Partners | [
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Denmark is often listed among the globe’s happiest and most prosperous nations. But when you think of “Denmark,” does an image of genuine, beaming happiness come to mind, or perhaps something else entirely? Vikings, perhaps? The vibrant hues of Lego bricks or houses? Let’s not forget the significant Danish contributions to medical research, such as the discovery of insulin, and their pioneering work in the field of wind power innovation!
You can also read: Bangladesh, Denmark Ink Green Framework Agreement
Since its independence in 1971, Bangladesh has been a recipient of Danish development assistance, which covers a range of areas such as transportation, water transport, agriculture, fisheries, and rural development. Denmark also actively promotes human rights and civil society in Bangladesh.
Freshly Established Cooperative ventures
Bangladesh and Denmark’s Joint Initiative Promises Safer and Sustainable Food
On August 17, Bangladesh and Denmark signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) at the Ministry of Food. The two nations shared a commitment to furthering cooperation in the food and agricultural sector, as outlined in the “Sustainable and Green Framework Engagement.
This MoU is designed to facilitate strategic sectoral cooperation and elevate scientific, technical, and regulatory coordination in the domains of food safety and sustainable food production between the two countries.
Denmark Partners with Bangladesh in Green Technology
On June 9, Denmark and Bangladesh agreed to collaborate on green technology. Denmark expressed interest in enhancing its partnership with Bangladesh across various sectors including renewable energy, energy efficiency, circular economy, sustainable urbanization, water management, climate change adaptation, agro-food processing, maritime, ICT, and the Blue Economy.
The Political Consultations were co-led by Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen and Lotte Machon, State Secretary for Development Policy from the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Bangladesh and Denmark Ink 474C Framework for Development Program
The press release issued on June 7th 2023, emphasizes that the strategic goals of the Framework Agreement from 2023 to 2028 will include priorities such as enhancing democracy, empowering youth, and advancing gender equality by empowering women and girls.
Combined Trade Volume of Denmark and Bangladesh
According to data from the United Nations COMTRADE database, Denmark shipped goods worth US$121.94 million to Bangladesh in 2022.
Denmark’s Imports from Bangladesh were US$1.28 billion in 2022.
Anticipated investment avenues
Danish businesses operating in Bangladesh have shown a longstanding interest in the food and agriculture sector, spanning various aspects such as dairy production, food and beverage manufacturing, and cold chain logistics. Anticipated market growth will necessitate the development of cutting-edge testing facilities and equipment, as well as capacity building for key stakeholders in the value chain, including public authorities, to collaborate and provide constructive support to manufacturers and exporters by ensuring the quality control and certification of food products.
The provision of clean and safe drinking water for all is a shared objective, with the Danish private sector offering substantial expertise in both knowledge and technical solutions. The government is mandated to secure access to clean and safe drinking water for all citizens and is prepared to allocate significant funding, especially in challenging areas like the remote islands and coastal zones of Bangladesh.
Danish Firms Pledge $1.3 Billion for Offshore Wind Project in Bangladesh
In alignment with the Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and Copenhagen Offshore Partners (COP), have officially offered a $1.3 billion investment proposal to the Government of Bangladesh. The purpose of this proposal is to advance the establishment of a commercial offshore wind project in the Bay of Bengal. This was disclosed in a COP press release on 11 July 2023.
“With its susceptibility to climate change, Bangladesh could experience a significant drop of up to 9% in its annual GDP by the middle of the century. Bangladesh must swiftly adapt to climate change, embrace cleaner and more efficient technologies to facilitate sustainable development and growth over the coming decades, reduce dependence on fossil fuel imports, and curtail emissions in pursuit of its goal of attaining high-income status and eradicating absolute poverty by 2041,” according to World Bank.
Denmark is actively looking to funnel investments into Bangladesh’s IT sector
Departing Danish Ambassador to Bangladesh Winnie Estrup Petersen expressed Denmark’s strong interest in investing across multiple sectors in Bangladesh, with a particular focus on information technology (IT). During her farewell meeting with President Mohammed Shahabuddin in Dhaka, she also reaffirmed Denmark’s commitment to ongoing cooperation in support of Bangladesh’s socio-economic development.
The president expressed his thanks to Denmark, the pioneering European Union nation that recognized Bangladesh’s sovereignty after independence, appreciating the support from the Danish government and its people.
Snapshot of Bangladesh-Denmark Bilateral Connections
Bangladesh established its Resident Mission in Copenhagen in May 2015, while the Royal Danish Embassy had already been set up in Dhaka by 1972.
In November 2017, Bangladesh and Denmark convened their inaugural Foreign Office Consultations (FOC), resulting in the signing of two agreements: one on routine bilateral consultations and another pertaining to support for the Rohingya issue.
The Danish government has earmarked $8 million in aid for Rohingya refugees via the World Food Programme (WFP) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Denmark is home to roughly 2,500 Bangladeshis, the majority of whom came to the country via the Green Card Scheme and are currently working in IT and managerial positions.
The Danish Prime Minister, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, announced a commitment to a more substantial partnership between Danish businesses, the government, and Bangladesh. He emphasized that this initiative signifies the start of a promising journey, with the potential for Danish technology and engineering educators to play a pivotal role in educating Bangladeshi students about science, thereby nurturing innovation. | |||||
3747 | dbpedia | 2 | 7 | http://creed_lover03.tripod.com/armswideopentocreed/id17.html | en | Creed Facts | http://creed_lover03.tripod.com//sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/weatheredcovercopy.jpg | [
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] | null | [] | null | null | When Creed was still a cover band they went under the name Naked Toddler. This name came from a newspaper article that Mark Tremonti always carried in his wallet.
The name "Creed" was made up by former bass player, Brian Marshall. He named it after his previous band, Maddox Creed.
Mark Tremonti's brother, Dan Tremonti, does all the album artwork for Creed.
Before Creed signed with Windup Records they released My Own Prison under their own label called Blue Collar Records for only $6,000. Only 2,000 copies of this record were released. Some songs were a little different then the Windup versions: the song Sister had different lyrics, Illusion was called Allusion, My Own Prison has added background vocals, One has a different guitar part, Ode has added cymbals, and What's This Life For had a different intro.
Creed was the first band to have 4 number 1 singles off a debut album. They also had 3 number 1 singles off their Human Clay album, for a total of 7 consectutive #1 singles.
Creed is the first band to have 3 singles (Torn, My Own Prison, and What's This Life For) on the Billboard top 20 at the same time.
Creed has sold over 20 million copies of their 3 albums. My Own Prison has sold 5 million, Human Clay sold 10 million, and Weathered has sold 5 million.
The guy on the cover of My Own Prison is Justin Brown, a friend of the band. The picture was taken by Danial Tremonti for a photography class.
Creed's first television performance was on David Letterman. They began playing One too early and Dave made them stop so that he could finish their introduction.
Creed were the executive producers for the Scream 3 soundtrack. What If and Is This the End is featured on the CD.
There are hidden lyrics in the song Ode. No one is sure what they actually say. When fans have asked about the lyrics, Scott Stapp replied, "This is a secret we will take to the grave......sorry.....It's a band thing..."
There are three hidden images on the cover of Weathered. They are (1) a lion on the man's hand, (2) the crest in the sun, and (3) a lamb in the top of the tree. There is also an angel hidden on the back cover in the flamelike thing. Look closely to find them! | |||||||
3747 | dbpedia | 1 | 58 | https://buckeyeswire.usatoday.com/lists/creed-band-songs-that-represent-each-big-ten-football-team-ohio-state-buckeyes/ | en | Which Creed song best represents your Big Ten football program? | [
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] | 2023-11-06T18:18:22+00:00 | The band Creed is coming back on tour, and helping professional teams achieve greatness, which song can help your Big Ten football squad? | en | Buckeyes Wire | https://buckeyeswire.usatoday.com/lists/creed-band-songs-that-represent-each-big-ten-football-team-ohio-state-buckeyes/ | One of the greatest rock bands of the 90s and early 2000s has just announced their return, and before everyone gets their tickets for Creed, I thought we would do something fun here.
The Texas Rangers have just won the World Series and it has been well publicized that the main motivation for their historic run was due to the sweet and smooth vocals of Scott Stapp, and more specifically, the official anthem of 1999, Creed’s hit song, “Higher.”
The Rangers aren’t the only team to take advantage of the spiritual cheat code that is Creed. The Minnesota Vikings also utilized a gem from the “Human Clay” album in, “With Arms Wide Open,” as quarterback Kirk Cousins mentioned this song as the main reason for their victory over the Chicago Bears.
I want to find the best Creed song for every Big Ten team and with such a large, diverse, and just straight up historic catalog, it should be easy. Let’s have a little fun, shall we? | |||||
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] | null | [] | 2024-03-05T18:48:55+00:00 | Country music’s rising Outlaw Country star, Creed Fisher reminds fans to never lose sight of who you are, where you’re from, and never be afraid of working hard to earn an honest living on his latest musical manifesto This Ain’t the Hamptons. “I know I say it often but this album is truly some of […] | en | http://thebakersfieldfox.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/cropped-53F6AE2C-32x32.jpg | http://thebakersfieldfox.com/event/creed-fisher/ | Country music’s rising Outlaw Country star, Creed Fisher reminds fans to never lose sight of who you are, where you’re from, and never be afraid of working hard to earn an honest living on his latest musical manifesto This Ain’t the Hamptons. “I know I say it often but this album is truly some of my best work to date,” he proclaims of the brand new collection. This much anticipated follow up to 2022’s Rebel in the South is timed perfectly for country music consumers who are seeking that repopularized sounds of Outlaw and Traditional Country. The album has its own distinguished Red Dirt vibes. “I’ve never been this excited to drop a country album honestly.” “It definitely has a bit more country rock sprinkled in than my recent two albums, Whiskey and the Dog and Rebel in the South, which consisted of honky tonk, twang,” Fisher says of the vibe. “On this album, the country tunes range from country rock to traditional country, out to outlaw country.” Put another way, he explains, “This Ain;’t the Hamptons definitely has everything from a Hank Williams vibe out to the edgier rock feel that’s similar to what you would expect from Kid Rock.” Along with celebrating blue collar sensibilities, patriotism and fun-loving simple pleasures that are staples of Fisher’s music, this record comes at a time where country music consumers’ interests in bringing back the foundational roots of traditional country music are at an all time high. Timing is everything, and Fisher declares “This was the perfect album for true country music fans that miss that less modernized sound of old country music. If I’d said it three or four albums ago – they wouldn’t have heard it.” He’s confident the music and messages on This Ain’t the Hamptons will connect with the majority of Americans, but especially those who love country music and live the lifestyle. “They’re gonna love to hear this one.” Fisher also promises thematic diversity across the album’s fourteen tracks. “It’s got something for everybody.” He cites songs like “One of ‘Em” and “Lowdown & Lonesome” covering everything from odes for the blue collar Americans and revealing the good, bad and unfortunately truths of being a full time touring artist. The album also gives the Creed Fisher name a face lift as he levels up his branding and marketing, putting his permanent stamp onto the industry as the newest up and coming country music star.. Fisher credits the whole tone of This Aint the Hamptons originating with the song “One of ‘Em,” which is the first single. “My buddy Nate Kenyon pitched me this song and after listening, I made some tweaks to the lyrics and knew immediately, ‘Man this one has to make the cut for this album!’ Everything came together into a production that exceeded even his own highest expectations. “I’ve never been this excited to drop an album,” and confidently points to a particular song that will be a shooting star, the third single to be released from This Ain’t the Hamptons. “Lowdown & Lonesome”, which he predicts will be one of his fans’ favorites on the album.” “I think we went to the next level and people are going to feel the same way. We’re trying to make sure everything we put out is badass.” Creed Fisher’s This Ain’t the Hamptons pre-orders launch June 26th and the album is set to release September 8th, partners with a nationwide tour for the remainder of this year. Never one to stay motionless, Fisher is already working on follow up albums of new material, reboots of older material and even a little surprise for his fans around the holidays. Yes, you heard that right!
Prices increase on Day of Show | |||
3747 | dbpedia | 1 | 35 | https://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/02/arts/critic-s-notebook-singing-to-the-converted-how-creed-inspires-devotion.html | en | CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK; Singing to the Converted: How Creed Inspires Devotion | [] | [] | [] | [
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] | null | [
"The New York Times",
"Ann Powers"
] | 2000-09-02T00:00:00 | Ann Powers Critic's Notebook review of Creed concert at Madison Square Garden; photo (M) | en | /vi-assets/static-assets/favicon-d2483f10ef688e6f89e23806b9700298.ico | https://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/02/arts/critic-s-notebook-singing-to-the-converted-how-creed-inspires-devotion.html | Scott Stapp obviously thinks he deserves to be a rock god. The frontman for Creed, the Florida-based band that packed Madison Square Garden on Monday and plays a sold-out show tomorrow at Jones Beach, works to project the aura of a champion.
At the Garden, in a gleaming white shirt and leather hip-huggers that would have delighted his idol, Jim Morrison, Mr. Stapp made so many heroic moves, it seemed as if this was his qualifying routine for the frontman olympics. He pranced and crouched and swept his arms heavenward, straining his enormous baritone, a foghorn warning all contenders to watch out for his wake.
The Garden audience clearly supported his victory bid. Roaring along so enthusiastically that Mr. Stapp could regularly take microphone breaks and let them take over songs, Creed's fans reached their zenith on ''Higher,'' which rivals Santana's ''Smooth'' as the people's song of the moment. Audience members didn't just sing: they emoted, some nearly weeping, others raising their hands as if undergoing a conversion.
Mr. Stapp was raised in the Pentecostal faith, and although he says he is not a practicing Christian, his lyrics resound with a doubting Thomas's fear of God. ''Higher,'' which he says is about lucid dreaming, still has a decidedly biblical chorus about golden streets where blind men see. Such images are the meat of Christian popular culture and have contributed to the band's phenomenal success.
That success is evident in the numbers. Creed's two albums, ''My Own Prison'' (1998) and ''Human Clay'' (1999), have sold a total of nearly 10 million copies, each spending almost a year on the Billboard charts. ''Higher'' is still in the Top 20 singles after 44 weeks, despite having never been officially released in that form.
The sales are all the more notable because the band records for an independent label, Wind-Up, as do the much-touted teenage stars on Jive and the hip-hop artists on Cash Money and No Limit.
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3747 | dbpedia | 1 | 62 | https://horriblemusic.miraheze.org/wiki/Creed | en | Horrible Music Wiki | https://horriblemusic.miraheze.org/favicon.ico | https://horriblemusic.miraheze.org/favicon.ico | [
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] | 2024-07-06T00:35:06+00:00 | en | /apple-touch-icon.png | Horrible Music Wiki | https://horriblemusic.miraheze.org/wiki/Creed | Creed is an American post-grunge band that was active from 1993-2004 and reunited from 2009-2012. After disbanding in 2003, everyone except lead singer Scott Stapp forming Alter Bridge with Myles Kennedy on vocals. Creed has been negatively received by some critics and listeners; readers of Rolling Stone magazine ranked the band as "the worst artist of the 1990s".
Band Members
Scott Stapp (vocals) (1994-2004 ; 2009-2012 ; 2023-)
Mark Tremonti (guitar) (1994-2004 ; 2009-2012 ; 2023-)
Brian Marshall (bass) (1994-2000 ; 2009-2012 ; 2023-)
Scott Phillips (drums) (1994-2004 ; 2009-2012 ; 2023-)
Bad Qualities
They were called a rip-off of Pearl Jam due to their frontman, Scott Stapp, sounding like Eddie Vedder and his voice is very unintelligible, annoying, and just overall miserable to listen to.
Tremonti's, Philips', and Marshall's talents are completely wasted in the later records.
During their 2009 reunion tour, ticket sales were so poor that they costed less than a dollar.
Creed's music was criticized for trying to be Christian as their lyrics consists of overused and generic power-ballad lyrics and themes.
On December 29, 2002 while performing at Allstate Arena, Stapp was so inebriated to the point where he ACTUALLY passed out mid-performance and audience members threatened to sue the band.
Their original name was "Naked Toddler".
Their album covers are horrendous, especially for their albums Human Clay and Weathered.
A lot of their songs sound the same.
Their production is generic, dull, and half the time boring.
Scott Stapp's behavior began to spiral out of control as he got into legal troubles over the years. Thankfully, he got help and is trying to move on.
Good Qualities
Mark Tremonti is a talented guitarist.
The band's side project without Scott Stapp, Alter Bridge, is a major improvement.
They have some good songs like "What If", "Are You Ready", "Never Die", and "Beautiful".
They helped put their record label, Wind-Up Records, on the map.
Their music videos (while awful) are well shot.
Their first album, My Own Prison is considered to be their best by Rocked.
Trivia
Their infamously terrible performance at The Allstate Stadium (now Allstate Arena) is considered
Discography | |||
3747 | dbpedia | 1 | 74 | https://www.udiscovermusic.com/news/creed-taylor-rip/ | en | Creed Taylor, Jazz Giant And Impulse! Founder Has Passed Away At The Age of 93 | [
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] | 2022-08-23T17:34:58+00:00 | Creed Taylor was a visionary jazz record producer and founder of the Impulse! and CTI labels, and brought bossa nova to the global market. | en | uDiscover Music | https://www.udiscovermusic.com/news/creed-taylor-rip/ | Creed Taylor, the visionary jazz record producer and founder of the Impulse! and CTI labels, who brought bossa nova to the global market, passed away this morning at the age of 93.
Over a 50-year career that yielded almost 300 albums, Creed Taylor’s gift as a record producer was getting the best out of jazz musicians in the recording studio. He created musical settings that enhanced their talents, and possessed an unerring ability to broaden an artist’s commercial appeal without sacrificing their creative needs.
Following the news of Taylor’s passing, a number of his friends and colleagues shared statements about this music industry legend.
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“From his visionary ear for talent to his singular skills as a producer, Creed Taylor’s impact on jazz can’t be overstated,” shared Jamie Krents, President of Verve, Impulse! and Verve Forecast Records.
“Whether it was signing John Coltrane to Impulse! Records or helping to introduce Bossa Nova music to the world via his work with Charlie Byrd, Stan Getz and Astrud Gilberto for Verve, Creed’s integrity and innovative, open-minded approach to music have made him an inspiration in perpetuity to everyone at these labels and he will be dearly missed.”
Bruce Resnikoff, President & CEO of UMe, also added: “Creed Taylor founded one of the most important jazz labels of all time with Impulse! and was a vital figure in the growth and success of UMG for decades. Through Impulse!, Verve Records, and CTI, he was instrumental in releasing and producing so many incredible and timeless albums that continue to be loved today. More than just music, Impulse! was a cultural beacon of progressivism, spiritualism, and activism throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Creed was one of the great record executives and his contributions to the world of music will forever be remembered and enjoyed.”
Starting at the U.S. indie label Bethlehem in the 1950s, Taylor went on to make his mark at ABC/Paramount, where he founded the iconic jazz label Impulse! in 1960 before taking the helm at Verve Records. In 1967 he started his own company, CTI.
Taylor wanted to develop jazz’s allure beyond its core audience. He created a remarkable catalog of albums that raised the bar for jazz through impeccable sound quality, clever concepts, and eye-catching covers. He often persuaded jazz musicians to expand their repertoires by interpreting pop songs and classical music. “I wanted to make a musician sound good to people who may not be that sophisticated about jazz or improvising,” he told Record Collector in 2008.
Not everyone – especially jazz purists – appreciated the smooth, pop-oriented chart hits that Taylor masterminded at Verve in the 60s, for artists such as Stan Getz, Wes Montgomery, and Jimmy Smith. But the controversial crossover approach brought these musicians, and others, widespread attention that vindicated his instincts – and made them household names. Pianist Bob James worked with Taylor at CTI in the 70s, and described him as “a great casting agent,” with a knack for finding the right personnel for projects. “He really had the foresight and taste to bring great musicians together in the studio,” James told this writer in 2018.
Creed Taylor was born in Lynchburg, Virginia, on May 13 in 1929. He was raised on a farm near White Gate, a small town under the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Though bluegrass music dominated the local airwaves when Taylor was young, he was drawn to the more exotic sonics of big band jazz. At the age of 10, he began tuning into late-night live broadcasts from New York’s Birdland venue, hosted by jazz radio personality Sid “Symphony Sid” Torin. “I heard everything that was coming out of Birdland and made it a point to listen to two or three o’clock (in the morning) and then get up and get the bus to school,” he told Shook in 2008.
Taylor’s passion for the music of trumpeters Harry James and Dizzy Gillespie led him to pick up the horn in high school, where he played in local jazz bands. Taylor’s obsession with jazz was such that he would hitchhike to Roanoke, a town 75 miles away, just to catch Benny Goodman, Woody Herman, and Cab Calloway playing live.
After leaving high school, Taylor spent four years studying psychology at Duke University in North Carolina and continued to play trumpet in a band called The Five Dukes. In 1951 he was drafted into the Marine Corps and, a year later, went to the frontlines in the Korean War. After completing military service, Taylor headed to New York City – the center of the jazz world.
In New York, jazz’s bebop revolution was in full swing led by the innovations of virtuoso musicians like saxophonist Charlie Parker and trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie. Taylor knew his horn-playing couldn’t match people like the technically dazzling Gillespie, so he shifted his focus to producing records. At that time, in the early 1950s, the modus operandi of jazz labels was to record jam sessions. Taylor had no production experience, but he did have youthful bravado, a psychology degree, as well as an instinctive feeling about incorporating a more focused and conceptual approach to jazz records. “I was just convinced I could do it,” he told Jazzwax in 2008. “It was a mix of naiveté and positive thinking.”
That’s how 25-year-old Taylor talked his way into working at a struggling label called Bethlehem in 1954. His first task was getting loose in the studio with singer Chris Connor, whose previous big band recordings had been unsuccessful. Taylor felt she would thrive in a more intimate setting, and put her with pianist Ellis Larkins’ trio to make Lullaby Of Birdland, Bethlehem’s first 10″ LP. As well as producing the record, Taylor was also involved in the promotion and marketing, including the artwork. The album was a roaring success.
Taylor’s subsequent successes with Carmen McRae, Charles Mingus, and Herbie Mann for Bethlehem, caught the attention of ABC/Paramount. In 1956, he was hired as a staff producer at the film company’s fledgling record label. He initially put themed concept albums together before building up the label’s jazz catalog. One record, in particular, brought him notoriety: the 1958 LP Sing A Song Of Basie by vocal trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. It was groundbreaking because the singers overdubbed their voices to create intricate vocal versions of Count Basie tunes. It was also the first album with Taylor’s signature inscribed on the back cover, a feature of every album he produced thereafter. “I wanted to put my stamp on something that I did, so there would be no backing away,” he told Record Collector in 2008.
Taylor’s reputation was growing, not simply for his production but also his contributions to the way records looked. At ABC/Paramount, he revolutionized LP cover art by introducing high quality laminated sleeves featuring cover photos by Pete Turner, whose stunning shots would grace many of Taylor’s LPs over the next 20 years.
Despite the noise his records made in the jazz world, Taylor was a quiet person, bordering on shy. “He was a real introvert,” said Don Sebesky, Taylor’s go-to arranger in the 1970s, in a 2009 interview with Shook magazine. “He used me as his mediator between himself and all the musicians in the room because he felt a little bit reticent about telling them what to do. He would ask me to convey his thoughts to them in a musician’s way.”
The late Claus Ogerman, an arranger who worked with Taylor in the 60s on albums for pianist Bill Evans and singer/songwriter Antonio Carlos Jobim, remembered him as “very smart” and having “great taste.” He told Wax Poetics in 2010: “Creed was a very easy-going, no-problem producer, which was very unusual. Many producers stopped you in the midst of your work but he would never do that … If he wanted to change something he mentioned it while we were listening back to the tape.”
In 1960, Taylor convinced ABC/Paramount to launch a new, dedicated jazz imprint called Impulse! He brought A-list artists to the new label, including John Coltrane and Ray Charles, and established the company’s identity by pairing high quality recordings with eye-catching, heavy-duty gatefold sleeves.
Within six months of Impulse’s launch in 1961, Taylor had moved on. He joined MGM’s Verve label where his production of 1962’s Jazz Samba by saxophonist Stan Getz and guitarist Charlie Byrd sparked America’s love affair with Brazilian bossa nova. Taylor was also responsible for Getz/Gilberto, Getz’s influential 1964 collaboration with singer/guitarist João Gilberto, which introduced the world to the Brazilian maestro’s wife, Astrud. Her wispy vocals on “The Girl From Ipanema,” transformed bossa nova into an international phenomenon.
In 1967, Taylor left Verve to start his own label, CTI (Creed Taylor Incorporated) as an imprint of A&M Records. The label’s early LP successes included Antonio Carlos Jobim’s Wave and George Benson’s The Other Side Of Abbey Road, a jazz interpretation of the iconic Beatles album, which epitomized Taylor’s desire to reach wider audiences.
Artistic differences with A&M prompted him to independently re-launch CTI in 1970 with marquee signings like virtuoso trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, saxophonist Stanley Turrentine, and flautist Hubert Laws. But it was an obscure Brazilian pianist, Deodato, who broke the label into the mainstream: “Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001),” an edgy jazz-funk retooling of classical composer Richard Strauss’ music from the sci-fi film 2001: A Space Odyssey, was a U.S. No. 2 hit single. Taylor then convinced other artists to reinterpret classical pieces, including pianist Bob James who was one of CTI’s best-selling artists in the mid-’70s.
Taylor expanded CTI by creating a sister label, Kudu, dedicated to soul jazz. The roster included saxophonists Grover Washington Jr. and Hank Crawford, as well as singer Esther Phillips, who brought the label a disco hit with the 1975 single, “What A Diff’rence A Day Makes.”
But CTI’s sudden success sowed the seeds for its downfall. Warner Bros. and Columbia lured many top CTI musicians with the promise of big money, and soon the fast-expanding label was crippled by debt. After filing bankruptcy in 1978, Taylor reluctantly sold the catalogue to Columbia, where it remained.
In 1989, Taylor briefly resurrected CTI as an independent entity until 1996. Signings included jazz-rock fretboardist Larry Coryell, bassist/composer Charles Fambrough, and veteran guitarist Jim Hall. Taylor faded from view, but in 2009 a host of reissues re-ignited interest in his back catalog. At age 79, he put together a CTI All-Stars Band that toured Europe and recorded a live album under his supervision. With its harmonious marriage of sound, concept, and image, Taylor’s final recording stayed true to the values he brought to jazz back in the 1950s. | |||||
3747 | dbpedia | 1 | 23 | https://www.facebook.com/Creed/ | en | Facebook | https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/rsrc.php/yv/r/B8BxsscfVBr.ico | https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/rsrc.php/yv/r/B8BxsscfVBr.ico | [
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3747 | dbpedia | 1 | 0 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_(Creed_song) | en | One (Creed song) | [
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] | 2005-12-15T07:51:02+00:00 | en | /static/apple-touch/wikipedia.png | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_(Creed_song) | 1998 single by Creed
"One" is a song by American rock band Creed. It is the fourth single as well as the tenth and final track from the band's 1997 album My Own Prison. It was also included as a B-side on the maxi-single for "With Arms Wide Open" in 2000.
Writing and recording
[edit]
"One" was one of 10-15 songs written by the band prior to entering the recording studio. The song was composed by singer Scott Stapp and guitarist Mark Tremonti and was originally recorded at producer John Kurzweg's home studio called "The Kitchen Studio", in Tallahassee, Florida. The band was on a pay-as-you-go agreement at the time, as each of the band members were attending college and working 40 hour-a-week jobs. They would then each pitch in around $100 a week and enter the studio to record demos. Unlike later records where Pro Tools was used, Kurzweg recorded the songs analog directly to tape. This process took about six months to complete and would cost the band $6,000. Stapp recalls: "I recorded vocals in a room where there was toys all over the floor, bunk beds next to me in his kids’ room and the guys would all do their parts." Stapp then said: "I think when we started getting early mixes of the record, we really started to feel like we had something special. We didn't have a record deal. This was all on our own dime and our own time and we had hopes of getting a record deal and getting this music out, but really had no clue where it was gonna go."[1][2]
Recording would continue at Criteria Studios in Miami, but the inclusion of "One" on the record was questioned by the band as they felt its sound was a departure from the direction they wanted to go in. After going back and forth as to whether or not they would include the song on the record at all, the band ultimately kept it on the record due to the positive response the song was receiving from fans as well as the label. Following the Blue Collar Records release of My Own Prison on June 24, 1997, the band was picked up and signed by Wind-up Records who wanted the band to re-record the whole album. After being given a small budget and two weeks to re-record, Kurzweg and Creed would only complete two songs before realizing it wasn't working out. Wind-up Records and the band reached a compromise and settled on remixing the album at Long View Farm in Massachusetts with Ron St. Germain. After some initial difficulties working with St. Germain, Kurzweg was brought in to help work on the remixing and eventually found working common ground with the band and St. Germain.[2]
Music and lyrics
[edit]
"One" features a catchy and upbeat tone and was considered by the band to be a departure from their sound compared to other songs on My Own Prison.[1][2] The song decries racial tensions in modern society and "discrimination now on both sides" which causes "seeds of hate [to] blossom further." The song suggests that "the goal is to be unified" and therefore "why hold down one to raise another?" To move on, we must realize that "the only way is one" because "all we want is unity" and "in the end we meet our fate together."
Release and reception
[edit]
"One" was the fourth and final promotional single issued from the band's debut album, and was the only single to not have a music video. Because Creed's singles were not initially sold in the United States, they were ineligible for the US Billboard Hot 100. However, by the time "One" was released, that restriction was lifted, and the song became Creed's first song that charted on the Billboard Hot 100, charting at number 70.[3]
"One" also managed to peak at number 49 on the US Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart in April 1999, and also reached the number two spot on both the Mainstream Rock Tracks and the Modern Rock Tracks. On the former chart, it was ranked the number one track of 1999, despite its number two peak position. The song also helped Creed win their first and only Top Rock Single of the Year at the 1999 Billboard Music Awards.[4]
Appearances in media
[edit]
The band played "One" on February 3, 1999, during their very first television performance on The Late Show With David Letterman. During the performance the band accidentally began playing the song before Letterman had finished introducing them and promoting My Own Prison, causing Letterman to force the band to abruptly stop playing the song so he could properly introduce them.
The song was used in a video montage at the 2nd annual WWE Tribute to the Troops professional wrestling event in 2004.[5] It was also used as wrestler Ricky Steamboat's entrance theme in 2006 and 2007 Raw live events.
Chart performance
[edit]
Chart (1999) Peak
position Canada Rock/Alternative (RPM)[6] 9 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[7] 39 US Billboard Hot 100[8] 70 US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[9] 2 US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[10] 2
Year-end charts
[edit]
Chart (1999) Peak
position US Billboard Hot 100 Airplay[11] 61 US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[12] 1 US Modern Rock (Billboard)[13] 6 | ||||||
3747 | dbpedia | 1 | 15 | https://www.facebook.com/LoudWire/videos/the-hidden-meaning-of-creeds-higher/951160183338201/ | en | Creed's Scott Stapp elaborates on the unlikely story behind the band's hit song "Higher." | [] | [] | [] | [
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] | null | [] | 2024-03-11T04:00:56+00:00 | Scott Stapp, “Higher Power.” While Creed is in the midst of a resurgence with a World Series anthem for the… | en | RIFF Magazine | https://riffmagazine.com/album-reviews/scott-stapp-higher-power/ | While Creed is in the midst of a resurgence with a World Series anthem for the Texas Rangers and an extensive reunion tour plotted for this summer, Scott Stapp is unleashing his own set of new music. Higher Power, his fourth solo record and his second on metal-centric Napalm Records, doesn’t stray from the Creed sound. There are riff-heavy hard-rockers, stadium-ready anthems and some introspective balladry.
Vocally, his vocal timbre is strong; a deep growl that’s been a signature for decades. Time has added a smokey layer to Stapp’s voice that provides more depth, especially on the more vulnerable ballads. The 50-year-old sounds refreshed and reinvigorated throughout the 10-song set, which shows off his dynamic range in different ways.
With Creed, Scott Stapp plays off of guitar virtuoso Mark Tremonti, laying down memorable solos and fretboard-punishing guitar riffs. Here, he taps frequent collaborator and Greek guitar god Yiannis Papadopoulos to take on a similar role. Papadopoulos delivers the goods with blistering solos on brooding mid-tempo rocker “What I Deserve” and hard rocker “Quicksand.”
As the title suggests, the album has religious connotation and imagery, though in many cases there’s an ambiguity to the message that leaves songs open to interpretation.
“Waiting for love to come and take my hand/ It’s over my head/ I’m sinking in quicksand/ Love come and take me to the promised land,” Stapp sings on “Quicksand.” His voice, hitting a low baritone, recalls that of Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder.
The title track, which opens the album, explodes right out of the gate. It takes the hard rock formula and pushes it a few steps into the heavier direction, with Stapp reaching a near scream leading into the track’s bridge.
“Deadman’s Trigger” fuses that hard rock mindset with a bluesy stomp that digs deeper into the post-grunge aesthetic. At times, Higher Power sounds like it could have been released during the height of the post-grunge era of the early aughts. “When Love is Not Enough” is one of the most effective tracks on the record in mixing the heaviness and power with a sentiment and an impassioned delivery.
Particularly poignant “If These Walls Could Talk,” with Dorothy Martin of rock group Dorothy, tackles addiction. That’s especially prescient, given the two singers’ personal struggles. The two powerhouse vocalists mesh well on the acoustic-laden track.
“They’ve seen me pick the bottle up and put the Bible down/ They’ve heard me crying out more times than I can count,” they sing in harmony.
“Black Butterfly” delivers not only heaviness and infectiousness, but mixes in interesting instrumentation, including what sounds like a sitar.
The record’s most interesting and most adventurous moments come in the closing trio of songs, offering up a fascinating softer side of Scott Stapp. “You’re Not Alone” is nearly all acoustic and has a swaying pub-like quality that has him pushing his voice to its limits. “Dancing In the Rain” is a lighters-in-the-air ballad with a rock and roll punch. Mid-tempo hard rock ballad “Weight of the World” concludes the album.
Both Creed and Stapp have long been staples within the rock world, but it’s unlikely that Higher Power will grab new listeners. Those who love the sound will eat it up. | |||||
3747 | dbpedia | 1 | 39 | https://www.sportico.com/leagues/baseball/2023/alcs-texas-rangers-embrace-of-creed-has-bands-streams-on-rise-1234742076/ | en | Texas Rangers’ Embrace of Creed Has Band’s Streams on Rise | [
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"Eric Jackson"
] | 2023-10-14T13:00:00+00:00 | Album consumption for Creed's catalog is up 16% over the last four tracking weeks (Sept. 8-Oct. 5) in the Houston and Dallas/Fort Worth area. | en | Sportico.com | https://www.sportico.com/leagues/baseball/2023/alcs-texas-rangers-embrace-of-creed-has-bands-streams-on-rise-1234742076/ | The Texas Rangers have found their groove, and their theme music. The uplifting music from the band Creed has fueled them this postseason, and their recent listening habits are catching on with others.
The Rangers, which this week clinched their first American League Championship Series berth since 2011, have made the Scott Stapp-led band part of their best season in years. The band’s 1999 hit song “Higher” (one of the team’s favorites) has been blasted during games at Globe Life Field, while Creed itself has approved of the Rangers’ success catapulting their old catalog into relevance again.
Album consumption for the band’s catalog is up 16% over the last four tracking weeks (Sept. 8-Oct. 5) in the Houston and Dallas/Fort Worth area. That’s according to Luminate, an insights company which tracks music and entertainment data. While there haven’t been significant streaming boosts nationally, “Higher” saw a jump in on-demand streams (+7) locally.
Rangers pitcher Andrew Heaney says the team started having more fun and playing Creed music, with fans echoing the lyrics, during the second half of the season. The more laid-back approach helped the team enter the postseason with newfound momentum.
“When things are going good, you tend to stick with what works,” said Full Stop Management artist manager Adam Harrison, who represents several artists including Big Boi. “People are superstitious. If the song works when you win, you’re going to keep going. Sports and music are tied to each other.”
Atlanta-based rapper and producer Big Boi’s song “All Night” became the unofficial theme song during the Tampa Bay Lightning’s championship run two years ago. Big Boi not only saw an increase in streams at the time but also was invited to return to Amalie Arena this week to headline a pregame party.
“It’s beneficial to the artist when a sports team picks [their music] up as an anthem,” Harrison said. “We feel love when we come to that town and when we’re aligned with a certain team. There are ways to build upon those moments.”
The Rangers are the latest example of how the power of moments in sports can take mediocre or once-popular songs and spark passion for them. Another MLB team, the New York Mets, saw this firsthand with Timmy Trumpet’s “Narco” song, which closer Edwin Diaz trots out to during his pitching entrance. “Narco,” which became a viral hit, experienced a spike in streams last summer with help from social media.
It’s unclear how long the Rangers can keep climbing higher, as they’re set to face the defending champion Houston Astros, which are making their seventh straight trip to the ALCS. But backed by a productive pitching rotation and stars like Marcus Semien, the Rangers hope to reach their first World Series since 2011. | |||||
3747 | dbpedia | 1 | 81 | https://rock.fandom.com/wiki/Creed | en | Creed | https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/rock/images/f/f0/Creed.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20090118195351 | https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/rock/images/f/f0/Creed.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20090118195351 | [
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"Contributors to Rock Music Wiki"
] | 2024-07-29T22:27:06+00:00 | Creed is an rock band from Tallahassee, Florida. They are known for songs including "Higher", "With Arms Wide Open", "My Sacrifice", "One Last Breath", and "My Own Prison". The members are Scott Stapp, Mark Tremonti, Scott Phillips, and Brian Marshall. They won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Song... | en | /skins-ucp/mw139/common/favicon.ico | Rock Music Wiki | https://rock.fandom.com/wiki/Creed | Creed is an rock band from Tallahassee, Florida. They are known for songs including "Higher", "With Arms Wide Open", "My Sacrifice", "One Last Breath", and "My Own Prison". The members are Scott Stapp, Mark Tremonti, Scott Phillips, and Brian Marshall. They won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Song for the song "With Arms Wide Open" in 2001.
The band broke up in 2004 but regrouped in 2009.
Forming Creed[]
Stapp and Tremonti were friends at Florida University college. They soon added Phillips and Brian Marshall to their band. Creed started in 1995 as a band called Naked Toddler. Marshall soon suggested to change the name to Creed after the name of his former band Mattox Creed.
My Own Prison[]
Creed's first album is called My Own Prison, which came out on April 14, 1997. The cover has a man kneeling down, without a shirt, and with his hands on his head. The album reached in the Top 40 on the Billboard Top 200. It has four singles including "Torn", "My Own Prison", "What's This Life For", and "One". The person on the album cover is Justin Brown, a friend of Creed. The photographer of the cover is Tremonti's brother, Daniel. The album costed $6,000 to produce.
Human Clay[]
Creed's second album is called Human Clay, which was realesed on September 28, 1999. This album also has four singles including "Higher", "With Arms Wide Open", "What If", and "Are You Ready?". "With Arms Wide Open" reached #1 on the US Hot 100 in 1999. The album cover has a man of clay on a dusty, four way intersecting road, with only half of his body showing. The rest is in the ground. The man of clay also is holding a clock. According to Mark Tremonti, the cover for the album represents a crossroad which every human finds himself in his life and the man of clay represented our actions, that what we are is up to us, that we lead our own path and make our own destiny. The album artwork was rated a tie with Creed's next album Weathered, for worst album design by Drop the Anvil, a review site. This is also the last album to feature Brian Marshall because he quit the band. Marshall was replaced with Brett Helsta. "What If" was featured on the Scream 3 soundtrack. The album was 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. The follow-up single, "With Arms Wide Open," also hit number one that fall
Weathered[]
Creed's third studio album, Weathered, was released on November 20, 2001. The album features the band members faces appearing on a tree and there is a hand next to the tree holding a tool. Weathered the most singles of any album. The five singles include "Bullets", "One Last Breath", "My Sacrifice", "Weathered", "Hide", and "Don't Stop Dancing". It 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
Greatest Hits[]
Creed made a greatest hits compilation album, which was realesed in the U.S. on November 22, 2004. It was realesed soon after the band's original break up. It consits of every Creed single but "Hide". The album also includes a DVD that contains all of the band's music videos and several live performances. It consists of every one of their U.S. singles, but leaving out their only other single, the international "Hide." On November 19, 2008 the album was certified 2x Platinum by the RIAA.
Break Up[]
In June of 2004, Creed officially announced their break up. Scott Stapp went on to make a solo album called The Great Divide. The other members went to make a band called Alter Bridge, with Myles Kennedy. Altough many fans wait for Creed's reuinion, the former band members say that Creed is behind them, and they don't think they will have a reunion.
Reunion and Full Circle (2009-present)[]
On November 3, 2008, Blabbermouth.net reported that a Creed reunion could materialize in 2009. According to Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider, Alter Bridge vocalist Myles Kennedy was rumored to replace Robert Plant for a Led Zeppelin reunion tour in 2009. Blabbermouth states that "if Kennedy should take the job with the Zeppelin offshoot, the sources have indicated that there are already "significant dollars" on the table for a Creed reunion." On December 2, Rolling Stone reported that an announcement of a Creed reunion was "imminent". However, Kennedy himself denied the rumor that he would be fronting "Led Zeppelin or any offshoot of Led Zeppelin," but also said that he did indeed jam with the instrumental members of the band. It was later stated by Jimmy Page's manager that there will be no Led Zeppelin reunion and that Myles Kennedy will remain in Alter Bridge to record the band's third album. Because of this, a Creed reunion appeared unlikely.
However, on March 17, 2009 a teaser trailer for a possible tour was leaked, pulled, and then on April 2 re-published on the re-launched Creed website, Creed.com, which states "coming summer 2009".
On April 27, Creed's website officially announced the band's reunion tour and plans for a new album. According to Tremonti, "We're all very excited to reconnect with our fans and each other after six long years." He later added that being in Creed again was "the last thing [he] expected." Phillips also stated: "Our career as Creed came to a very abrupt and unforeseen ending. After reflecting on some of the greatest personal and professional moments of our lives, we've come to realize that we are still very capable of continuing that career and our friendship on a grander scale than ever before."
Bassist Brian Marshall also confirmed he would rejoin his former band, following his departure prior to the recording of Creed's third album Weathered. Marshall says of the reunion: "This is a development we are all happy about. It has been a long time since the four of us have taken the stage together, and without hesitation or reservation this is something all of us are in to. The anticipation to get back out there is electrifying." Singer Scott Stapp concluded on the band's official press release that "it's amazing how life can change and bring you full circle. Time gave us all a chance to reflect, grow and gain a deeper appreciation of our friendships, artistic chemistry, passion for music, and sincere love for our fans! It's rare in life to get a second chance to make a first impression and we embrace the opportunity. We all believe the best is yet to come."
The reunion tour kicks off on August 6th and wraps up on the 14th of October.
In an interview for People.com, Stapp elaborated on the reunion, saying, "We never felt like we weren't together. We're not looking at this as a reunion. It's more of a rebirth." According the article, it was Stapp who pushed for the reunion to take place who spoke to the other 3 members, saying that he told his former band members, "I love you and if I've ever caused you any pain in your life, forgive me," and then went on to say that "they said the same things right back." Stapp also confirmed the band were "jamming" and "not trying to stay in a certain place or conform to where we left off. The music is fresh, edgy, raw, passionate, honest, and it rocks."
Stapp discussed how he and guitarist Tremonti reconnected, thanks to the Champs Sports Bowl, according to Rolling Stone. According to Stapp, "[they] exchanged family pictures and within 20 minutes, [they] were jamming on acoustic guitars and talking about new songs." All four original members then sat down in a meeting, their first since 2000. "At that meeting, we were collectively saying, 'Hey, man, I’m sorry if I hurt you or my choices did anything to cause you any pain. I have nothing but love and forgiveness for you and I hope you can forgive me.' It’s all part of the process of reflection and not looking back at the six months out of 10 years that were trying,” says Stapp.
The band have completed work on six demos and plan to record the album, to be titled Full Circle in Nashville. Stapp elaborated on the title, which is also the name of a track to appear on the upcoming album: "It really defines and articulates, melody-wise and lyrically, what’s happened with us. We’ve come full circle and it’s a great place to be. The goal is to release the first single before the tour and have the album come out during the tour or right after." Stapp has confirmed that the reformation of Creed will put work his second solo album on indefinite hiatus.
Mark Tremonti, Scott Phillips, Brian Marshall, and Alter Bridge's publicist, Mark Tremonti's brother Michael, all firmly state that Creed's reunion will not affect Alter Bridge in any way and that they will go back into the studio after the Creed tour to record their upcoming third album. AOn Creed's Myspace page, there is a new teaser video for the reunion. Also, the band's website has been fully redone and has all the latest on the tour including VIP packages available at www.creedvip.com
The first single from Full Circle, "Overcome", was posted on the band's official website on August 19, the same day the radio premiere started along with its release as a digital download on August 25. The second single, "Rain", hit radio on September 23 and became available on October 6 as another digital download.
Also, a live Creed DVD was filmed in Houston on September 25, 2009 where a total of 239 cameras was used to capture the live performance. This feat entered Creed in the Guinness World Records for the largest amount of cameras used at a live music event. The last person to hold that record was Justin Timberlake, who broke the record using 47. The concert was also streamed live on Rockpit and MyContent and was available for viewing for free to an estimated 200,000+ viewers.
The DVD will be released on December 8, 2009. All of their hits were played, as well as 2 tracks from Full Circle, "A Thousand Faces" and "Overcome". Other information regarding the DVD including the title has not yet been released.
By October 23, 2009, all the songs on the Full Circle album were leaked. The album will be released on October 27, 2009.
Controversies[]
Creed is often labeled as a Christian Rock band, although Creed says they are not. For example, Scott Stapp says the lyrics to the song "Higher" are based on a dream he had.
Creed was sued in 2003 by four concert goers who claimed Stapp "was so intoxicated and/or medicated that he was unable to sing the lyrics of a single Creed song." The lawsuit was desmissed. The concert goers were mocked on the Daily Show.
Discography[]
Studio albums[]
Year Album Details Peak Chart Positions Certifications US
[1] AUS
[2] CAN
[3] NZ
[4] SWI
[5] UK 1997 My Own Prison
Released: April 14, 1997
Label: Blue Collar Records
22 — — 49 1 6x Platinum (US)[6] 1999 Human Clay
Released: September 28, 1999
Label: Wind-Up Records
1 2 1 35 4 11x Platinum (US)[6] 2001 Weathered
Released: November 20, 2001
Label: Wind-Up Records
1 3 3 20 4 6x Platinum (US)[6] 2009 Full Circle
Released: October 27, 2009
Label: Wind-Up Records
2 27 8 16 7 AUS: Gold
Singles[]
Year Title Chart Positions Album US
[7][8] Mod. Rock Main. Rock UK
[9] AUS[10] NLD[11] NOR[12] SWI
[13] GER
[14] 1997 "My Own Prison" — 7 2 — — — — — — My Own Prison "What's This Life For" — 10 1 — — — — — — 1998 "Torn" — — 3 — — — — — — 1999 "One" 70 2 2 — — — — — — "Higher" 7 1 1 47 36 64 — — 91 Human Clay 2000 "With Arms Wide Open" 1 2 1 13 4 75 6 70 42 "What If" 102 15 3 — — — — — — "Are You Ready?" 125 37 4 — — — — — — 2001 "Riders On The Storm" — — 28 — — — — — — single-only release "My Sacrifice" 4 2 1 18 11 44 — 92 79 Weathered 2002 "Bullets" — 27 11 — — — — — — "Hide" — — — — — — — — — "One Last Breath" 6 17 5 — 43 — — — 89 "Don't Stop Dancing" — — — — 48 — — — — "Weathered" — 30 7 — — — — — —
References[]
[] | ||
3747 | dbpedia | 1 | 78 | https://www.universalmusic.com/labels/ | en | Our Labels & Brands | [
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] | null | [] | 2015-03-26T20:23:47+00:00 | Universal Music Group is home to the most iconic and influential labels & brands in music. | en | UMG | https://www.universalmusic.com/labels/ | Universal Music Group, the world leader in music-based entertainment, leverages proprietary access and insights to develop innovative integrated brand opportunities globally with the potential to reach billions of engaged fans across digital media, events, name and likeness, sync & more.
For more information on how Universal Music Group for Brands can create authentic connections for your brand, please contact us here. | |||||
3747 | dbpedia | 3 | 3 | https://www.facebook.com/LoudWire/videos/the-hidden-meaning-of-creeds-higher/951160183338201/ | en | Creed's Scott Stapp elaborates on the unlikely story behind the band's hit song "Higher." | [] | [] | [] | [
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3747 | dbpedia | 1 | 80 | https://www.tiktok.com/%40moschinodorito/video/7091291771484884266%3Flang%3Den | en | Make Your Day | [] | [] | [] | [
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3747 | dbpedia | 1 | 38 | https://abc13.com/texas-alcs-arlington-tx-creed-rock-band-globe-life-field/13941200/ | en | ALCS 2023: Creed members don Rangers gear at Game 3 amid ground-swell for band's hit | [
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"Pooja Lodhia"
] | 2023-10-19T23:26:17+00:00 | Members of the famous rock band Creed were in-attendance at Game 3 of the ALCS, but were spotted in jerseys of the Texas Rangers. | en | https://cdn.abcotvs.net/abcotv/assets/news/ktrk/images/logos/favicon.ico | ABC13 Houston | https://abc13.com/texas-alcs-arlington-tx-creed-rock-band-globe-life-field/13941200/ | ARLINGTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The American League Championship Series is tightening up, bringing us to the point in the playoffs when superstitions and traditions start to really take hold.
That being said, the Texas Rangers brought in some special guests for Game 3 at Globe Life Field.
In case you were wondering, those guests did not take the Rangers higher.
Yep, it was the famous rock band Creed.
Rangers players have been blasting the band in the clubhouse recently, turning the band's much-maligned music into a sort of soundtrack to this year's season.
It's the opposite of the Bun B and Paul Wall we're used to at Astros games.
"I was just floored and excited that the music after all these years is still connecting with people," Scott Stapp, the frontman of the band, said.
"I got like 35 messages on my phone, just everybody saying, 'Are you seeing this, are you seeing this?' By the fifth time, I'm like, 'Yes, I'm seeing it.' I got it all day long and it's just been blowing us away," Mark Temonti, Creed's guitarist and vocalist, said.
The band even held a press conference while the Rangers were losing the game Wednesday.
They joked about supporting the Rangers.
"Are we in the trust tree here?" bassist Brian Marshall asked with a smile, before another member yelled out, "Yes, we are Rangers fans!"
That hurts, coming from a band so hated that its own fans sued after a famously bad show in 2003.
In 2009, tickets at one Alabama concert dropped down to 75 cents apiece.
Poll after poll lists Creed as one of the worst bands of all time, putting the band in razor-thin competition for last place with Canadian rock band, Nickelback.
Coming from an Astros fan base that knows what it's like to be hated, we forgive you, Creed.
And we hope you'll forgive us.
"We're fans of anyone who supports us, we support them," Stapp said. "And even people who don't support us, we love them." | ||||
3747 | dbpedia | 1 | 43 | https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/aug/29/creed-taylor-tribute-i-thought-the-listeners-attention-span-was-being-stretched-by-interminable-bass-and-drum-solos | en | Jazz impresario Creed Taylor was one of the last of a dying breed of ‘record men’ | [
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] | 2022-08-29T00:00:00 | Armed with just a passion for jazz, Taylor became a producer and the owner of the world’s most successful jazz label, working with everyone from John Coltrane to Nina Simone | en | the Guardian | https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/aug/29/creed-taylor-tribute-i-thought-the-listeners-attention-span-was-being-stretched-by-interminable-bass-and-drum-solos | The “record men” were a fabled breed of almost entirely American males who, across the 20th century, became famous in their own rights due to their discovering, recording, promoting and sometimes fleecing of future legends. It’s a legacy that stretches from Ralph Peer (Mamie Smith, Jimmie Rodgers) to Suge Knight (Snoop Dogg, Dr Dre). They were made redundant by a corporatised music industry. Creed Taylor, one of the most decent of their kind, has died aged 93.
Despite working with everyone from John Coltrane and Ray Charles to Stan Getz and Astrud and João Gilberto, Taylor never achieved the kind of reverie – or infamy – achieved by Peer and Knight, nor Sam Phillips, Berry Gordy, Jerry Wexler, David Geffen or Clive Davis. Not that this mattered to him. Creed was a reticent figure who, unlike many of the aforementioned, never courted publicity. Instead, he set about ensuring that the jazz and R&B music that he had loved since childhood was recorded and promoted with great care.
Taylor grew up in rural Virginia surrounded by country and bluegrass, but he developed a passion for jazz aged 10 thanks to listening to radio broadcasts of performances from New York. Initially, Taylor hoped to succeed as a trumpeter but, after realising he could never match Dizzy Gillespie’s technique, arrived in New York in 1954, a Korean war veteran determined to work as a jazz producer. With no formal training in recording, he recalled pursuing his dream with a “mix of naivete and positive thinking”. Initially, Taylor experienced only rejection – but a university friend was running Bethlehem Records and Taylor convinced him that he could transform the then-spluttering career of jazz singer Chris Connor. Connor’s resulting album, Lullabys of Birdland, found Taylor producing, designing the cover and getting involved in promotion. It was a success and Taylor was soon working with Carmen McRae, Charles Mingus, and Herbie Mann before ABC-Paramount hired him.
Here Taylor produced Sing a Song of Basie, the debut album of Lambert, Hendricks & Ross, which involved the then-new studio technique of overdubbing the vocal trio. The album sold strongly, and came with Taylor’s signature inscribed on the back cover – which would become a feature of every album he produced. In 1960 Taylor convinced ABC-Paramount to launch Impulse! Records, a specialist jazz imprint, to whom he signed John Coltrane, Ray Charles and Oliver Nelson.
Moving to MGM to run its Verve label, Taylor’s enthusiasm for Brazilian music led to him producing 1962’s Jazz Samba by saxophonist Stan Getz and guitarist Charlie Byrd. The album’s title track reached No 15 in the US charts while the album topped them – a phenomenal achievement for jazz musicians. From 1964, the album Getz/Gilberto found Getz teamed with Brazilian singer-guitarist João Gilberto and his wife, Astrud, who lent her untrained voice to an English language version of The Girl From Ipanema that made bossa nova a global sensation.
Taylor took jazz artists into the US Top 40 more often than any other producer: Jimmy Smith’s Walk on the Wild Side, Cal Tjader’s Soul Sauce, Kai Winding’s More, Walter Wanderley and Astrud Gilberto’s Summer Samba and Wes Montgomery’s Windy were all Taylor productions. Montgomery’s instrumental recording of the Beatles’ A Day in the Life drew effusive praise from Paul McCartney who would later gift a demo of Let It Be to Taylor to be recorded with “any jazz artist”: he recorded and released it with flautist Hubert Laws on his Crying Song LP in 1969, several months before the Beatles released their version.
In 1967 Taylor founded his own label, Creed Taylor Incorporated (CTI), and initially signed established jazz musicians whom he believed could win a wider audience – Wes Montgomery, Herbie Mann, Nat Adderley and Tamiko Jones. Taylor’s interest in Brazilian music also led him to sign Antônio Carlos Jobim, Milton Nascimento and Astrud Gilberto. Brazilian pianist Eumir Deodato gave CTI its biggest hit in 1973 when Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001), a jazz-funk retooling of Richard Strauss’ music from 2001: A Space Odyssey, reached No 2 in the US. Trumpeter Freddie Hubbard’s 1970 album Red Clay became a milestone in soul-jazz, while Randy Weston’s 1972 album Blue Moses was the pianist’s most commercially successful. But it left Weston conflicted – he felt Taylor’s production had polished his music more than he wished.
Polish was not something that George Benson was upset about. Taylor worked with him more than any other artist, producing 10 albums between 1968 and 1976. These included the 1970 opus The Other Side of Abbey Road and 1972’s White Rabbit, on which the guitarist’s instrumental workouts on songs by the Beatles, Jefferson Airplane and the Mamas & the Papas won him a rock, pop and easy listening audience. Aware that CTI was increasingly seen as a label for smooth jazz, in 1972 Taylor created a sister label, Kudu, to emphasise earthier styles. He launched saxophonist Grover Washington Jr (helping pioneer jazz funk) and ensured that veteran saxophonist Hank Crawford and vocalist Esther Phillips both worked with top-level session musicians and were given sympathetic, contemporary material: Phillips’ most visceral vocals can be found on her 1972 Kudu album From a Whisper to a Scream.
Unlike Blue Note’s Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff, who focused on letting artists pursue their modernist muse, Taylor aimed to release jazz albums that would find a wide listening public. “I thought the listener’s attention span was being stretched by interminable bass and drum solos,” he said of his approach to producing. “Any solo that went on for ever, I thought, was the wrong way to try to make people like the music I loved.”
His commercial acumen ensured that, by 1974, CTI was the world’s most successful jazz label. That year saw Bob James’ album One finding the pianist turning classical compositions by Pachelbel and Mussorgsky into a jazz-funk bestseller – and attracting brickbats from critics. Taylor shrugged off such criticism. But it was CTI’s commercial success that brought about his downfall: hubris saw Taylor set up CTI’s own North American distribution system at great expense – only for Warner to pick off their most popular artists. He then partnered with Columbia as distributor, though after albums by marquee names such as Chet Baker failed to sell they called in a $600,000 loan he couldn’t repay. Meanwhile, disco overwhelmed jazz-funk on the dancefloor.
Struggling to stay afloat, in 1978 Taylor produced Nina Simone’s Baltimore album – doing so in Belgium, where the singer was exiled – and found it a stressful experience. (Baltimore failed to sell at the time, although it is now seen as Simone’s last great recording.) Later that year CTI was forced to file for bankruptcy – Taylor would sue Warner Brothers, who had reneged on a deal with CTI regarding Benson, eventually winning $3,000,000 in damages.
Taylor resurrected CTI in 1989 as an independent label, again specialising in jazz fusion, before closing it in 1996. By then acid jazz had reignited interest in CTI and Kudu while rap trailblazers such as NWA, A Tribe Called Quest and the Notorious BIG plundered the labels’ catalogues for samples.
If there was a constant amid Taylor’s various industry guises, it was adaptability. “As a producer, I am listening. Hard,” he once said. “There was no book of rules. Every producer has his or her own way to record a particular artist. The key is to stay as flexible as you possibly can, so you can make changes when necessary but also remaining open to interesting solutions.” | |||||
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3747 | dbpedia | 1 | 63 | https://creed.com/ | en | Official Website | http://creed.com/cdn/shop/files/Creed_website.png?v=1696275839 | http://creed.com/cdn/shop/files/Creed_website.png?v=1696275839 | [
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] | null | [] | null | The official home for the band Creed. | en | //creed.com/cdn/shop/files/Creed_Favicon_32x32.png?v=1696276166 | Creed | https://creed.com/ | Learn guitar from Mark Tremonti himself. Limited spots available. Tickets not included in this package.
Learn guitar from Mark Tremonti himself. Limited spots available. Tickets not included in this package. | ||
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3747 | dbpedia | 1 | 18 | https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-creed-hit-song-higher-biggest-winner-2023-world-series-durant-u3kre | en | Why Creed And Their Hit Song, “Higher” Was The Biggest Winner of the 2023 World Series | https://media.licdn.com/dms/image/v2/D4E12AQHeMPJt8v9zkw/article-cover_image-shrink_720_1280/article-cover_image-shrink_720_1280/0/1700072293156?e=2147483647&v=beta&t=aUiUkjMtK-eUpAUiL5J_DwL1P-GcfOV74XzMf1hQUCw | https://media.licdn.com/dms/image/v2/D4E12AQHeMPJt8v9zkw/article-cover_image-shrink_720_1280/article-cover_image-shrink_720_1280/0/1700072293156?e=2147483647&v=beta&t=aUiUkjMtK-eUpAUiL5J_DwL1P-GcfOV74XzMf1hQUCw | [
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"Clayton Durant"
] | 2023-11-15T18:22:43+00:00 | The Overview: The Texas Rangers' journey to their first World Series championship in 2023 was a narrative of monumental triumph against overwhelming odds, intertwined with the resurgence of rock band Creed and their iconic hit “Higher.” This convergence of sports and music not only crafted an unforg | en | https://static.licdn.com/aero-v1/sc/h/al2o9zrvru7aqj8e1x2rzsrca | https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-creed-hit-song-higher-biggest-winner-2023-world-series-durant-u3kre | The Overview:
The Texas Rangers' journey to their first World Series championship in 2023 was a narrative of monumental triumph against overwhelming odds, intertwined with the resurgence of rock band Creed and their iconic hit “Higher.” This convergence of sports and music not only crafted an unforgettable story but also highlighted the power of an underdog.
Entering the season, the Rangers faced staggering preseason odds of +5000 to win the World Series, tying them for 17th according to SportsOddsHistory. Such odds marked them as one of the least likely teams to clinch the title, making their victory the most improbable since the 2003 Florida Marlins, who won with +7500 preseason odds. This context underscores the Rangers' extraordinary journey from long-shots to World Series champions.
Amidst this backdrop of unlikely success, the Rangers' adoption of Creed’s “Higher” as their anthem became a symbol of their tenacity and unity. Beginning as a means to uplift spirits during a mid-season slump, the song evolved into a powerful team ritual. This practice, highlighted by pitcher Andrew Heaney, transcended the confines of the locker room to resonate with fans, particularly during home playoff games where a stadium-wide singalong turned the song into a shared anthem of hope and resilience.
Creed's timely response to their music's impact was both strategic and heartfelt. Recognizing their role in this stirring sports narrative, the band appeared at the World Series and supported the team heavily across social media. In fact, they also released a ‘stadium anthems playlist’ with the Texas Rangers logo inspired cover art, smartly bridging their past hits with their newfound popularity in Texas.
Understanding The Artist(s) Involved:
Creed, a rock band originating from Tallahassee, Florida, skyrocketed to fame in the late '90s and early 2000s, reshaping the post-grunge music scene. Their ascent was fueled by multi-platinum albums such as "My Own Prison" (1997) and the diamond-certified "Human Clay" (1999). Known for anthemic hits like "Higher" and the Grammy-winning "With Arms Wide Open," Creed quickly became synonymous with the era’s sound.
Their foray into the sports world began in 2010 when lead singer Scott Stapp contributed "Marlins Will Soar" for the Miami Marlins, demonstrating the band’s cultural versatility. After a hiatus and a 2009 reunion, Creed experienced a resurgence in 2023, fueled by the Texas Rangers' World Series run and their embrace of Creed's music.
This renewed popularity led to "The Summer of '99 Tour," slated for 2024, which is set to be Creed's largest tour in over a decade. This tour, eagerly anticipated in both music and sports circles, highlights Creed’s sustained impact. The synergy of their music with sports underscores their lasting appeal and is a catalyst for the buzz surrounding the tour. Creed's upcoming tour in 2024, blending sports enthusiasm with musical legacy, stands as a testament to the unifying power of music and sports.
Our Key Insights:
Utilizing Chartmetric and Google Trends data the Beats + Bytes team discovered that since October 8th:
Monthly Listeners on Spotify for Creed grew by 1.34%, resulting in a total gain of 84,108 new fans (see graph below).
Shazam tags for Creed's "Higher" increased by 1.41%, resulting in 20,212 new tags following the Texas Rangers endorsement of Creed (see graph below).
The Texas Rangers’ endorsement precipitated a staggering 477.8% increase in searches for ‘Higher’ on YouTube (see graph below)
Concomitantly, there was a 422.2% escalation in web searches for 'Higher' by Creed (see graph below)
Creed’s official band channel on Instagram witnessed a significant 90.39% uptick in followers, culminating in an addition of 94,958 new followers (see graph below)
The song ‘Higher’ experienced a 2.07% increase in streaming activity on Spotify, resulting in an accumulation of an additional 4,212,917 streams since October 8th (see graph below)
Creed’s fandom in the state of Texas ballooned, with Creed’s Spotify monthly listeners growing in Dallas (+8.81%), San Antonio (+3.29%), and Houston (+4.10%). This was a big market gain, seeing that Creed is stopping in 3 separate cities in Texas during their 2024 reunion tour (see graph below).
The Takeaway:
Music's capacity to inspire, motivate, and build confidence is a powerful force, especially evident in sports. This impact was clearly demonstrated by the Texas Rangers' use of Creed’s “Higher” during their 2023 World Series run. Their choice of anthem showcased how music can rally and unite a team under immense pressure.
Sports psychology expert Costas Karageorghis highlights the importance of music's tempo in aligning with an athlete's heart rate, enhancing performance. His insight, "Music can activate people in a way that other things cannot," emphasizes the unique role of music in athletic settings, a key factor in the Rangers' strategic selection of Creed's energizing song.
The Rangers' adoption of "Higher" illustrates how music transcends auditory pleasure, becoming integral to mental preparation and team cohesion. The symbiotic relationship between Creed and the Rangers – the team finding a unifying anthem and Creed experiencing a resurgence – demonstrates the mutual benefits of such collaborations. This partnership not only led to a sports triumph but also underscored the unifying and motivating capacity of music.
From this inspiring collaboration, two key takeaways emerge for sports teams across leagues:
Identify an Anthem: Teams should consider choosing a song that resonates with their ethos and journey, fostering unity and purpose among their fanbase. Simply put, nothing brings fans, players, and an organization closer together than a powerful and purposeful sonic logo.
Harness the Power of The Superfan: Aligning team activities with music that matches a moment can not only bring fans and players together, but it can encourage super fans of an artist to buy into a sports team they may have not been as familiar with before. We saw this at the most prominent level when Taylor Swift encouraging her Swiftie fanbase to adopt the NFL's Chiefs as their own. You can read more about that in our past Stat Of The Week titled, Dipping into Success: How Heinz Crafted a Cultural Win from Swifties' Saucy Insights. | |||
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"Eric Mullin"
] | 2023-10-09T17:03:55 | Game 3 of the Texas Rangers vs. Baltimore Orioles ALDS in the 2023 MLB playoffs may sound like a Creed concert. Here's why. | en | NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/sports/red-fever/how-creeds-music-has-helped-take-the-texas-rangers-higher/3356166/ | Game 3 of the Rangers-Orioles ALDS may sound like a Creed concert.
Before Texas took a 2-0 series lead over top-seeded Baltimore, Rangers pitcher Andrew Heaney revealed that the club started listening to the rock band Creed pregame in order to loosen things up amid an up-and-down second half of the regular season.
That pregame ritual continued as Texas secured its first postseason berth since 2016 before sweeping the Tampa Bay Rays for the franchise's first playoff series victory since 2011.
Now, the Rangers are set to play their first home game of the 2023 playoffs, sitting just one win away from the ALCS. And Heaney is hoping to hear Creed's music, accompanied by Rangers fans singing along, at Globe Life Field this week (h/t Rangers play-by-play announcer Jared Sandler).
So any Rangers fans planning to attend Game 3 on Tuesday (or Game 4 on Wednesday if necessary) might want to brush up on Creed's discography.
Believe it or not, the Rangers aren't the first sports team to adopt Creed's music as their unofficial soundtrack.
Texas Rangers - World Series Champions
Ex-NFL tight end Greg Olsen said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the 2015 NFC champion Carolina Panthers also listened to Creed, and lead singer Scott Stapp was even going to attend the team's afterparty had Carolina defeated the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50. Olsen called it one of his "biggest regrets" and wished the Rangers better luck.
The Rangers are surely hoping Creed's music can take them higher than just a World Series appearance. | |||||
3747 | dbpedia | 1 | 52 | https://www.ac3filter.net/creed-songs/ | en | Top 15 Creed Songs | [
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"Alex Watley"
] | 2024-01-11T11:59:34+04:00 | Imagine you're flipping through your old music collection and you stumble across a band that takes you right back to the turn of the millennium. Yes, we're | en | AC3FILTER | https://www.ac3filter.net/creed-songs/ | Imagine you’re flipping through your old music collection and you stumble across a band that takes you right back to the turn of the millennium. Yes, we’re talking about Creed, the rock group that captured a generation with their powerful melodies and heartfelt lyrics. Their songs have a way of sticking with you, whether it’s through a memorable guitar riff or a chorus that echoes in your mind long after the song is over.
In this article, we’re going to walk through some of Creed’s top tracks that defined an era and marked milestones in many of our lives. From anthems that filled arenas to ballads that tugged at our heartstrings, we’ve got the cream of the crop lined up. So, if you’re ready to take a stroll down memory lane with some of the band’s most beloved tunes, keep reading. We’re revisiting the hits that made Creed a household name.
15. Hide
“Hide” brings to life the struggle of confronting personal demons. With its powerful guitar riffs and Scott Stapp’s raw vocals, the song captures a sense of urgency and vulnerability. It’s a track from Creed’s third album, “Weathered,” and it highlights the band’s ability to blend hard-hitting rock with introspective lyrics. Fans often praise it for its relatable message and the emotional depth that resonates with many. The song showcases the band’s knack for creating music that speaks to the challenges of the human experience.
14. Weathered
“Weathered” marks a pinnacle for Creed, showcasing their signature blend of grunge and hard rock. The song’s powerful lyrics speak to the struggles and resilience of the human spirit. Scott Stapp’s distinctive voice carries the emotion with every note, making it a fan favorite. Driven by Mark Tremonti’s compelling guitar riffs, “Weathered” resonates with listeners who appreciate the band’s raw energy and heartfelt message. It’s a standout track from their third album, also titled “Weathered,” which went multi-platinum, cementing Creed’s place in rock history.
13. One
“One” is a powerful track that showcases Creed’s ability to blend heavy guitar riffs with heartfelt lyrics. It’s a song that speaks to the human desire for connection and unity. With Scott Stapp’s distinctive voice and the band’s dynamic sound, “One” became a defining anthem of the late ’90s. The song’s message about togetherness resonated with many listeners, making it a staple on rock radio stations. Fans often point to the chorus as a highlight, where the energy peaks and the call for harmony is most passionate.
12. What’s This Life For
“What’s This Life For” hits you with its powerful message about finding purpose and dealing with life’s struggles. The song features Scott Stapp’s gritty vocals and Mark Tremonti’s compelling guitar work. It became an anthem for many fans, with its thought-provoking lyrics and memorable melody. Released in 1998, this track helped cement Creed’s place in the rock genre. It’s a song that many turn to when searching for a sense of hope or understanding during tough times.
11. Overcome
“Overcome” showcases Creed’s ability to blend powerful guitar riffs with heartfelt lyrics. The song speaks to the struggle of facing and conquering personal demons. With Scott Stapp’s distinctive vocals leading the charge, the track builds into an anthem of perseverance. It became a fan favorite for its raw emotion and the band’s signature rock sound. The energy in the chorus is both uplifting and intense, encouraging listeners to push through their challenges. Whether it’s the gripping melody or the relatable message, “Overcome” remains a highlight in Creed’s discography.
10. Don’t Stop Dancing
“Don’t Stop Dancing” reminds us of the power of music to heal and uplift. This song hits home with its emotional lyrics and powerful chorus. Scott Stapp, Creed’s lead singer, pours his heart into every word, sharing a message of hope and resilience. The melody is both soothing and stirring, with a rhythm that keeps you moving. It’s a track that resonates with anyone who’s faced tough times and needed a reminder to keep pushing forward. The song also features a compelling video that adds depth to its story of perseverance.
9. My Own Prison
“My Own Prison” marks a defining moment for Creed, showcasing their ability to blend grunge tones with soul-searching lyrics. Scott Stapp’s voice carries weight as he sings about the struggle for redemption and the walls we build around ourselves. The song’s powerful guitar riffs and reflective mood resonate with listeners who’ve faced their own inner battles. It became a signature hit for the band, striking a chord with fans and securing a spot on rock radio playlists. This track laid the groundwork for Creed’s future success, proving they had a knack for creating anthems that speak to the heart.
8. Torn
“Torn” takes listeners on an emotional journey with its powerful lyrics and dramatic melody. It’s one of Creed’s most memorable tracks, showcasing Scott Stapp’s distinctive voice and the band’s ability to blend heavy guitar with soul-stirring messages. The song talks about inner conflict and the struggle to find one’s true self, which many fans relate to. It’s a highlight from their debut album, “My Own Prison,” and helped cement Creed’s place in the rock landscape of the late ’90s.
7. Rain
“Rain” showcases Creed’s softer side, with a melodic tune that speaks to the soul’s desire for change and renewal. The song’s lyrics touch on the theme of hope and the belief in a fresh start. It’s a track that resonates with many fans for its uplifting message and the band’s signature blend of rock elements with introspective lyrics. Scott Stapp’s voice carries the emotion of the song, making it one of Creed’s memorable tracks that blend seamlessly with their discography of powerful anthems.
6. Are You Ready?
“Are You Ready?” kicks off with a powerful guitar riff that sets the tone for this high-energy track. As one of Creed’s most forceful songs, it highlights the band’s ability to blend rock with a sense of urgency. The lyrics challenge listeners to face their fears and take action, resonating with fans who appreciate a call to personal strength. It’s a song that often gets the crowd pumped up at concerts, reflecting the band’s knack for creating anthems that inspire.
5. What If
“What If” poses a question many of us have asked at some point: what if the life we’re living is not the one we were meant to lead? This Creed song mixes heavy guitar riffs with Scott Stapp’s powerful vocals, creating a sound that’s both hard-hitting and reflective. The lyrics challenge listeners to consider the impact of their choices and the possibility of a different path. It’s a track that not only rocks but also makes you think about your own “what ifs” in life.
4. With Arms Wide Open
“With Arms Wide Open” is a heartfelt anthem by Creed that touches on the joy and responsibility of becoming a father. The song’s powerful lyrics and soaring vocals struck a chord with fans around the world, making it one of Creed’s most memorable tracks. The lead singer, Scott Stapp, wrote the song after finding out he was going to be a dad, which explains its emotional depth. It won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Song, showing not only its popularity but also its recognition within the music industry. This track remains a signature song for the band and continues to resonate with listeners who value family and new beginnings.
3. Higher
“Higher” takes you on a soaring journey of personal uplift and yearning for spiritual transcendence. This power ballad, with its thundering guitars and Scott Stapp’s impassioned vocals, became a signature hit for Creed. It invites listeners to imagine a place free of life’s pain and struggles, reflecting the band’s post-grunge style. The chorus is memorable for its anthemic quality, encouraging people to reach for something beyond themselves. The song also made waves on the charts, securing a spot at the top for weeks and becoming a fan favorite at live shows.
2. My Sacrifice
“My Sacrifice” is one of Creed’s most beloved tracks, resonating with fans for its powerful lyrics and memorable melody. Released as a single from their third album, “Weathered,” the song speaks about renewal and the strength gained from personal struggles. The music video, featuring the band playing on a flooded plain, became an iconic image associated with the song. It’s a tune that many listeners turn to for its uplifting message, making it a standout in Creed’s discography. Fans often cite “My Sacrifice” as a song that helped them through tough times, highlighting the band’s knack for creating relatable music.
1. One Last Breath
“One Last Breath” strikes a chord with its powerful lyrics about seeking redemption and a second chance in life. Scott Stapp’s passionate vocals soar over the driving guitar riffs, making it one of Creed’s most memorable tracks. Fans often point to the chorus as a highlight, where the intensity of the song peaks. Released in 2002, this ballad became a radio staple and remains a favorite for many. The song’s raw emotion and relatable message have kept it on playlists for years, showing the lasting impact of Creed’s music.
And so we reach the end of our list, celebrating the best tunes from Creed. Whether these songs stirred old memories or introduced you to new anthems to add to your playlist, we hope you found something that struck a chord. Music has a way of connecting us, and Creed’s powerful lyrics and melodies are no exception. Go ahead, play them loud and let the music speak for itself. Share your favorites, discover tracks you might have missed, and keep the rock spirit alive. Until next time, keep listening, keep rocking, and let the music move you. | |||||
3747 | dbpedia | 1 | 44 | https://americansongwriter.com/3-hit-songs-from-the-1990s-by-creed/ | en | 3 Hit Songs from the 1990s by Creed | [
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"Jacob Uitti"
] | 2024-07-18T22:30:00+00:00 | In the 1990s and 2000s, one of the biggest bands on Earth was, surprisingly, Creed. The growling group, which was fronted by lead singer Scott Stapp, rose to fame with passionate, hard rocking songs that were, as fans found out over the months, rooted in religion. | en | American Songwriter | https://americansongwriter.com/3-hit-songs-from-the-1990s-by-creed/ | In the 1990s and 2000s, one of the biggest bands on Earth was, surprisingly, Creed. The growling group, which was fronted by lead singer Scott Stapp, rose to fame with passionate, hard rocking songs that were, as fans found out over the months, rooted in religion.
The Tallahassee, Florida-born band, which formed in 1994, became household names in 1999 thanks to their Platinum-selling LP Human Clay, which earned the group a Grammy Award. But because of the religious themes and undercurrents in the band’s songs, the group fell out of favor over time with mainstream rock fans.
Videos by American Songwriter
That, however, does not take away from the group’s impact nor its several hits that have since, in many ways, stood the test of time. Here below, we wanted to examine a trio of songs from Human Clay and remember just how hard they rocked.
[RELATED: Scott Stapp Teases New Creed Music: “I Think It’s Gonna be Beautiful, Man”]
“With Arms Wide Open” from Human Clay (1999)
When Creed came out in the 1990s, there was something about the band that was reminiscent of grunge groups like Pearl Jam. Lead singer Scott Stapp sounded a lot like Eddie Vedder and that was perhaps most evident on the song “With Arms Wide Open,” which hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 upon its release. The song also earned two Grammy nominations, winning the award for Best Rock Song. On the passionate track, Stapp sings,
Well, I just heard the news today
It seems my life is going to change
I closed my eyes, begin to pray
Then tears of joy stream down my face
With arms wide open under the sunlight
Welcome to this place, I’ll show you everything
With arms wide open
With arms wide open
“Higher” from Human Clay (1999)
This song has some of the most evident religious connotations of all of its big hits—especially in retrospect. Here, Stapp sings, as if to the heavens, asking some entity up there to lift him up. It’s funny how from a rock perspective this theme makes big sense but when heard through the prism of someone preaching, it loses its edge. And that was the crux of the band’s fall in the 2000s in the eyes of some of its most ardent fans. On the heavy track, Stapp sings,
When dreaming I’m guided to another world
Time and time again
At sunrise I fight to stay asleep
‘Cause I don’t wanna leave the comfort of this place
‘Cause there’s a hunger, a longing to escape
From the life I live when I’m awake
So let’s go there
Let’s make our escape
Come on, let’s go there
Let’s ask can we stay?
Can you take me higher?
To a place where blind men see
Can you take me higher?
To a place with golden streets
“Are You Ready?” from Human Clay (1999)
The opening track to the band’s breakout album, this heavy rocker set the tone for an album that would earn the group celebrity status, millions of dollars and a place in pop culture. Stapp sounds like Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots and the band, in a way, sound as if they could have come from the Pacific Northwest grunge revolution from earlier in the decade. This track hit hard and was a heart-pumping head-banger. On it, Stapp sings,
Hey, Mr. Seeker hold on to this advice
If you keep seeking you will find
Don’t want to follow
Down roads been walked before
It’s so hard to find unopened doors
Are you ready? are you ready?
For what’s to come?
Oh, I said are you ready, are you ready?
For what’s to come?
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Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images | |||||
3747 | dbpedia | 3 | 4 | https://www.stereogum.com/2197985/the-number-ones-creeds-with-arms-wide-open/columns/the-number-ones/ | en | The Number Ones: Creed’s “With Arms Wide Open” | [
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] | 2022-09-02T09:07:35-04:00 | In The Number Ones, I’m reviewing every single #1 single in the history of the Billboard Hot 100, starting with the chart’s beginning, in 1958, and working my way up into the present. | en | Stereogum | https://www.stereogum.com/2197985/the-number-ones-creeds-with-arms-wide-open/columns/the-number-ones/ | In The Number Ones, I’m reviewing every single #1 single in the history of the Billboard Hot 100, starting with the chart’s beginning, in 1958, and working my way up into the present.
If I had just one wish, only one demand, it would be to not write about Creed. This isn’t because I don’t like Creed — although, let’s be clear, I do not like Creed. Over the years, this column has covered plenty of wack shit, and I’ve enjoyed writing about a lot of it. It’s not because of the band’s tasteless grandeur, either; tasteless grandeur can be pretty fun. It’s not because they were a Christian rock band who objected to the term “Christian rock.” That was true of U2 and Mr. Mister, too, and I didn’t hate writing about them. It’s because the mere act of writing about Creed is going to turn me into a sneering elitist dick. It’s going to bring out all my snarkiest impulses. It’s going to turn me back into the old me. So it goes. Some things can’t be helped.
To take any kind of critical stance on Creed, you almost have to take a side in a culture war. I can’t find the quote online — it might’ve been in Creed’s episode of Behind The Music — but I remember a moment when lead growl-moaner Scott Stapp pointed out that Led Zeppelin, just like Creed, had once been a massively popular band and a critical punching bag. Stapp’s point was that the millions and millions of people who bought Creed’s records couldn’t be wrong and that the critics would catch up eventually. Never happened. You need to go pretty deep down the contrarian-takes wormhole to find anyone repping for Creed. When the subject comes up today, it’s mostly because people are trying to figure out what the fuck that was — why so many millions decided that Human Clay was worth their money. I’d love to answer that question, but I can’t. Creed was just some shit that happened.
My best guess has something to do with timing. After the wave of grunge excitement died down, the American public still evidently had a hunger for a version of stadium rock that scratched some of those same itches. If a band had churning riffs and a deep-voiced bellower out front, that band could get airplay. Seven Mary Three and Three Days Grace and Godsmack and Staind and Puddle Of Mudd all fit the bill, and a whole new wave of radio-friendly chug-rock was born. Vertical Horizon and Matchbox 20, two bands that have already appeared in this column, took advantage of that moment in one way or another. But nobody rode the butt-rock wave like Creed. They were the kings of that shit.
Creed had already sold millions upon millions of records, and they’d already packed arenas, before they finally ascended to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for a single week in 2000. That very same week, Mississippi grunt-wailers 3 Doors Down reached #3 with “Kryptonite” — a chart peak for both that song and that band. (“Kryptonite” is a 4.) The weeks just before the Bush/Gore election were high times for the turgid bawlers of the world, and I am trying with all my might not to draw false equivalences between music and politics. It makes sense that Creed notched a #1 hit, and I don’t have a philosophical problem with that. My problem is the song. The song is bad.
Much like Matchbox 20, Creed came from Florida. This is not a value judgment; it’s simply a fact. The band was a genuine independent rock sensation, a hit that nobody anticipated. Creed started off on the Tallahassee bar circuit in 1994, the time when the actual grunge giants were at their peak. Scott Stapp grew up in a strict Pentecostal family in Orlando, and rock ‘n’ roll wasn’t allowed in his house at all. (When Stapp was born, Maureen McGovern’s “The Morning After” was the #1 song in America.) Stapp struggled with all the restrictions that his family placed on him. When he snuck a copy of Def Leppard’s Pyromania into the house, his parents found it and took it away. When he played high-school football, he couldn’t go out and party after the games. He had a hard time with it.
At 17, Scott Stapp ran away from home and finished high school while living with another family. A girlfriend took him to his first concert — Lenny Kravitz, Blind Melon, and Porno For Pyros — and Stapp decided that this was what he wanted to do with his life. One of Stapp’s friends in high school was Mark Tremonti, a metal guitarist who’d been born in Detroit and who’d moved to Orlando at 15. (Weirdly, Tremonti and of Montreal frontman Kevin Barnes were childhood friends in Detroit, long before they both became vastly different varieties of rock star.) Stapp and Tremonti met up again when both of them were going to Florida State University in Tallahassee in the mid-’90s, and they decided to start a band together. The band played a single show under the name Naked Toddler before they realized that this was a terrible, terrible name. They changed their name to Creed, and their new name stuck.
Creed found a gig at a local Tallahassee bar called Big Daddy’s. Owner Jeff Hanson was intrigued with the group, and he started booking them at Floyd’s Music Store, a larger venue that he owned. Pretty soon, Hanson also became Creed’s manager. Hanson knew John Kurzweg, a local record producer who’d played in a few regional bands and who’d released one unsuccessful major-label album in 1987, and he convinced Kurzweg to come see Creed. In Fred Bronson’s Billboard Book Of Number 1 Hits, Hanson says that Kurzweg “wasn’t overly impressed” with Creed. (Kurzweg: “They were playing really heavy stuff. It was real loud. It didn’t have the finesse that they were later able to conjure up.”) But Hanson still convinced Kurzweg that he should produce a Creed record.
When Creed started recording their 1997 debut album My Own Prison at John Kurzweg’s home studio, the members of the band had day jobs. In a Stereogum interview a few years ago, Mark Tremonti says that he and Scott Stapp were both cooks at chain restaurants — Tremonti at Chili’s, Stapp at Ruby Tuesday’s. Drummer Scott Phillips, meanwhile, was “managing the knife store at the mall,” a truly evocative phrase. It cost just $6,000 to record My Own Prison. Initially, Creed released the LP on their own label, which they called Blue Collar Records, and they sold a few thousand copies of the record around Florida. They also played a showcase for some major labels in New York, but all those labels passed on signing them. Wind-Up Records, a very small New York indie label, felt differently.
Wind-Up Records had been started by Alan Meltzer, a guy who owned a few record stores and a CD distributor in the New York area, and his then-wife Diana. They’d bought the indie Grass Records and changed its name, which is how the Wrens ended up labelmates with Creed. Diana Meltzer heard My Own Prison, and she was interested right away. The Meltzers flew down to Florida to see Creed, and they quickly offered the band a deal. Creed wanted a major deal, but Wind-Up had distribution through BMG, and the band thought that maybe this was their one shot. They took the deal.
Later on, the Meltzers also signed Evanescence and Seether and Finger Eleven. They made a whole lot of money in that radio-rock racket. The couple eventually divorced, and Alan Meltzer died in 2011 at the age of 67. In his will, he left a million dollars to his chauffeur and another $500,000 to the doorman of his apartment building. The New York Post asked Diana Meltzer what she thought of this, and she responded with this immortal line: “He can leave it to whoever he wants to. I’m doing fine. I could care less. If he wants to give it to the bums, he can give it to the bums. He could fuck a nun. I couldn’t give a shit. He can give his money to whoever he wants. We’re divorced. The man is dead.” I wasn’t expecting a piece on Creed to include the phrase “he could fuck a nun.” Sometimes, life gives you gifts when you least expect them.
Wind-Up released a remixed version of My Own Prison and started pushing the album to radio, and it became one of those slow-blooming success stories. The LP never charted higher than #22, but it eventually went platinum six times. Creed toured hard, and they built up an audience even though critics either disdained or ignored them. Mainstream rock radio loved the band; all four singles from My Own Prison dominated that chart. None of those singles were commercially released, so Creed didn’t chart on the Hot 100 until 1998, when the Billboard rules changed and “One,” the LP’s fourth single, made it to #70 on airplay alone.
In his Stereogum piece on My Own Prison, Phil Freeman compared Creed to Grand Funk Railroad, another band that reached stadium status without ever appealing to the critical establishment. It makes sense; Creed were an American band for a more sincere and monastic age. I can kind of understand the appeal. Creed had the penitent sincerity of the early-’90s alt-rock stars without any of the punk baggage. Scott Stapp sang like Layne Staley gargling hot asphalt, but he hit the same poses as Robert Plant. He had no qualms about embracing mass adulation. Behind him, Stapp’s bandmates busted out a thick, utilitarian sort of riff-rock that was spacious enough to echo around an arena.
The members of Creed seemed normal; you could picture these guys managing your local mall’s knife store. Their open Christianity also probably opened a few markets up to them. They made a kind of grunge that was fit for a megachurch. They didn’t cuss or smoke or make anti-Grammy speeches at the Grammys, and they kept their prodigious drinking quiet. They played golf. None of that stuff made Creed seem cool, but back then, you could sell a whole lot of records without worrying about coolness.
Creed went back to work with producer John Kurzweg when they made their 1999 sophomore album Human Clay. They didn’t go back to Kurzweg’s home studio, but that was only because Scott Stapp was allergic to Kurzweg’s cats. The second album sounded bigger and broader, and it sold more. It sold in astounding, mind-melting numbers. Human Clay was double platinum within two months. In five years, it sold 11 million copies in the US alone. First single “Higher” became Creed’s first top-10 hit, peaking at #7. (It’s a 4.)
Scott Stapp wrote the lyrics for “With Arms Wide Open,” the second single from Human Clay, shortly after finding out that he was going to become a father. Stapp had married his first wife in 1997, and they’d only stayed together for a year; they were already divorced by the time Human Clay came out. Stapp’s story on “With Arms Wide Open” is that he heard Mark Tremonti playing a guitar part that he liked at soundcheck and that he ran out and freestyled the whole song. I don’t see any real reason to doubt that story. Those lyrics read like one big, heartfelt rush of feelings.
On “With Arms Wide Open,” Scott Stapp sings about the excitement and fear of new fatherhood. Stapp sings that he hopes his son is “not like me” and that he finds a way to face the world with confidence. I know that feeling, and I wish I could find something to like in “With Arms Wide Open” beyond that very real sentiment. But whoof, I’m sorry, I cannot. Scott Stapp’s strangled-walrus singing style just has nothing for me. Millions of people have mockingly imitated Stapp’s vocals over the years, but nobody has ever approached the man’s own absurdist backwoods holler. He sounds like he can’t possibly be serious, and yet he’s so serious. It’s too much.
Some of the deep cuts on Human Clay have a not-bad generic riff-rumble thing working for them. “With Arms Wide Open” is not one of those songs. It’s a slow death-trudge to nowhere, a melodramatic geyser of syrup. To make things even worse, the version of the song that reached #1 isn’t the one that initially appeared on Human Clay. Instead, it’s a remix with strings artlessly piled everywhere, drowning out the guitar-crunch that might’ve been the only halfway-effective thing about the original track. The end result hits like a phlegm-soaked Hallmark card.
That remix got Creed the pop airplay that they’d been missing. When the song finally broke into the top 10, Creed released a commercial version of the single as a benefit for Stapp’s With Arms Wide Open Foundation, which aimed to “promote healthy, loving relationships between children and their families.” The extra sales were enough to push “With Arms Wide Open” to #1 for a week. In the frankly hilarious video, Stapp strikes dramatic poses while CGI meteors rain down around him and finally does his big arms-out thing on a mountaintop for the helicopter money shot. This guy was not worried about people making fun of him, and I’d find that pride admirable if I liked his music even one tiny bit.
Just before Creed reached #1, the band kicked out bassist Brian Marshall after he dissed Pearl Jam on Seattle radio, claiming that Eddie Vedder wished he could write songs like Scott Stapp. Marshall didn’t get fired for blasting Pearl Jam; he got fired because he was drinking a lot and fighting with his bandmates. But Marshall wasn’t the only Creed member who had an alcohol problem. Creed followed Human Clay with the 2001 album Weathered, which sold another six million copies and which sent another couple of songs into the top 10. (“My Sacrifice,” the bigger of the two, peaked at #4. It’s a 3.) While touring behind that album, Scott Stapp’s dependency on alcohol and painkillers got worse. At a 2002 show outside Chicago, Stapp was so drunk and incoherent that a group of fans filed a class-action lawsuit. A judge threw the suit out, but anytime a band gets sued by its own fans, that becomes a news story.
Things within the band got worse, and Creed officially broke up in 2004. Scott Stapp started a solo career, and the other ex-Creed guys, including deposed bassist Brian Marshall, started a new band called Alter Bridge with new frontman Myles Kennedy. (Between the two of them, Scott Stapp and Alter Bridge have never made the Hot 100.) Creed reunited for long enough to make the 2009 album Full Circle, and they got to #73 with the single “Overcome,” but then they went on hiatus again. Scott Stapp has publicly pleaded for another Creed reunion a few times, but it hasn’t happened yet.
Scott Stapp has had a rough go of things. He’s talked about considering suicide a few times. He’s said that he once jumped off of a balcony in Miami and that T.I., an artist who will eventually appear in this column, saved his life. Stapp also sued to block the release of a sex tape that starred him, Kid Rock, and two women. Stapp was charged with felony domestic violence in 2007, but the charge was dropped. In 2016, Stapp replaced the late Scott Weiland as the new singer for the hard rock supergroup Art Of Anarchy, and then his bandmates sued him two years later for refusing to tour or to promote the album that they’d made together.
See? This is the shit I’m talking about. I’m not even trying to make fun of Scott Stapp, who is clearly a troubled person. I’m just saying what he’s been up to since Creed were on top of the world. It looks like mockery, like I’m kicking dirt on someone who’s down. The success of Creed just puts me in a bad position. I don’t like the person that I have to become when I write about Creed.
There’s this neighborhood in Baltimore called Hampden. When I was a kid, my dad called it a “white ghetto,” which seems like a fucked-up phrase in all sorts of ways but which also gives you some idea of what I’m talking about here. Hampden is now fully gentrified, of course. At one point in the early ’00s, Hampden was at a midpoint between its grimy working-class roots and the upscale hipster spot that it would become, and everyone who hung out there shared the space a bit uneasily. There was this one karaoke night at a local dive bar that would bring in people from both ends of the spectrum, since the original inhabitants and the gentrifiers both loved to get shitfaced and sing.
I have a distinct memory of one guy, clearly not from the gentrifier end of things, getting up and singing a very drunk, very sincere rendition of “With Arms Wide Open” in front of everyone. This guy wasn’t trying to make fun of the song. He meant every word he sang. I’d sort of taken it for granted that nobody really liked Creed, and this guy’s passion seemed brave and instructive to me. He had truly connected with this song, and I’m glad he had it in his life. But it still sounded like dogshit because the guy couldn’t sing and because the song is bad. It’s a bad song. What do you want from me? It’s not my fault that Creed sucks. It’s Creed’s fault. | |||||
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3747 | dbpedia | 1 | 91 | https://grantland.com/features/taking-concert-doubleheader-creed-nickelback-world-most-hated-bands/ | en | » A Night With the World’s Most Hated Bands | [
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] | null | en | https://grantland.com/features/taking-concert-doubleheader-creed-nickelback-world-most-hated-bands/ | The moment you tell people you’re seeing Creed and Nickelback in concert — on the same night, at roughly the same time, in two different venues — it suddenly becomes a stunt. Just describing the premise seems schlocky; it’s like Def Leppard playing on three different continents in 24 hours, or maybe something David Blaine would attempt if he worked for the Fuse network. The immediate assumption is that this is some type of sonic endurance test, and that no person could possibly enjoy the experience of seeing the most hated (yet popular) rock band of 2001 followed by the most popular (yet hated) rock band of 2012. But this is what I wanted to do: I wanted to see Creed at New York’s intimate Beacon Theatre (performing their 1997 album My Own Prison in its entirety), followed by Nickelback in front of 18,000 people at Madison Square Garden.
Last Thursday, this dream was accomplished.
I did not do this because I particularly like or dislike either band. I did it because other people like and dislike them so much.
Thursday evening, seven o’clock. A thin man stands outside the Beacon Theatre, smoking a cigarette and compulsively checking his phone (from across the street, he looks a little like Martin Starr). The man’s name is Adam Semanchick, and he’s a 26-year-old cab driver from Bayonne, New Jersey. We stand on the sidewalk and chat about Creed; he’s envious that I’m seeing both Creed and Nickelback on the same night, and he asks if I know how to get tickets to tomorrow night’s sold-out Shinedown show at Best Buy Theater. This is a person who really, really likes rock music.
“Creed was always more pop-ish,” he tells me. It dawns on me that Semanchick would have been 13 when Human Clay was released in 1999. “I usually preferred stuff like Slipknot and Disturbed. Heavier music. And the fact that Creed seemed Christian made them uncool. But they always wrote good songs, and they were a safe band. That’s the key word. Safe. They didn’t oversell their theatrics. Plus, they sing about things that any normal person is going to relate with. One of their songs talks about being ‘six feet from the edge.’ Depression is universal.”
It’s disarming to hear someone discuss Creed with such evenhanded lucidity; normally, people who talk about Creed want to position themselves as distanced from what Creed is alleged to represent (and perhaps that’s what Semanchick is doing here, but it doesn’t feel like it). “I like all rock music,” he continues. “Why would I make an exception for Creed? To be honest, I think rock is dying in the culture. They don’t even play it on the radio anymore. At this point, there’s really just underground metal and classic rock. That’s all ‘rock’ is now. So I wanted to see this show.”
Closer to the venue’s entrance, two women from Brooklyn are waiting for someone. These women are sisters, both 41 years old. “You’re twins,” I stupidly note. It turns out they’re actually triplets and the woman they’re waiting for is sister no. 3. We have a brief discussion about Creed’s iconography. The first sister (her name is Nia) rejects the idea that Creed’s lack of respect is remotely meaningful to the experience of loving them. “I don’t listen to what anyone says about music,” she tells me. “If I like a band, I like a band. I’ve seen Creed six times. They’re never boring. Never. And I’ve seen a lot of boring shows from other people.” I ask her what bands have been boring. Her instantaneous response is Incubus. But she was also disappointed by Bon Jovi, Chevelle, and Duran Duran. “I was so disappointed by Duran Duran,” she says. “I really wanted that night to be great.”
I slink into the Beacon at 7:20 p.m. The first thing I see is a huge poster promoting a memoir from Creed vocalist Scott Stapp. The book is titled Sinner’s Creed: The True Story of Fame, Grace, and Redemption as Only Scott Stapp Can Tell It. The interior theater doors don’t open until 7:30, so people are milling around the lobby, drinking beers and frozen margaritas. Obviously, this is an older, balding crowd; one guy has brought his own homemade popcorn in a cylindrical Tupperware container, which is something you probably wouldn’t see at a Japandroids show. I’m shocked by the distance some of these people have traveled to see this concert. One couple (George and Stacey Wilson-Howell) flew in from Dubai, a 15-hour flight. “Just a flick of his sweat,” Stacey tells me. “That’s all I want. Just a flick of Scott Stapp’s sweat.” This sentiment symbolizes his fame, her grace, and my redemption (as only Scott Stapp can tell it).
The music starts one minute before 8 p.m. Creed’s opening act is called Eve to Adam. They are directly (and profoundly) influenced by Creed, all the way down to giving themselves a name that would prompt most average ticket holders to wrongly assume they’re a Christian rock band. The singer brings a bottle of Jameson onto the stage, but he doesn’t take a swig until after the last song. He sings exactly like Stapp and facially resembles Around the Horn host Tony Reali (this is mostly a compliment). The music is competent but unnervingly, relentlessly, idiotically straight-ahead; they’re like a fictional rock band invented by Daniel Clowes, deliberately designed to represent the polar opposite of alt-cool. At one point they cover Alice Cooper’s “School’s Out,” but the rhythm section appears to be playing Metallica’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls.” It’s the high point of the set. The lead guitarist wears a super-long scarf and reminds me of a grunge Warren DeMartini (again, this is mostly a compliment).
The singer is gracious, thanking the audience after almost every song (he will dedicate their final number, “Reach,” to the U.S. Armed Forces). He likes people, but only if they are physically in front of him. “This next song is dedicated to all the Internet tough guys who talk a lot of shit on the computer but would never say shit to your face,” he declares before they play a tune called “Run Your Mouth.” With only 1,310 followers on Twitter, I would not have guessed there were a lot of clowns trolling Eve to Adam, but I suppose there must be. I mean, the band does exist.
The music of Creed is powerful. That’s not necessarily the same as “good,” but it’s something. They perform a simple trick on (seemingly) every track: A song will open with an uncomfortably subdued constriction that abruptly drops into a pulverizing wave of melodic distortion, instantly generating a hyper-real level of drama that can only be discounted if you consciously pre-decide to view the technique as preposterous. This is the central potency of the band’s songwriting, but also its downfall. The key to being appreciated by pop critics is the act of taking your own music less seriously than the people who adore it (Stephen Malkmus is probably the best contemporary example). Creed seems to exemplify the opposite. Creed seems to take itself more seriously than its own fan base does, which makes logical (but not practical) sense. Now, the reason I keep including the word “seems” is because I don’t know if this is actually true; the band might consider the entire trajectory of their career totally hilarious. But their posture is serious. As I watch them onstage, they don’t seem to be having fun in any context. The various musicians are dressed in a style best described as “business casual,” assuming their business is happening in Texas.
In a histrionic world where American Idol and The Voice somehow represent the apotheosis of vocal culture, you’d think Stapp would deserve the Congressional Medal of Honor. His bearlike delivery defines the great/terrible conceit (when Stapp truly goes for the jugular, his howl is like an F-14 flying 40 feet off the ground). He paces around and seems randomly unhinged, periodically slapping his own chest like Kevin Garnett in the playoffs. Everyone in the front row wants to touch him, but respectfully so; sometimes they only need to touch his fingertips.
Creed’s highest artistic achievement is the (excellent) song “My Own Prison,” the first single they ever released. It’s Creed at their upmost Creediest. Lyrical themes include despair, self-loathing, Golgotha, drugs, the shackles of self-awareness, metaphorical lions, actual lions, hypocrisy, Crime and Punishment, and the desperate notion of surrendering one’s agency to a Higher Power. The payoff explodes at the end, where Stapp insists, “I created, I created, I created, I created, I created, I created my own prison.” Free will: intact.
I’ve long wondered if this song is popular inside actual prisons.
My Own Prison” is the third number in Creed’s set; by the song’s conclusion, it’s almost 9:30. I leave the Beacon and get in a cab to MSG, a stop-and-go ride that will take almost 20 minutes. Sitting in the back of the taxi, there’s not much for me to do except think about the group I just saw and the group I’m about to see. And what I think about is this: Over the past 20 years, there have been five bands totally acceptable to hate reflexively (and by “totally acceptable,” I mean that the casual hater wouldn’t even have to provide a justification — he or she could just openly hate them and no one would question why). The first of these five acts was Bush (who, bizarrely and predictably, was opening for Nickelback that very night). The second was Hootie and the Blowfish, perhaps the only group ever marginalized by an episode of Friends. The third was Limp Bizkit, who kind of got off on it. Obviously, the last two were Creed and Nickelback. The collective animosity toward these five artists far outweighs their multiplatinum success; if you anthologized the three best songs from each of these respective groups, you’d have an outstanding 15-track album that people would bury in their backyards.
Or maybe only I think like this. Maybe the only kind of person who thinks like this is the kind of person who doesn’t really care, which is probably the person I am. Maybe I’m looking at this in the least meaningful way possible. Several years ago, I met a history professor from the University of Oklahoma who worked on the doomed 1988 presidential campaign for Michael Dukakis. One of the things I asked him was when he (and all his coworkers) realized that Dukakis was not going to win. His answer surprised me: He said they always believed Dukakis was going to win, even as the results were rolling in on election night. “Presidential campaigns exist inside their own reality,” he told me. “They have to. It’s the only way they can work.”
The same could be said about loving a band that everyone else prefers to ridicule. Your worldview must align with your construct. At the Beacon, I sat in front of a 31-year-old man named Anthony Cona. He told me he’d once met the drummer and bassist from Creed in a Charlotte, North Carolina, hotel bar, and that both were extraordinarily nice, normal people. “Those guys didn’t have to talk to me,” he said. “I wouldn’t have felt any differently about Creed if they hadn’t. But they did talk to me, and actually went out of their way to do so.” This being the case, I asked Cona if he had any idea why so many people despise the very idea of Creed, particularly since they don’t seem musically controversial or aesthetically polarizing. Here again, I found myself surprised by the response.
“The media deemed them as Christian rock, so some people assumed they were preachy,” he said. “But the bigger problem was that they were equated with Pearl Jam. That doesn’t matter so much now, but it really mattered when they were new. Pearl Jam has already achieved mainstream success, so everyone thought Creed was piggybacking on the mainstream success of Pearl Jam. That’s what turned everyone against them. That’s why they got punished.”
It’s important to remember that every reality is always happening at the same time.
I arrive at Madison Square Garden just before 10 p.m. While I jog up three flights of nonoperational escalators, I can hear the closing riffs of the Nickelback single “Photograph” reverberating throughout the arena’s catacombs. When I finally surface amid the altitude of section 103, Nickelback front man Chad Kroeger is tenderly coaching the audience on how to properly respond to the next song. “Come on, ladies,” he says, “let’s pretend you’re 13 fucking years old at a Justin fucking Bieber concert.” His argument makes a soft landing.
It’s hard to get inside the existential paradox of Kroeger’s life on tour: Every day, he gives interviews to journalists and radio DJs who directly ask him why no one likes his band. Every night, he plays music to thousands of enraptured superfans, many of whom love him with a ferocity that’s probably unhealthy. Every concert ends with a standing ovation; if he feels motivated, he spends the remainder of the night partying with forgettable strangers who will remember him for the rest of their lives. Eventually, Kroeger falls asleep. And then he wakes up in a beautiful hotel room, only to read new articles about how everyone in North America hates his band.
There is not one part of his life that’s real.
The day before the New York show, Kroeger appeared on a Philadelphia radio station and was asked (of course) why people hate Nickelback so vehemently. “Because we’re not hipsters,” he replied. It’s a reasonable answer, but not really accurate — the only thing hipsters unilaterally loathe is other hipsters, so Nickelback’s shorthaired unhipness should theoretically play to their advantage. A better answer as to why people dislike Nickelback is tautological: They hate them because they hate them. Sometimes it’s fun to hate things arbitrarily, and Nickelback has become an acceptable thing to hate. They’re technically rich and technically famous, so they just have to absorb the denigration and insist they don’t care. They have good songs and they have bad songs, and the bad songs are bad enough to build an anti-Nickelback argument, assuming you feel like that’s important. But it’s never required. It’s not like anyone is going to contradict your thesis. There’s no risk in hating Nickelback, and hating something always feels better than feeling nothing at all.
Kroeger is a borderline genius at his craft: He listens to the radio, studies every hit, deconstructs how those songs succeed, and then creates a composite simulacrum that cannot be deconstructed by anyone else. “Bottom’s Up” is about drinking your face off. “Animal” is about getting a hand job in a car. “How You Remind Me” is about being reminded of something you once forgot. I have no idea what “Something in Your Mouth” is about (I’m guessing dentistry school). His lyrics are sexist, though I suppose they’d be considered empowering if performed by specific people who aren’t Nickelback. The machinations of the live show are full-on hair metal: At one point, the band boards a spacecraft and is hydraulically suspended 30 feet in the air, although nobody in the crowd seems to find this especially unusual. The gender split of the audience looks to be about 50-50. That ratio mildly surprises me, although I don’t know why (probably my own prejudice). More surprising is the degree to which the security staff at MSG clearly loves this music; you don’t often see ushers singing along with the band that’s onstage, but that’s what was happening here. They knew every word to every chorus. Nickelback’s core demographic is vaster than Alberta.
The group’s strength is that they understand the tropes of classic rock (both musically and philosophically). The group’s weakness is their obsession with transposable power ballads, most of which sound like what would happen if Bob Rock helped Coldplay write a really loud song for Garth Brooks (which would undoubtedly be the most popular song in the history of mankind, were it to literally exist). The one transcendent Nickelback song is the semi-acoustic “Rockstar,” a dilemma for all those who want to erroneously pretend that Kroeger has no sense of irony. “Rockstar” has a faultless construction — it’s simple, true, sarcastic, and aspirant. I suppose those four qualities also describe Nickelback, which is another reason why humorless people will always hate them.
But hey: That’s their role. That’s their job. They’ve created, they’ve created, they’ve created, they’ve created, they’ve created, they’ve created their own prison. And it’s probably awesome, or at least close enough. | |||||||
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"Kay Anderson"
] | 2024-03-26T11:49:28+00:00 | As CREED readies to embark on their first headlining shows in over a decade, Craft Recordings celebrates the recently reunited band and their enduring catalog of music with the first wide vinyl release of their multiplatinum-selling Greatest Hitscollection. Originally issued in 2004 as a limited-edition pressing, the 1 | en | //craftrecordings.com/cdn/shop/files/CRAFT_RECORD-ONLY_32x32.png?v=1613663870 | Craft Recordings | https://craftrecordings.com/blogs/news/creed-greatest-hits | As CREED readies to embark on their first headlining shows in over a decade, Craft Recordings celebrates the recently reunited band and their enduring catalog of music with the first wide vinyl release of their multiplatinum-selling Greatest Hitscollection. Originally issued in 2004 as a limited-edition pressing, the 13-track compilation spans the GRAMMY and American Music Award-winning band’s first three albums (1997’s My Own Prison, 1999’s Human Clay, and 2001’s Weathered) and features such chart-topping singles as “Higher,” “One Last Breath,” “With Arms Wide Open,” and “My Sacrifice.” As a special bonus, the 2-LP set features an etching on Side D that mirrors the cover art.
Arriving May 24th and available for pre-order today, Greatest Hits can also be found in a variety of limited exclusives, including Green Smoke vinyl (via CREED’s official store), Orange Smoke (Craft Recordings), Red Smoke (Target), Gray Smoke (Best Buy), and Blue Smoke (Walmart).The collection is also available to stream/download now.
To gear up for the reunion, the band are remastering their iconic music videos in HD. Head to CREED’s official YouTube channel to watch the newly restored video for “Higher,” and stay tuned for more to special announcements to follow.
***
With over 53 million albums sold worldwide, CREED remains one of modern rock’s most successful acts. Formed in 1994 by the prolific writing team of Scott Stapp (vocals) and Mark Tremonti (guitar), plus bassist Brian Marshall and drummer Scott Phillips, the Tallahassee, FL band skyrocketed to international fame, thanks to their winning combination of anthemic hooks, rousing guitar riffs, and introspective lyricism.
Greatest Hits captures CREED’s unparalleled journey through memorable singles from their first three albums. The collection opens with selections from the band’s 1997 debut, My Own Prison. The album, which was later certified 6x Platinum, introduced CREED with tracks like “One,” “What’s This Life For,” and “My Own Prison”—all of which broke the Top Ten of Billboard’s Alternative and Mainstream Rock charts. With more than 15 million copies sold worldwide, My Own Prison stands among the most successful debuts of all time.
The story continues with 1999’s Human Clay. One of the best-selling albums of all time in the US, the Diamond-certified LP made CREED one of the biggest acts in the world, thanks to such stratospheric hits as “With Arms Wide Open,” which earned a GRAMMY for Best Rock Song and marked the band’s first No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and “Higher,” which spent an astonishing 57 weeks on the US pop chart, where it peaked at No.7. The album, which has sold over 20 million copies worldwide, also includes the fan favorites “What If” (featured in the soundtrack to Scream 3) and “Are You Ready.”
2001’s Weathered—which marked the band’s final studio album until 2009’s Full Circle—found CREED pushing the boundaries of their work through deeply personal lyricism and some of their heaviest material yet, including the Top 10 hits “My Sacrifice” and “One Last Breath,” as well as tracks like “Bullets” and “Weathered.” The album, which sat atop the US charts for a historic consecutive eight-week run, has since been certified 6x Platinum.
Now, 30 years into their incredible journey, CREED are bigger than ever. Late last year, the Texas Rangers made “Higher” their unofficial anthem, as it spurred them to their first World Series win. More recently, the song appeared in a high-profile Paramount+ Super Bowl commercial, while a NASCAR Daytona 500 campaign also incorporates the hit single. Along the way, CREED have gained a new generation of fans, thanks to countless TikTok videos that feature their songs.
In July 2023, after an 11-year hiatus, CREED announced their long-awaited reunion. In the months ahead, fans will have multiple opportunities to see the band live, beginning with a headlining spot on the sold-out Summer of ’99 Cruise. They’ll continue their headlining run on the Summer of ’99 Tour, where they will be joined by such acts as Finger Eleven, 3 Doors Down, Hinder, Fuel, and Daughtry. Later this year, CREED look forward to celebrating the 25th anniversary of Human Clay, while touring North America throughout the end of the year. Visit the band’s official website for tickets and more info.
CREED’s Greatest Hits Track Listing:
Side A:
Torn
My Own Prison
What's This Life For
One
Side B:
Are You Ready?
Higher
With Arms Wide Open
What If
Side C: | ||
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] | null | [] | null | One by Creed song meaning, lyric interpretation, video and chart position | en | /images/favicons/apple-touch-icon.png | null | I Forgot To Remember To ForgetElvis Presley
Elvis Presley' first #1 on any chart was "I Forgot To Remember To Forget." It arrived at the top of the country tally on February 25, 1956 and stayed there for two weeks.
(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The BayOtis Redding
Otis Redding often ad-libbed vocals at the end of songs, but for "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay" he just whistled instead - it became the most famous whistling in song history.
It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)R.E.M.
"It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" was inspired by a dream where Michael Stipe conjured up images of people with the initials L.B.: Lester Bangs, Leonid Breshnev, Lenny Bruce and Leonard Bernstein.
Start Me UpThe Rolling Stones
One of the first hit songs used in a major marketing campaign was "Start Me Up" by The Rolling Stones. Microsoft paid $3 million to use it in commercials for Windows '95.
Livin' La Vida LocaRicky Martin
"Livin' La Vida Loca" is a Latin pop landmark, but "la vida loca" are the only Spanish words in the lyric - "mocha" is English.
La La Brooks of The CrystalsSong Writing
The lead singer on "Da Doo Ron Ron" and "Then He Kissed Me," La La explains how and why Phil Spector replaced The Crystals with Darlene Love on "He's A Rebel."
Soul Train Stories with Stephen McMillianSong Writing
A Soul Train dancer takes us through a day on the show, and explains what you had to do to get camera time.
Dave Pirner of Soul AsylumSongwriter Interviews
Dave explains how the video appropriated the meaning of "Runaway Train," and what he thought of getting parodied by Weird Al.
Harry Wayne Casey of KC and The Sunshine BandSongwriter Interviews
Harry Wayne Casey tells the stories behind KC and The Sunshine Band hits like "Get Down Tonight," "That's The Way (I Like It)," and "Give It Up."
Justin TimberlakeFact or Fiction
Was Justin the first to be Punk'd by Ashton Kutcher? Did Britney really blame him for her meltdown? Did his bandmates think he was gay? | |||||
3747 | dbpedia | 1 | 33 | https://concord.com/news/creeds-multi-platinum-selling-greatest-hits-makes-its-wide-debut-on-vinyl/ | en | Selling Greatest Hits Makes Its Wide Debut on Vinyl | [
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"Mary"
] | 2024-03-26T11:00:44-05:00 | As CREED readies to embark on their first headlining shows in over a decade, Craft Recordings celebrates the recently reunited band and their enduring catalog | en | Concord | https://concord.com/news/creeds-multi-platinum-selling-greatest-hits-makes-its-wide-debut-on-vinyl/ | As CREED readies to embark on their first headlining shows in over a decade, Craft Recordings celebrates the recently reunited band and their enduring catalog of music with the first wide vinyl release of their multiplatinum-selling Greatest Hits collection. Originally issued in 2004 as a limited-edition pressing, the 13-track compilation spans the GRAMMY and American Music Award-winning band’s first three albums (1997’s My Own Prison, 1999’s Human Clay, and 2001’s Weathered) and features such chart-topping singles as “Higher,” “One Last Breath,” “With Arms Wide Open,” and “My Sacrifice.” As a special bonus, the 2-LP set features an etching on Side D that mirrors the cover art.
Arriving May 24th and available for pre-order today, Greatest Hits can also be found in a variety of limited exclusives, including Green Smoke vinyl (via CREED’s official store), Orange Smoke (Craft Recordings), Red Smoke (Target), Gray Smoke (Best Buy), and Blue Smoke (Walmart).The collection is also available to stream/download now.
To gear up for the reunion, the band are remastering their iconic music videos in HD. Head to CREED’s official YouTube channel to watch the newly restored video for “Higher,” and stay tuned for more to special announcements to follow.
***
With over 53 million albums sold worldwide, CREED remains one of modern rock’s most successful acts. Formed in 1994 by the prolific writing team of Scott Stapp (vocals) and Mark Tremonti (guitar), plus bassist Brian Marshall and drummer Scott Phillips, the Tallahassee, FL band skyrocketed to international fame, thanks to their winning combination of anthemic hooks, rousing guitar riffs, and introspective lyricism.
Greatest Hits captures CREED’s unparalleled journey through memorable singles from their first three albums. The collection opens with selections from the band’s 1997 debut, My Own Prison. The album, which was later certified 6x Platinum, introduced CREED with tracks like “One,” “What’s This Life For,” and “My Own Prison”—all of which broke the Top Ten of Billboard’s Alternative and Mainstream Rock charts. With more than 15 million copies sold worldwide, My Own Prison stands among the most successful debuts of all time.
The story continues with 1999’s Human Clay. One of the best-selling albums of all time in the US, the Diamond-certified LP made CREED one of the biggest acts in the world, thanks to such stratospheric hits as “With Arms Wide Open,” which earned a GRAMMY for Best Rock Song and marked the band’s first No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and “Higher,” which spent an astonishing 57 weeks on the US pop chart, where it peaked at No.7. The album, which has sold over 20 million copies worldwide, also includes the fan favorites “What If” (featured in the soundtrack to Scream 3) and “Are You Ready.”
2001’s Weathered—which marked the band’s final studio album until 2009’s Full Circle—found CREED pushing the boundaries of their work through deeply personal lyricism and some of their heaviest material yet, including the Top 10 hits “My Sacrifice” and “One Last Breath,” as well as tracks like “Bullets” and “Weathered.” The album, which sat atop the US charts for a historic consecutive eight-week run, has since been certified 6x Platinum.
Now, 30 years into their incredible journey, CREED are bigger than ever. Late last year, the Texas Rangers made “Higher” their unofficial anthem, as it spurred them to their first World Series win. More recently, the song appeared in a high-profile Paramount+ Super Bowl commercial, while a NASCAR Daytona 500 campaign also incorporates the hit single. Along the way, CREED have gained a new generation of fans, thanks to countless TikTok videos that feature their songs.
In July 2023, after an 11-year hiatus, CREED announced their long-awaited reunion. In the months ahead, fans will have multiple opportunities to see the band live, beginning with a headlining spot on the sold-out Summer of ’99 Cruise. They’ll continue their headlining run on the Summer of ’99 Tour, where they will be joined by such acts as Finger Eleven, 3 Doors Down, Hinder, Fuel, and Daughtry. Later this year, CREED look forward to celebrating the 25th anniversary of Human Clay, while touring North America throughout the end of the year. Scroll down to see a complete list of dates, or visit the band’s official website for tickets and more info.
Click here to pre-order or stream/download CREED’s Greatest Hits.
CREED’s Greatest Hits Track Listing:
Side A:
Torn
My Own Prison
What’s This Life For
One
Side B:
Are You Ready?
Higher
With Arms Wide Open
What If
Side C:
One Last Breath
Don’t Stop Dancing
Bullets
My Sacrifice
Weathered
CREED 2004 Tour Dates
4/18 – 4/21 – Summer of ’99 Cruise
4/27 – 5/1 – Summer of ’99 Cruise
7/17 – Green Bay, WI (Resch Center)
7/19 – Monticello, IA (Great Jones County Fair)
7/20 – Walker, MN (Moondance Events)
7/23 – Simpsonville, SC (CCNB Amphitheatre at Heritage Park)
7/24 – Charlotte, NC (PNC Music Pavilion)
7/26 – Bristow, VA (Jiffy Lube Live)
7/27 – Virginia Beach, VA (Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater at Virginia Beach)
7/30 – Toronto, ON (Budweiser Stage)
7/31 – Detroit, MI (Pine Knob Music Theatre)
8/2 – Cincinnati, OH (Riverbend Music Center)
8/3 – Burgettstown, PA (The Pavilion at Star Lake)
8/6 – Bridgeport, CT (Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater)
8/7 – Holmdel, NJ (PNC Bank Arts Center)
8/9 – Maryland Heights, MO (Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre – St. Louis)
8/10 – Noblesville, IN (Ruoff Music Center – Indianapolis)
8/13 – Nashville, TN (Ascend Amphitheater)
8/14 – Pelham, AL (Oak Mountain Amphitheatre)
8/16 – Tinley Park, IL (Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre)
8/17 – Welch, MN (Treasure Island Amphitheater)
8/20 – Gilford, NH (BankNH Pavilion)
8/21 – Mansfield, MA (Xfinity Center)
8/23 – Hershey, PA (Hersheypark Stadium)
8/24 – Saratoga Springs, NY (Saratoga Performing Arts Center)
8/31 – San Bernardino, CA (Glen Helen Amphitheater)
9/1 – Wheatland, CA (Toyota Amphitheatre)
9/4 – Phoenix, AZ (Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre)
9/6 – West Valley City, UT (Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre (formerly USANA))
9/7 – Greenwood Village, CO (Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre)
9/10 – Rogers, AR (Walmart AMP)
9/11 – Dallas, TX (Dos Equis Pavilion)
9/13 – San Antonio, TX (Frost Bank Center)
9/14 – Houston, TX (The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion – Houston)
9/16 – Brandon, MS (Brandon Amphitheater)
9/18 – Raleigh, NC (Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek)
9/20 – Tampa, FL (MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre)
9/21 – Palm Beach County, FL (iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre)
9/24 – Jacksonville, FL (Daily’s Place)
9/25 – Alpharetta, GA (Ameris Bank Amphitheatre)
9/27 – Corfu, NY (Darien Lake Amphitheater)
9/28 – Atlantic City, NJ (Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena)
11/2 – Oklahoma City, OK (Paycom Center)
11/3 – North Little Rock, AR (Simmons Bank Arena)
11/6 – Kansas City, MO (T-Mobile Center)
11/8 – Nashville, TN (Bridgestone Arena)
11/9 – Biloxi, MS (Mississippi Coast Coliseum)
11/12 – Corpus Christi, TX (American Bank Center Arena)
11/13 – Fort Worth, TX (Dickies Arena)
11/15 – Austin, TX (Moody Center)
11/16 – Bossier City, LA (Brookshire Grocery Arena)
11/19 – Grand Rapids, MI (Van Andel Arena)
11/20 – Detroit, MI (Little Caesars Arena)
11/22 – Cleveland, OH (Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse)
11/23 – Baltimore, MD (CFG Bank Arena)
11/25 – Montréal, QC (Bell Centre)
11/27 – Toronto, ON (Scotiabank Arena)
11/29 – New York City, NY (Madison Square Garden)
11/30 – Bangor, ME (Cross Insurance Center)
12/2 – Allentown, PA (PPL Center)
12/4 – Atlanta, GA (State Farm Arena)
12/5 – Orlando, FL (Kia Center) | |||||
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] | 2024-08-01T00:00:00 | It had been a good minute -- 12 years, in fact -- since Creed hit a stage in the metro area. But it felt like no time had passed at all on Wednesday night, Aug. 31, at the Pine Knob Music Theatre. | en | The Oakland Press | https://www.theoaklandpress.com/2024/08/01/creed-parties-like-its-99-at-pine-knob/ | It had been a good minute — 12 years, in fact — since Creed hit a stage in the metro area.
But it felt like no time had passed at all on Wednesday night, Aug. 31, at the Pine Knob Music Theatre.
The quartet’s comeback tour is titled Summer of ’99, referencing the 25th anniversary of its multi-platinum sophomore album “Human Clay” (which actually came out during September of that year). But even though it was a hallmark of a particular period in music — the post-grunge and post-thrash heavy rock that dominated during the early 2000s — it’s aged better than perhaps many expected, and that its haters would have liked.
Songs such as “Higher,” “With Arms Wide Open,” “Are You Ready?” and “What If” sounded as current on Wednesday night as they did back in 1999. And, to the band’s credit, they would have sounded perfectly in place in 1979, and probably will in 2039.
The timelessness in Creed’s brawny, often melodic brand of rock — and of opening acts 3 Doors Down and Finger Eleven — and in the lyrics’ philosophical expressions of existential angst was well-displayed throughout the group’s 100-minute show. Frontman Scott Stapp even remarked that the unity anthem “One,” from 1998, was inspired by “living in a world that was so divided and polarized” and drew parallels to the present day situation. “Don’t you know that’s what they want — divide/control….We are stronger together.”
Strength was certainly no issue as the quartet, abetted by second guitarist Eric Friedman from Mark Tremonti’s solo band, Creed delivered a muscular trip through the 12-year, four-album recording career that made it rock’s top act at the start of the century. Amidst columns of fire and smoke and a series of evocative videos on the five rear-stage panels, the black-clad Creed (bassist Brian Marshall’s camouflage pants were the most colorful garb any musician wore on Wednesday) came out firing “Bullets” and tore through another 15 songs with a confident force that was both polished and pulverizing.
“Human Clay” was, of course, the “star” of the night with seven songs from the Diamond-certified set, but Creed touched on all bases — though just one, “Overcome,” from 2009’s “Full Circle” — including an epic rendition of “Faceless Man” and a main set-ending coupling of the anthems “With Arms Wide Open” and “Higher,” cell phone flashlights subbing for the Bic lighters of the summer of ’99.
Tremonti, who was raised in Grosse Pointe through his adolescence — and had a large cadre of family and friends at Pine Knob on Wednesday — told the crowd he was “so proud of being born about 40 minutes from here” before giving away the guitar he played during “Overcome” to a young fan named Ellie. Stapp, whose tank top revealed a lot of dedication to pumping iron, offered lengthy introductions for several of the songs and shared several warm moments with Tremonti, rapping his arm around the guitarist’s shoulders during the encore version of “One Last Breath.”
The metro are was, of course, was an early adaptor to Creed when the band’s first album, “My Own Prison” came out during 1997, but there was still a sizable response when Stapp asked how many fans were seeing the band for the first time. And he quickly got them to pledge to coming to another one — specifically November 20, when Creed returns to perform at Little Caesars Arena.
Creed wasn’t the only band with a Detroit story on Wednesday’s bill, however. 3 Doors Down’s Brad Arnold warmly recalled a guest appearance by Bob Seger during the group’s 2005 show at the venue to sing “Landing in London,” which he’d recorded with band the previous year. Seger was of course not there on Wednesday, but the song got a well-received airing before 3 Doors Down wrapped things up with its hits “Kryptonite” and “When I’m Gone.”
Creed, 3 Doors Down and Mammoth WVH perform at 7 p.m. Nov. 20 at Little Caesars Arena, 2645 Woodward Ave., Detroit. 313-471-7000 or 313Presents.com. | |||||
3747 | dbpedia | 1 | 72 | http://www.elmoremagazine.com/2016/01/reviews/albums/creed | en | Creed | http://www.elmoremagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Creed.jpg | http://www.elmoremagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Creed.jpg | [
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] | null | [] | 2016-01-13T17:00:26+00:00 | Saving American Music | Blues, Roots, Country, Jazz, Rock & Roll, Bluegrass, Folk | en | http://www.elmoremagazine.com/wp-content/themes/elmoremag/favicon.ico | Elmore Magazine | http://www.elmoremagazine.com/2016/01/reviews/albums/creed | Creed was never a band for everyone. Despite selling millions of records in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s, the group also had its fair share of detractors. And even today, many critics lump the band alongside fellow post-grunge rockers Nickelback on lists of the most derided groups in recent memory.
But for those who followed Scott Stapp and company in their heyday, or for those just wanting to see what all the fuss is about, the band has finally released a career-spanning, three-CD, 40 song compilation featuring radio hits, live tracks, rarities and more.
Disc one is all about the singles. “My Own Prison,” “One” and “Higher,” all included as radio edits, all sport Stapp’s signature baritone vocals and Mark Tremonti’s arena-ready guitar sound, while a new version of the band’s Grammy winning “With Arms Wide Open” is featured with an added string arrangement to further tug at the heart strings of first-time fathers everywhere.
Disc two shifts the focus to Creed’s soundtrack work and lesser known material. Film contributions like “To Whom It May Concern” and “Is This the End,” rock ably enough, but pale in comparison to the group’s bruising cover selections. A run-through of Alice Cooper’s “I’m Eighteen” is a particular highlight, as are takes on The Doors’ “Riders on the Storm” and “Roadhouse Blues,” the latter of which is included as a live cut from Woodstock ’99, featuring Robby Krieger on guitar.
Disc three is dubbed the acoustic disc, and highlights stripped down versions of most of the band’s singles. “With Arms Wide Open” shows up twice, once as a live cut. And “Don’t Stop Dancing,” featuring Stapp’s sister Aimee on backing vocals, is included under the listing “Acoustic Version #3,” begging the question of what kept the first two takes in the vaults.
The answer to that last question may be connected to Stapp’s continuing desire for Creed to reunite full-time. This compilation marks the first release from the band since its fourth album, Full Circle, in 2009, but various interpersonal issues, as well as the continued success of Tremonti, bassist Brian Marshall and drummer Scott Phillips’ other group Alter Bridge might delay any future reconciliation.
Never say never. For a group that once ruled modern rock radio, the temptation to relive the glory days will always exist. And for those willing to dive into this “retrospective,” ample reasons might be found to wish for a reunion. Unless you hate Nickelback too. Nothing here will win any new converts.
– Michael Cimaomo | ||
3747 | dbpedia | 1 | 25 | https://www.facebook.com/LoudWire/videos/the-wild-story-behind-creeds-higher/951379416397821/ | en | Creed's Scott Stapp elaborates on the unlikely story behind the band's hit song "Higher." | [] | [] | [] | [
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3747 | dbpedia | 1 | 24 | https://music.fandom.com/wiki/Creed | en | Creed | https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/music/images/d/d0/Creed.png/revision/latest?cb=20140831230944 | https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/music/images/d/d0/Creed.png/revision/latest?cb=20140831230944 | [
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] | 2024-07-29T22:27:06+00:00 | Creed is 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 disbanded in 2004 after three multi-platinum albums, selling an estimated 35... | en | /skins-ucp/mw139/common/favicon.ico | Music Hub | https://music.fandom.com/wiki/Creed | Creed is 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 disbanded in 2004 after three multi-platinum albums, selling an estimated 35 million records world wide. In late 2008, rumors began circulating that Creed was planning a 2009 reunion, though these were originally dismissed until, on April 27, 2009, after months of speculation, Creed's official website announced summer tour dates of the United States and plans to record a new album titled Full Circle.
History[]
Early years[]
Creed formed after Scott Stapp and Mark Tremonti, friends at Florida State University and high school classmates at Orlando's Lake Highland Preparatory School, decided to form a band, recruiting Brian Brasher and Brian Marshall and Scott Phillips to complete the quartet in late 1994. The band was originally called "Naked Toddler", then was called "Maddox Creed" a band that included drummer Reginald "Hardy" Maddox Seabreeze Senior High but was changed to "Creed" by suggestion of Marshall and agreed to be the final naming. The five members had already written and collaborated three of the songs that would go on to become tracks on their chart-topping debut album My Own Prison. The songs were "One", "Sister" and "What's This Life For".
My Own Prison[]
Creed's debut album, My Own Prison, was independently released in 1997 and only cost them $6,000 to produce, 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
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. The follow-up single, "With Arms Wide Open," also hit number one that fall.
Marshall's Departure[]
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.
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.
Break-Up[]
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 Creed released a greatest hits album. Stapp's second solo album is in progress, as is Alter Bridge's third album, but the recording of both albums will each be on a short hiatus until after the upcoming Creed reunion tour.
Subsequent Activities[]
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. The two also appeared on Fozzy's album All That Remains, and Tremonti later released a guitar instructional DVD titled Mark Tremonti: The Sound & The Story in late 2008.
In 2009, Creed's song "Higher" from Human Clay was listed as one of the 100 greatest hard rock songs of all time by VH1.
As the years went by, the three band members involved in Alter Bridge stated that Creed was in their past, and would not reunite in the future. Scott Stapp believed that Creed could reform someday , but in his claims, he too felt that Creed was in the past.
Reunion[]
On November 3, 2008, Blabbermouth.net reported that a Creed reunion could materialize in 2009. According to Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider, Alter Bridge vocalist Myles Kennedy was rumored to replace Robert Plant for a Led Zeppelin reunion tour in 2009. Blabbermouth states that "if Kennedy should take the job with the Zeppelin offshoot, the sources have indicated that there are already "significant dollars" on the table for a Creed reunion. On December 2, Rolling Stone reported that an announcement of a Creed reunion was "imminent". However, Kennedy himself denied the rumor that he would be fronting "Led Zeppelin or any offshoot of Led Zeppelin," but also said that he did indeed jam with the instrumental members of the band. It was later stated by Jimmy Page's manager that there will be no Led Zeppelin reunion and that Myles Kennedy will remain in Alter Bridge to record the band's third album. Because of this, a Creed reunion appeared unlikely.
However, on March 17, 2009 a teaser trailer for a possible tour was leaked, pulled, and then on April 2 re-published on the re-launched Creed website, Creed.com, which states "coming summer 2009". The reunion tour kicks off on August 6th and wraps up on the 14th of October.
Bassist Brian Marshall also confirmed he would rejoin his former band, following his departure prior to the recording of Creed's third album Weathered. Marshall says of the reunion: "This is a development we are all happy about. It has been a long time since the four of us have taken the stage together, and without hesitation or reservation this is something all of us are in to. The anticipation to get back out there is electrifying. Singer Scott Stapp concluded on the band's official press release that "it's amazing how life can change and bring you full circle. Time gave us all a chance to reflect, grow and gain a deeper appreciation of our friendships, artistic chemistry, passion for music, and sincere love for our fans! It's rare in life to get a second chance to make a first impression and we embrace the opportunity. We all believe the best is yet to come.
In an interview for People.com, Stapp elaborated on the reunion, saying, "We never felt like we weren't together. We're not looking at this as a reunion. It's more of a rebirth. According the article, it was Stapp who pushed for the reunion to take place who spoke to the other 3 members, saying that he told his former band members, "I love you and if I've ever caused you any pain in your life, forgive me," and then went on to say that "they said the same things right back. Stapp also confirmed the band were "jamming" and "not trying to stay in a certain place or conform to where we left off. The music is fresh, edgy, raw, passionate, honest, and it rocks.
On Creed's Myspace page, there is a new teaser video for the reunion. Also, the band's website has been fully redone and has all the latest on the tour including VIP packages available at www.creedvip.com
Stapp, Tremonti, Marshall, and Phillips performed together for the first time in 10 years on the recently released AOL Sessions, showing the band playing "Higher," "With Arms Wide Open," "My Own Prison," and "My Sacrifice. In addition, the band performed live for the first time in 6 years on Fox & Friends on June 26, 2009.
Full Circle[]
On April 27, Creed's website officially announced the band's reunion tour and plans for a new album. According to Tremonti, "We're all very excited to reconnect with our fans and each other after six long years. He later added that being in Creed again was "the last thing he expected." Phillips also stated: "Our career as Creed came to a very abrupt and unforeseen ending. After reflecting on some of the greatest personal and professional moments of our lives, we've come to realize that we are still very capable of continuing that career and our friendship on a grander scale than ever before.
Stapp discussed how he and guitarist Tremonti reconnected, thanks to the Champs Sports Bowl, according to Rolling Stone. According to Stapp, they exchanged family pictures and within 20 minutes, they were jamming on acoustic guitars and talking about new songs. All four original members then sat down in a meeting, their first since 2000. "At that meeting, we were collectively saying, 'Hey, man, I’m sorry if I hurt you or my choices did anything to cause you any pain. I have nothing but love and forgiveness for you and I hope you can forgive me.' It’s all part of the process of reflection and not looking back at the six months out of 10 years that were trying,” says Stapp.
The band have completed work on six demos and plan to record the album, to be titled Full Circle in Nashville. Stapp elaborated on the title, which is also the name of a track to appear on the upcoming album: "It really defines and articulates, melody-wise and lyrically, what’s happened with us. We’ve come full circle and it’s a great place to be. The goal is to release the first single before the tour and have the album come out during the tour or right after. Stapp has confirmed that the reformation of Creed will put work his second solo album on indefinite hiatus.
In June 2009, Creed performed with Marshall on bass for the first time in eight years on Sessions@AOL, showing the band playing four of their hits. In addition, the band performed live on Fox & Friends on June 26, 2009. Creed's reunion tour, with touring guitarist Eric Friedman, kicked off on August 6, 2009, and concluded on October 20. Full Circle, Creed's first album in eight years, came out on October 27, 2009. Stapp explained the title as follows: "It really defines and articulates, melody-wise and lyrically, what's happened with us. We've come full circle and it's a great place to be. The first single from Full Circle, "Overcome", was posted on the band's official website on August 18, 2009, the same day the radio premiere started along with its release as a digital download on August 25. The second single, "Rain", was released to radio stations on September 23 and became available on October 6, 2009, as another digital download. The third single, "A Thousand Faces", was released in 2010.
Status Of Alter Bridge[]
Mark Tremonti, Scott Phillips, Brian Marshall, and Alter Bridge's publicist, Mark Tremonti's brother Michael, all stress that Creed's reunion will not affect Alter Bridge in any way and that they will go back into the studio after the Creed tour to record their upcoming third album. Tremonti also stated that, in spite of this, both bands will co-exist, so it is expected that Tremonti, Phillips, and Marshall will "switch off" between the two bands while Scott Stapp and Myles Kennedy work on solo material while the other band is touring and recording. A blog was posted on the Alter Bridge MySpace stating that Alter Bridge by no means has plans of breaking up as a band:
Hello Alter Bridge Nation,
In light of the recent news that is circulating, we thought we would calm some of your fears. There are three main things we want you to know...
1) We have absolutely no plans to break up. Alter Bridge forever!
2) We have a live DVD coming out this summer and then in 2010 we will be back with a vengeance with a new album and a world tour.
3) All four of us are still brothers in music and there is no discord between us.
Please check out Myles' Myspace page and we thank all of you for your support and understanding.
Controversies[]
Creed is sometimes labeled a Christian rock band due to the fact that all three albums focus on questions of faith, Christianity, and eternity. The band was never signed to a contemporary Christian music label, nor did it perform in Christian music venues or get any widespread regular play on Christian radio. However, the band's namesake creed itself denotes a popular Christian theological concept, of absolute individual belief, usually monotheistic. Also, themes within their musical titles such as "Higher", "My Sacrifice", "What's This Life for", "My Own Prison", "With Arms Wide Open", and "One Last Breath" contain allusion to Christian theology, though it hasn't been confirmed that the songs were meant to be Christian songs.
Creed was sued in 2003 by four concert goers who claimed Scott Stapp "was so intoxicated and/or medicated that he was unable to sing the lyrics of a single Creed song" at a December 29, 2002 concert in Chicago. The lawsuit was later dismissed.
Scott Stapp contemplated committing suicide sometime in 2003 after drinking a bottle of Jack Daniel's whiskey. According to Rolling Stone he was convinced that anyone involved with Creed wanted him dead so he would become a "Kurt Cobain martyr-type" and increase record sales. "I had crazy thoughts going through my head," he said. However, he decided against suicide upon seeing a photo of his son just as he had the gun held to his head.
In 2004, prominent music magazine, Guitar World, ranked Creed second only to Limp Bizkit in its "Worst Band of the Year" feature article.
Collaboration with WWE[]
For many years, Creed collaborated with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) by allowing many of their songs to be played for promotions (such as having new singles serve as the theme songs to pay-per-views). In 2001, when WWE began airing videos highlighting many different wrestlers' careers as well as video highlights of the rigors of the road for wrestlers, Creed songs were frequently used as background music - "My Sacrifice" being the most-used song. Even following the breakup of Creed, Scott Stapp and Alter Bridge have both contributed music to WWE.
Band members[]
Members[]
Scott Stapp – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, composer (1995-2004; 2009-present)
Mark Tremonti – guitars, bass, backing vocals (1995-2004; 2009-present)
Scott Phillips – drums, percussion, keyboards (1995-2004; 2009-present)
Brian Marshall – bass (1995-2000; 2009-present)
Touring members[]
Brett Hestla – bass (2000-2004)
Brian Brasher – guitars (1995)
Session members[]
John Kurzweg – keyboards on My Own Prison (1997 - multiple tracks)
Aimee Stapp – backing vocals on Weathered (2001 - track "Don't Stop Dancing")
Robby Krieger – guitars on Stoned Immaculate: The Music of the Doors (2000 — track "Riders on the Storm")
Jamie Muhoberac – keyboards on Stoned Immaculate: The Music of the Doors (2000 — track "Riders on the Storm")
Discography[]
Studio albums[]
Year Album details Peak chart positions Certifications US AUS CAN NZ SWI UK 1997 "My Own Prison" 22 — — 1 1 — 6× Multi-Platinum (US) 1999 "Human Clay" 1 2 1 4 4 29 11× Multi-Platinum (US) 2001 "Weathered" 1 3 3 4 4 44 6× Multi-Platinum (US) 2009 "Full Circle"
Compilation albums[]
Year Album Peak chart positions Certifications US AUS CAN NZ SWI UK 2004 "Greatest Hits" 4 6 2 4 3 66 2x Platinum
Singles[]
Year Title Chart positions Off Of Album US Mod. Rock Main. Rock UK AUS NLD NOR SWI GER 1997 "My Own Prison" — 7 2 — — — — — — My Own Prison "What's This Life For" — 10 1 — — — — — — 1998 "Torn" — — 3 — — — — — — 1999 "One" 70 2 2 — — — — — — "Higher" 7 1 1 47 36 64 — — 91 Human Clay 2000 "With Arms Wide Open" 1 2 1 13 4 75 6 70 42 "What If" 102 15 3 — — — — — — "Are You Ready?" 125 37 4 — — — — — — 2001 "Riders on the Storm" — — 28 — — — — — — Non-Album "My Sacrifice" 4 2 1 18 11 44 — 92 79 Weathered 2002 "Bullets" — 27 11 — — — — — — "Hide" — — — — — — — — — "One Last Breath" 6 17 5 — 43 — — — 89 "Don't Stop Dancing" — — — — 48 — — — — "Weathered" — 30 7 — — — — — —
[] | ||
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3747 | dbpedia | 2 | 0 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_(Creed_song) | en | One (Creed song) | [
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"One" is a song by American rock band Creed. It is the fourth single as well as the tenth and final track from the band's 1997 album My Own Prison. It was also included as a B-side on the maxi-single for "With Arms Wide Open" in 2000.
Writing and recording
[edit]
"One" was one of 10-15 songs written by the band prior to entering the recording studio. The song was composed by singer Scott Stapp and guitarist Mark Tremonti and was originally recorded at producer John Kurzweg's home studio called "The Kitchen Studio", in Tallahassee, Florida. The band was on a pay-as-you-go agreement at the time, as each of the band members were attending college and working 40 hour-a-week jobs. They would then each pitch in around $100 a week and enter the studio to record demos. Unlike later records where Pro Tools was used, Kurzweg recorded the songs analog directly to tape. This process took about six months to complete and would cost the band $6,000. Stapp recalls: "I recorded vocals in a room where there was toys all over the floor, bunk beds next to me in his kids’ room and the guys would all do their parts." Stapp then said: "I think when we started getting early mixes of the record, we really started to feel like we had something special. We didn't have a record deal. This was all on our own dime and our own time and we had hopes of getting a record deal and getting this music out, but really had no clue where it was gonna go."[1][2]
Recording would continue at Criteria Studios in Miami, but the inclusion of "One" on the record was questioned by the band as they felt its sound was a departure from the direction they wanted to go in. After going back and forth as to whether or not they would include the song on the record at all, the band ultimately kept it on the record due to the positive response the song was receiving from fans as well as the label. Following the Blue Collar Records release of My Own Prison on June 24, 1997, the band was picked up and signed by Wind-up Records who wanted the band to re-record the whole album. After being given a small budget and two weeks to re-record, Kurzweg and Creed would only complete two songs before realizing it wasn't working out. Wind-up Records and the band reached a compromise and settled on remixing the album at Long View Farm in Massachusetts with Ron St. Germain. After some initial difficulties working with St. Germain, Kurzweg was brought in to help work on the remixing and eventually found working common ground with the band and St. Germain.[2]
Music and lyrics
[edit]
"One" features a catchy and upbeat tone and was considered by the band to be a departure from their sound compared to other songs on My Own Prison.[1][2] The song decries racial tensions in modern society and "discrimination now on both sides" which causes "seeds of hate [to] blossom further." The song suggests that "the goal is to be unified" and therefore "why hold down one to raise another?" To move on, we must realize that "the only way is one" because "all we want is unity" and "in the end we meet our fate together."
Release and reception
[edit]
"One" was the fourth and final promotional single issued from the band's debut album, and was the only single to not have a music video. Because Creed's singles were not initially sold in the United States, they were ineligible for the US Billboard Hot 100. However, by the time "One" was released, that restriction was lifted, and the song became Creed's first song that charted on the Billboard Hot 100, charting at number 70.[3]
"One" also managed to peak at number 49 on the US Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart in April 1999, and also reached the number two spot on both the Mainstream Rock Tracks and the Modern Rock Tracks. On the former chart, it was ranked the number one track of 1999, despite its number two peak position. The song also helped Creed win their first and only Top Rock Single of the Year at the 1999 Billboard Music Awards.[4]
Appearances in media
[edit]
The band played "One" on February 3, 1999, during their very first television performance on The Late Show With David Letterman. During the performance the band accidentally began playing the song before Letterman had finished introducing them and promoting My Own Prison, causing Letterman to force the band to abruptly stop playing the song so he could properly introduce them.
The song was used in a video montage at the 2nd annual WWE Tribute to the Troops professional wrestling event in 2004.[5] It was also used as wrestler Ricky Steamboat's entrance theme in 2006 and 2007 Raw live events.
Chart performance
[edit]
Chart (1999) Peak
position Canada Rock/Alternative (RPM)[6] 9 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[7] 39 US Billboard Hot 100[8] 70 US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[9] 2 US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[10] 2
Year-end charts
[edit]
Chart (1999) Peak
position US Billboard Hot 100 Airplay[11] 61 US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[12] 1 US Modern Rock (Billboard)[13] 6 | ||||||
3747 | dbpedia | 1 | 86 | https://hq.rostr.cc/ | en | Music industry directory, contacts, data & jobs | [
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] | null | [] | null | Welcome to ROSTR, the best directory for music industry contacts, data, and jobs. Build your network, save time & stay updated. Built for music industry professionals: artist managers, booking agents, A&Rs, promoters, venues, industry relations & more. | en | https://hq.rostr.cc/ | If you work with the music industry, ROSTR is an essential tool to save you time & help you do your job. It's like having an assistant that tracks the industry for you: artist team info, contact details, insights, tours, festivals, news, new companies & more. Sign up for a free account or keep scrolling to find out more...
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If you work with the music industry, ROSTR is an essential tool to save you time & help you do your job. It's like having an assistant that tracks the industry for you: artist team info, contact details, insights, tours, festivals, news, new companies & more. Sign up for a free account or keep scrolling to find out more...
ROSTR is the world's fastest, largest & most up-to-date music industry directory. We track hundreds of thousands of relationships between artists, record labels, music publishers, booking agents & artist managers. Wrapped in a modern, clean & super-fast interface, ROSTR is the best place for quickly finding out who works with who.
ROSTR is the world's fastest, largest & most up-to-date music industry directory. We track hundreds of thousands of relationships between artists, record labels, music publishers, booking agents & artist managers. Wrapped in a modern, clean & super-fast interface, ROSTR is the best place for quickly finding out who works with who.
ROSTR is the world's fastest, largest & most up-to-date music industry directory. We track hundreds of thousands of relationships between artists, record labels, music publishers, booking agents & artist managers. Wrapped in a modern, clean & super-fast interface, ROSTR is the best place for quickly finding out who works with who.
Once you find who you're looking for, getting contact info for booking agents & artist managers is just a click away. Plus, if you're on ROSTR Pro & we don't have info listed, just ask & we'll find it for you.
Once you find who you're looking for, getting contact info for booking agents & artist managers is just a click away. Plus, if you're on ROSTR Pro & we don't have info listed, just ask & we'll find it for you.
Once you find who you're looking for, getting contact info for booking agents & artist managers is just a click away. Plus, if you're on ROSTR Pro & we don't have info listed, just ask & we'll find it for you.
Every management company, booking agency, record label, & publisher on ROSTR has their own profile. Company profiles list artists, staff, offices, the genres they work with, external links & company data. And, everything on ROSTR is linked, so getting to a staff member or an artist is just a click away.
Every record label, publisher, booking agency, booking agent, management company & manager on ROSTR have their own profile. Company profiles list artists, staff, offices, the genres they work with, external links & company data. And, everything on ROSTR is linked, so getting to a staff member, or one of their artists, is just a click away.
Every management company, booking agency, record label, & publisher on ROSTR has their own profile. Company profiles list artists, staff, offices, the genres they work with, external links & company data. And, everything on ROSTR is linked, so getting to a staff member or an artist is just a click away.
ROSTR is one of the most used tools in the live music industry. That's not surprising as we not only track booking agent info but also tours & festivals. ROSTR's tour & festival directories give you tools to search for & find who's playing, when & where. All with one click access to then find their manager or agent info.
ROSTR is one of the most used tools in the live music industry. That's not surprising as we not only track booking agent info but also tours & festivals. ROSTR's tour & festival directories give you tools to search for & find who's playing, when & where. All with one click access to then find their manager or agent info.
ROSTR is one of the most used tools in the live music industry. That's not surprising as we not only track booking agent info but also tours & festivals. ROSTR's tour & festival directories give you tools to search for & find who's playing, when & where. All with one click access to then find their manager or agent info.
There's more too... Features on ROSTR as well as news & analysis we publish give you unique tools to be a more knowledgeable music industry professional.
There's more too... Features on ROSTR as well as news & analysis we publish give you unique tools to be a more knowledgeable music industry professional. | ||||||
3747 | dbpedia | 3 | 5 | https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/creed | en | Creed Definition & Meaning | [
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] | null | [] | 2024-08-05T00:00:00 | The meaning of CREED is a brief authoritative formula of religious belief. How to use creed in a sentence. | en | /favicon.svg | https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/creed | Recent Examples on the Web The Olympics are already inherently diverse, with people of all colors, creeds, backgrounds and orientations earning their presence at the Games on merit. —Rachel Marsden, Hartford Courant, 31 July 2024 Believers in this creed come from all political backgrounds — some have no politics at all — and have been energized by extremist chat groups and twisted ideologies. —Jeffrey Fleishman, Los Angeles Times, 15 July 2024 By tying his life story to an ideological creed, Vance, 39, was making a generational pitch to preserve Donald Trump’s brand of right-wing populist nationalism. —Eric Cortellessa / Milwaukee, TIME, 18 July 2024 Sellers of any race or creed are often advised to remove photos, religious or political artifacts and even artwork. —Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 8 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for creed
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'creed.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Etymology
Middle English crede, from Old English crēda, from Latin credo (first word of the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds), from credere to believe, trust, entrust; akin to Old Irish cretid he believes, Sanskrit śrad-dadhāti
First Known Use
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1 | |||||
3747 | dbpedia | 1 | 69 | https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/13870/1/martin-creed-love-to-you | en | Martin Creed: Love To You | [
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] | null | [] | 2012-07-03T09:01:00+00:00 | We speak to the Turner Prize-winning artist about his debut EP out on cult label Moshi Moshi | en | /favicon.ico | Dazed | https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/13870/1/martin-creed-love-to-you | Known in the main for his Turner Prize winning work, Work No.227 “The lights going on and off”, Martin Creed has for some time been intertwining music and art in his life. Deeming them 'inseparable', he has performed live at art and music festivals alike and has just released LOVE TO YOU, 'a collection of 18 love and hate songs' and the double AA 'Fuck Off/Die'. His Work No. 1197 'All the bells in the country rung as quickly and as loudly as possible for three minutes' will usher in the London Olympics on July 27th.
Dazed Digital: How are you feeling about the Olympics landing on us imminently?
Martin Creed: Like a lot of people. There's a feeling its a bit like being at school; if the country's like a big school this is like a big school sports day and there's the feeling that we're all supposed to like it - and it's a bit cheesy because all the teachers and parents are going to be there. On the other hand I am really into sport and it is really exciting to be part of it because, well, it's like a massive stage.
DD: So 'Love to You' and 'Fuck Off', two tracks on the album with quite strong opposing emotions...
Martin Creed: I think that a lot of the songs on the album come from strong feelings of love and hate, or frustration or liking things. The song 'Fuck Off' feels really important to me because I have a lot of feelings of hate...
DD: Is it cathartic to perform?
Martin Creed: Aye, and when we play live that seems to often go down well with people...
DD: Everyone can relate to 'Fuck Off' and 'Die'!
Martin Creed: Exactly. The songs on the album (a lot of them) I've been working on for a long time, so I think of it very much as different bits of pieces which were recorded at different times in different places with different feelings. Love often is accompanied by hate, because if you love someone or something they have power over you so you kind of hate them for that even though you love them.
DD: You're known for these really quite minimal artworks. I have to say listening to that album I wouldn't immediately attribute it to you or your work, they feel separate but must come from a united place...
Martin Creed: I think that works like 'The Lights Going On and Off', they're like the tip of an iceberg – so that very minimal work was honed down from a load of material that's underneath the sea which you can't see. In recent years i've been trying to show more of the stuff that goes into the work because I've got a feeling with some of those pieces I worked and worked and worked on them until there was almost nothing left apart form a tiny little perfectly polished thing, which is the minimalistic thing you're probably talking about. What went into those works from my point of view was the same as goes into these songs, but maybe in the songs you're seeing or hearing more of the turmoil or stuff that went into that...
DD: You must be very please to have this dual career in your two loves?
Martin Creed: One thing or the other isn't enough, I feel like how can you do just one thing when the world is so big? How can you be so sure of that?
DD: Where do the lyrics come from? That's a process specific to music – that channelling of words and language in that vocal sense...
Martin Creed: Some of them come from specifically trying to write about the way i'm feeling in a stupid way. Trying not to think about it, just trying to be true and write something about the way I feel. A lot of the lyrics are things that come to me - like if i'm walking along the road - that I repeat... so it's kind of like a mantra... if these little phrases keep coming back to me then they obviously mean something. Some of them are more like little exercises... 'Feeling brown', I was feeling very depressed, I get depressed a lot of the time so I was writing 'I'm feeling low, I'm feeling down, I'm feeling blue', then I decided to write 'I'm feeling brown' and it became a stupid song going through all the colours...
DD: They're quite associative then?
Martin Creed: Yeah I'd say they're like weird mantras. It's like being obsessed with something and saying it again and again to try and get a hold of it.
DD: It's a much more immediate connection than visual art then? These seem more impulsive...
Martin Creed: It's funny you say that because since doing the music in this way i've been trying to make my visual work more like that so not planning exhibitions then doing the paintings all the week before exactly to try and do it in that way that's more direct.
DD: It's interesting that your practice is changing as a result of your music.
Martin Creed: If you think about doing a recording, I usually work with a producer and with people playing instruments and stuff, and I've started doing that with my paintings. So it's like a recording session. I get a load of people to come to my studio [where] I've got a load of ideas and instructions and in a day we do loads of different paintings, so it's very much like a recording session. | ||||
3747 | dbpedia | 1 | 45 | https://loudwire.com/creed-mark-tremonti-another-epic-reunion-50th-birthday/ | en | Creed’s Mark Tremonti Had ANOTHER ‘Epic’ Reunion on His 50th Birthday | [
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] | 2024-04-19T18:17:48+00:00 | The band getting back together wasn't the only reunion Tremonti was celebrating Thursday. | en | Loudwire | https://loudwire.com/creed-mark-tremonti-another-epic-reunion-50th-birthday/ | Creed's reunion became official in the stage return sense on Mark Tremonti's 50th birthday, but the guitarist had another epic reunion Thursday (April 18), one that was nearly 26 years in the making.
This gift came courtesy of band manager Tim Tournier, who officially reunited the Creed guitarist with a 1986 Gibson Les Paul guitar from his youth that had gone missing in a theft from the band's early days back in 1997.
The guitar had been used by Tremonti while the band were working on and promoting their debut album, My Own Prison, but went missing when thieves had taken their trailer full of instruments that was attached to the band's touring van during a tour stop in the Boston area.
The Guitar Reunion Backstory
As Tournier details in his social media post about reuniting the guitarist with his long lost instrument, "Creed had their van stolen in 1997 on their way to Boston. The contents of the trailer were the instruments of their childhood, the gear they mowed lawns for - or - in the case of Tremonti, worked at a car wash for."
But, as the tour manager revealed, the theft from the band's early days had been part of fan discussion, and through "a Reddit DM about 18 months ago," the guitar was discovered.
"A deal was made, hands got shook & I was able to get my buddy his 1986 Gibson w/ a stock kahler back for his big 50th," noted Tourniet, adding, "This is the My Own Prison guitar."
"I love ya man," said the manager. "Let's keep doing the impossible together."
In the responses, Tremonti offered, "Thanks for the most epic gift ever!! Blew me away, never thought id see it again!! Much love."
Scott Stapp Recalls the Initial Loss
In a 2019 with WAAF's Mistress Carrie (seen below), Scott Stapp recalled that fateful day in which the band's gear was stolen.
“We didn’t have a bus,” he explained. “We were just getting started. We parked right in front of the hotel and the following morning, our van is on blocks. The wheels are gone, the trailer has been taken, the chains connecting it cut, and the trailer gone! And so all our gear for the show that night was stolen.”
According to Stapp, their trailer was eventually found emptied out several miles away. At the time, their tourmates Fuel provided the band with gear so that they could continue the tour.
“Not only are you upset, but there was an emotional attachment to some of those instruments,” recalled Stapp. “We weren’t at a place yet where we had endorsements and tons of guitars. For years, we have been trying to find it.”
READ MORE: Creed Singer Welcomes Grandfatherhood With Arms Wide Open
Creed's Scott Stapp Recalls 1997 Gear Theft With WAAF's Mistress Carrie
The timing of the instrument's return is great, as Creed have reunited in 2024. The band is currently on the "Summer of '99" Cruise, having played their first show in 12 years on board the ship last night. | |||||
3747 | dbpedia | 1 | 12 | https://www.vulture.com/article/creed-scott-stapp-best-worst-music.html | en | The Best and Cringiest of Creed, According to Scott Stapp | [
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] | 2024-03-14T09:00:43.957000-04:00 | “We were kind of outsiders. And so we were easy targets.” For our latest Superlatives, Creed singer Scott Stapp shares the best, hardest, and cringiest music of his career. | en | Vulture | https://www.vulture.com/article/creed-scott-stapp-best-worst-music.html | Creed, the critically maligned, platinum-selling rock group of early-2000s fame, is in the midst of an unexpected renaissance. “Higher” became the Texas Rangers’ unofficial anthem on the way to their 2023 World Series win; SZA recently shouted them out in an interview (“That shit is bomb! Why do you all hate it so much?”); and they even showed up in a 2024 Super Bowl commercial. Once the butt of butt-rock jokes, it seems the band has finally turned the page on its reputation as an overly earnest, quasi-preachy riff monster. “All these viral moments started happening, and we suddenly saw a swell of new love from our core fan base all the way to a generation that wasn’t even born,” during our commercial peak, singer Scott Stapp says in amazement.
Stapp is the first to admit Creed’s rise was an unusually fast one. In the months following its independently released 1997 debut, My Own Prison, the Florida band was selling out amphitheaters across the country; its follow-up, Human Clay, topped the charts and sold more than 20 million copies worldwide. But outsize record sales did little to mollify critics, and fame soon took its toll on Stapp, who went through his share of personal challenges, including a yearslong drug addiction, assault charges, and homelessness. After the band disbanded in 2012, he kept a relatively low profile, finally getting sober in 2014 and releasing a pair of solo albums.
This summer, Stapp and his Creed bandmates (guitarist Mark Tremonti, bassist Brian Marshall, drummer Scott “Flip” Phillips) will revisit their late-’90s apex by headlining a much-hyped reunion tour. Stapp says they toyed for years with the idea of getting back together, but decided to officially reunite after a resurgence of interest in the group became too palpable to ignore. “The tidal wave started coming in and more opportunities started getting offered to the band,” he says. But first, Stapp is releasing new solo music, with his fourth album, Higher Power, out March 15. To hear him tell it, the reemergence of Creed in his life is both surprising and a bit overwhelming. “I thought 2024 was going to be a full year of solo touring and promotion of the Higher Power album,” Stapp says. “But God had another plan.”
Song whose meaning has changed to most for him
I could say that about quite a few songs. “With Arms Wide Open” would be one of those. My hope in that song was to not pass down certain things that had unfortunately been done to me in my life. Being a father of four and now a grandfather, I didn’t want to pass down physical abuse, psychological abuse, emotional abuse, drug addiction — all the challenges I had when I was a kid. Now every time I sing it, I connect with it like it’s the first time. It’s like I have a more expanded knowledge of what I was talking about at 25 as opposed to 50.
Same with “One Last Breath.” When those lyrics were written, I thought I had reached a low. I hadn’t even reached close to a low; that was pediatric-level low. When I sing that song now as opposed to 2001, there’s just so much more life experience I’ve lived. When you get to the chorus, I say, “Sad eyes follow me / But I still believe there’s something left in me.” And holding on to that hope, no matter what, has been the story of my life. It’s the only thing that’s ever worked.
Even “Higher.” This was a song written about heaven. Mark reminded me that I wrote the chorus as a freestyle during a show. I kind of had a download during the set in front of thousands of people. I came off tour as I was crafting the verses during a time when I was really trying to explore myself as a spirit being. Now, at this stage in my life, understanding the realities of the world that I was so naïve to when I was younger, I have a different perspective. In my youth, I’m crying out to heaven to “take me higher.” Today, it still has that same meaning, but it also has evolved into having this 24,000-foot astronaut view. I’m seeing things pretty clearly at this point in my career.
Hardest album to make
Without a shadow of a doubt, the new solo album. Mainly because of what was going on in my life at the time: I had injuries — both knees, both elbows, some I don’t even want to share — and other family members had medical crises. The studio is my safe haven. But everything around me was getting in the way of recording. It was a bit of an obsession that, no matter what came my way, I was going to get in there and do it. I really felt like it was a fight. There were times I was in the studio on crutches. Looking back, I’m like: How did I even muster up the ability to get out what was in me at the time? I think it made for a very powerful record that captured the struggle and the journey I was on.
Best part of recording Human Clay
The majority of that record was written on the road during sound check. We only had ten songs on My Own Prison, and we instantly started out as a headliner. Having only ten songs to play wasn’t going to cut it. That wasn’t even an hour. So we had to create on the fly. We were introducing these new songs to our fans as we were writing them at sound check just so we could meet our contracted set time. And then we got off that tour, and the experience in creating that record was incredible. We were given so much love and support and freedom by Alan and Diana Meltzer, the owners of our label, Wind-Up Records. We were allowed to be artists. We rented a big house. We had our producer, John Kurzweg. And we just jammed. It was a beautiful experience. Same with Weathered. We had no financial worries. All we had to worry and think about was just being artists.
The moment he knew Creed had made it
There are so many. I mean, selling out Madison Square Garden, opening the 2002 Olympics live on NBC, playing on top of the Rio for the Billboard Awards. Saturday Night Live, walking by the dressing room with Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton and realizing you’re in the same space as those people. Also, Human Clay went diamond around the same month Joshua Tree went diamond. It blew my mind that we did it in two years, and it took at least a decade for an album I thought was one of the greatest of all time. And that’s still sinking in. That’s still hard to process.
Most difficult song to sing
I was fortunate to have an incredible producer in John Kruzweg. He said, “Scott, I got a feeling you’re going to be singing these songs for a long time, so let’s put them in a key that’s not going to kill your voice.” I wish I would have followed his advice on my solo records because I’ve got a lot of solo songs that are very taxing. On a couple Creed songs, like “One Last Breath,” I’ve got to hit an A that’s at the peak of my range. But as a whole, the Creed songs aren’t taxing on my voice. They’re right in my pocket.
Solo song that could have worked as a Creed single
“Great Divide” and “Surround Me” would have really gone far as Creed songs. Same with “Proof of Life.” “Name,” on my last record, The Space Between the Shadows, would have been really profound and connected with millions of people had Creed played it. These songs also would have worked better because of the Creed brand — it would have given them more exposure — and the idiosyncrasies and brilliance of the musicians in Creed would have elevated them. Mark would have added his signature trademark licks, Brian his brilliant bass playing, and then Flip — he is such a solid drummer and adds a dynamic and punch no one can duplicate.
Favorite bad review
I made a decision at one point that I wasn’t going to read anything good and I wasn’t going to read anything bad. Anything that I heard was either through my manager or someone brought it up to me. I think at one point, I told them, “I don’t want to know. Let me stay in this little bubble so I can keep doing what I’m doing.” Because I realized when I did pay attention, it hurt. I was actually affected mentally and emotionally by it. And it wasn’t healthy. So I had to cut myself off from it.
Biggest misconception about Creed
I could be wrong, but it wasn’t the fans who created the bad narrative about us, it was the press. The fans and the public spoke by buying over 50 million records in six years. And so the narrative was kind of a manufactured one. I think it was because we didn’t fit into the clique. We were kind of outsiders. And so we were easy targets. I was full of spit and vinegar. Not knowing how to handle it all. That wasn’t part of the rock-and-roll dream. Everything else was — the sales, how we were embraced by the fans. But when the press turned, some time in the middle of Human Clay, we went from being “Creed saves rock and roll” to being hated. I didn’t know how to handle that at the time. In terms of any haters that are out there, I look at it like they are the fringes. There’s so much love — 85 to 90 percent love. It’s the loud voices on the far left and right — same with politics — that seem to get the most attention. And also, in terms of the press, I don’t know if they really dug into our records and realized we were a much different band than our singles represented.
Song that should have gone as high on the charts as “Higher”
Every song I thought would reach that level did. “Arms Wide Open” “One Last Breath” “My Sacrifice” — they all reached that same level as “Higher.” I can’t think off the top of my head any songs that we missed on.
Cringiest song
There are a couple songs that, sonically, I wish the presentation was one; the whole band felt that way. In particular, a song called “One.” That song we always felt a little bit like … Is this cheesy? A little too bouncy? But we kept it anyway and stood behind the message.
Weirdest awards show experience
I have quite a few incredible memories of the 2001 Grammy Awards. I’ll never forget seeing these four six-foot-eight, 320-pound security guys walking by and then all of a sudden an arm reached out and touched my shoulder. It was Janet Jackson. She was very familiar with Human Clay. Knew it from top to bottom. And she was very complimentary and said some incredible things to me. And then getting to meet the Edge from U2 and seeing the dynamic of the Edge and Bono. U2 is probably my favorite band of all time; Joshua Tree is probably my favorite album of all time.
Because of where Creed was at the time, we thought, or least I thought, This is just what’s supposed to happen. When you get a record deal, you’re supposed to go No. 1. When you go No. 1, you’re supposed to play in arenas. When you play in arenas and you sell all these records, you’re supposed to win Grammys. I was so naïve about how fortunate we were and how rare this was and how it was akin to winning the lottery or getting struck by lightning.
Most lasting memory of the 2001 Thanksgiving Day Halftime Show
I tell ya, it was surreal. Growing up, I was a huge Dallas Cowboys fan. So to be able to play at the stadium, go to Cowboy practices, meet the Jones family, and meet the players — everything was a dream come true. And the flying men — honestly, we were just so wrapped up in the moment we didn’t think about having any involvement in the production. But you know what? Looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing. I love it. It introduced our music to an entire new generation through the lens of sarcasm. But it was the music that ended up catching them. I think what started out as kind of a jab at us has since turned into something that has connected with culture. It’s become evergreen, man. And that’s just a gift. It’s something to be thankful for. And the band, we’re now adults, we all get it, and we laugh at the same things that the fans point out that are funny and unique about it. But we’re also proud and grateful that we got to experience that. It comes up every Thanksgiving now. It’s like a Mariah Carey Christmas album.
Song that defines him as a solo artist
The first song that came to my head was “Proof of Life.” I think the message and the lyrics kind of characterize how I felt my entire solo career — “Hey, I’m still here.” I just couldn’t reach the other side because of the wall, but my hand was poking through. It seems like the wall is falling down a little bit; I don’t wanna jinx what’s going on with the current solo album, but it’s like we’ve broken down the wall. We’ll see how it goes. Tying that in with the Creed tour also; rising tides raise all ships. It’s a good energy that’s going on right now.
Most surprising part about reuniting with Creed
The public’s reaction. What’s gone on the last three years in terms of just this “organic” resurgence of Creed connecting with a new generation of fans. And also highlighting all these fans who were maybe at a time in their life, mid-teens, who really wanted to see us play and didn’t get to. It’s been profound. I think that’s the catalyst that helped us cross over and say, “Let’s do this!” We had had conversations before about reuniting, but in my gut it didn’t feel right; it felt rushed. The fans let us know: We’re here. And that has generated so much positivity that it’s rubbed off on the band. All of our interactions have been positive, chill, good vibes. I think we’ve all had arduous journeys in our own right: tirelessly working, almost like starting over on our solo projects. The Creed rise was meteoric, and for my solo career I was back in the clubs, man. It’s almost like things happened backward for us. A lot of artists worked 10, 15, 20 years to get their break. Well, with Creed it was [snaps] like that. In an instant. Twelve months. And so I think we reversed the process, and when we split away from Creed, we went and paid our dues. So it feels good to be back. | |||||
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] | 2023-10-09T21:39:39+00:00 | The Texas Rangers have made a habit of listening to the rock band Creed during their resurgent season and playoff run. | en | https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/ONSI%20Logos/onsi-favicon.ico | Sports Illustrated Texas Rangers News, Analysis and More | https://www.si.com/mlb/rangers/news/texas-rangers-inspired-rock-band-creed-feeling-higher-alds-playoff-run | Creed may very well be the worst rock band of the last quarter-century – Nickelback not withstanding – but the Texas Rangers have embraced Scott Stapp and Co. with “Arms Wide Open.”
Andrew Heaney, who started Game 1 against the Baltimore Orioles of the American League Division Series, told Rangers broadcaster Jared Sandler that playing Creed has helped the club stay loose during the struggles over the second half of the season.
The Florida-born band hasn’t released a studio album since 2009, but their brand of post-grunge rock has made it into the Rangers clubhouse, on buses and has inspired secret handshakes.
Bruce Bochy is at a loss to their influence on the team, not that he’s complaining. He’s also no sure where the Creed love came from.
“I don’t know a lot of their songs, to be honest,” Bochy, 68, admitted Monday. “I do know we’re playing a lot of Creed. That’s not my lane, to be honest. But no, I don’t know who’s the DJ here, to be honest. So I don’t know where it’s coming from. It could be [backup catcher Austin] Hedges, though. I’ll find out for you.”
The Creed ties worked their way into the radio broadcast Sunday when Mitch Garver cranked a grand slam in the 11-8 win as broadcaster Matt Hicks channeled the group.
At the other end of the age spectrum is 21-year-old Evan Carter. The rookie outfielder wasn’t born when Human Clay – Creed’s highest-selling album – came out in 1999.
“So, gosh, I had heard of Creed,” Carter said. “But, you know, they do play it. It’s on the bus, whatever. I don’t know what – the one that’s ‘Six Feet From The Edge.’ That’s kind of the popular song in there so that’s kind of what I would consider my favorite, I guess, just because we hear it and there’s a lot of handshakes and stuff with it and this, that and the other. So it’s fun.”
The song Carter was referring is also known as ‘One Last Breath.’ The Orioles, down 2-0 in the best-of-five series, are down to theirs with Game 3 set for Tuesday night at Globe Life Field. Nathan Eovaldi starts as Texas has its first chance this week to advance to the AL Championship Series.
Another Rangers’ win would leave everyone feeling “Higher.”
You can follow Art Garcia on Twitter @ArtGarcia92. | ||||
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] | null | [] | null | One by Creed song meaning, lyric interpretation, video and chart position | en | /images/favicons/apple-touch-icon.png | null | I Can't Stand The RainAnn Peebles
Ann Peebles' "I Can't Stand The Rain" originated from a comment made by the singer to her husband, Don Bryant, when they were preparing to head out to a blues show and it began tipping down with rain.
Party DollBuddy Knox & the Rhythm Orchids
The drum sound on Buddy Knox's 1957 US #1 hit "Party Doll" was actually made by a cardboard box filled with cotton.
God Only KnowsThe Beach Boys
The most famous song to prominently feature a French horn is "God Only Knows" by The Beach Boys.
Somebody Like YouKeith Urban
When Keith Urban played "Somebody Like You" for his girlfriend, she called him a hypocrite because he "sucked at relationships."
The Safety DanceMen Without Hats
The Men Without Hats lead singer wrote "The Safety Dance" after getting kicked out of a bar for dancing too aggressively. The song is literally about being safe to dance if you want to.
How The Beatles Crafted Killer ChorusesSong Writing
The author of Help! 100 Songwriting, Recording And Career Tips Used By The Beatles, explains how the group crafted their choruses so effectively.
Rick SpringfieldSongwriter Interviews
Rick has a surprising dark side, a strong feminine side and, in a certain TV show, a naked backside. But he still hasn't found Jessie's Girl.
Brian Kehew: The Man Behind The RemastersSong Writing
Brian has unearthed outtakes by Fleetwood Mac, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Costello and hundreds of other artists for reissues. Here's how he does it.
La La Brooks of The CrystalsSong Writing
The lead singer on "Da Doo Ron Ron" and "Then He Kissed Me," La La explains how and why Phil Spector replaced The Crystals with Darlene Love on "He's A Rebel." | |||||
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3747 | dbpedia | 1 | 11 | https://www.stereogum.com/2197985/the-number-ones-creeds-with-arms-wide-open/columns/the-number-ones/ | en | The Number Ones: Creed’s “With Arms Wide Open” | [
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] | 2022-09-02T09:07:35-04:00 | In The Number Ones, I’m reviewing every single #1 single in the history of the Billboard Hot 100, starting with the chart’s beginning, in 1958, and working my way up into the present. | en | Stereogum | https://www.stereogum.com/2197985/the-number-ones-creeds-with-arms-wide-open/columns/the-number-ones/ | In The Number Ones, I’m reviewing every single #1 single in the history of the Billboard Hot 100, starting with the chart’s beginning, in 1958, and working my way up into the present.
If I had just one wish, only one demand, it would be to not write about Creed. This isn’t because I don’t like Creed — although, let’s be clear, I do not like Creed. Over the years, this column has covered plenty of wack shit, and I’ve enjoyed writing about a lot of it. It’s not because of the band’s tasteless grandeur, either; tasteless grandeur can be pretty fun. It’s not because they were a Christian rock band who objected to the term “Christian rock.” That was true of U2 and Mr. Mister, too, and I didn’t hate writing about them. It’s because the mere act of writing about Creed is going to turn me into a sneering elitist dick. It’s going to bring out all my snarkiest impulses. It’s going to turn me back into the old me. So it goes. Some things can’t be helped.
To take any kind of critical stance on Creed, you almost have to take a side in a culture war. I can’t find the quote online — it might’ve been in Creed’s episode of Behind The Music — but I remember a moment when lead growl-moaner Scott Stapp pointed out that Led Zeppelin, just like Creed, had once been a massively popular band and a critical punching bag. Stapp’s point was that the millions and millions of people who bought Creed’s records couldn’t be wrong and that the critics would catch up eventually. Never happened. You need to go pretty deep down the contrarian-takes wormhole to find anyone repping for Creed. When the subject comes up today, it’s mostly because people are trying to figure out what the fuck that was — why so many millions decided that Human Clay was worth their money. I’d love to answer that question, but I can’t. Creed was just some shit that happened.
My best guess has something to do with timing. After the wave of grunge excitement died down, the American public still evidently had a hunger for a version of stadium rock that scratched some of those same itches. If a band had churning riffs and a deep-voiced bellower out front, that band could get airplay. Seven Mary Three and Three Days Grace and Godsmack and Staind and Puddle Of Mudd all fit the bill, and a whole new wave of radio-friendly chug-rock was born. Vertical Horizon and Matchbox 20, two bands that have already appeared in this column, took advantage of that moment in one way or another. But nobody rode the butt-rock wave like Creed. They were the kings of that shit.
Creed had already sold millions upon millions of records, and they’d already packed arenas, before they finally ascended to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for a single week in 2000. That very same week, Mississippi grunt-wailers 3 Doors Down reached #3 with “Kryptonite” — a chart peak for both that song and that band. (“Kryptonite” is a 4.) The weeks just before the Bush/Gore election were high times for the turgid bawlers of the world, and I am trying with all my might not to draw false equivalences between music and politics. It makes sense that Creed notched a #1 hit, and I don’t have a philosophical problem with that. My problem is the song. The song is bad.
Much like Matchbox 20, Creed came from Florida. This is not a value judgment; it’s simply a fact. The band was a genuine independent rock sensation, a hit that nobody anticipated. Creed started off on the Tallahassee bar circuit in 1994, the time when the actual grunge giants were at their peak. Scott Stapp grew up in a strict Pentecostal family in Orlando, and rock ‘n’ roll wasn’t allowed in his house at all. (When Stapp was born, Maureen McGovern’s “The Morning After” was the #1 song in America.) Stapp struggled with all the restrictions that his family placed on him. When he snuck a copy of Def Leppard’s Pyromania into the house, his parents found it and took it away. When he played high-school football, he couldn’t go out and party after the games. He had a hard time with it.
At 17, Scott Stapp ran away from home and finished high school while living with another family. A girlfriend took him to his first concert — Lenny Kravitz, Blind Melon, and Porno For Pyros — and Stapp decided that this was what he wanted to do with his life. One of Stapp’s friends in high school was Mark Tremonti, a metal guitarist who’d been born in Detroit and who’d moved to Orlando at 15. (Weirdly, Tremonti and of Montreal frontman Kevin Barnes were childhood friends in Detroit, long before they both became vastly different varieties of rock star.) Stapp and Tremonti met up again when both of them were going to Florida State University in Tallahassee in the mid-’90s, and they decided to start a band together. The band played a single show under the name Naked Toddler before they realized that this was a terrible, terrible name. They changed their name to Creed, and their new name stuck.
Creed found a gig at a local Tallahassee bar called Big Daddy’s. Owner Jeff Hanson was intrigued with the group, and he started booking them at Floyd’s Music Store, a larger venue that he owned. Pretty soon, Hanson also became Creed’s manager. Hanson knew John Kurzweg, a local record producer who’d played in a few regional bands and who’d released one unsuccessful major-label album in 1987, and he convinced Kurzweg to come see Creed. In Fred Bronson’s Billboard Book Of Number 1 Hits, Hanson says that Kurzweg “wasn’t overly impressed” with Creed. (Kurzweg: “They were playing really heavy stuff. It was real loud. It didn’t have the finesse that they were later able to conjure up.”) But Hanson still convinced Kurzweg that he should produce a Creed record.
When Creed started recording their 1997 debut album My Own Prison at John Kurzweg’s home studio, the members of the band had day jobs. In a Stereogum interview a few years ago, Mark Tremonti says that he and Scott Stapp were both cooks at chain restaurants — Tremonti at Chili’s, Stapp at Ruby Tuesday’s. Drummer Scott Phillips, meanwhile, was “managing the knife store at the mall,” a truly evocative phrase. It cost just $6,000 to record My Own Prison. Initially, Creed released the LP on their own label, which they called Blue Collar Records, and they sold a few thousand copies of the record around Florida. They also played a showcase for some major labels in New York, but all those labels passed on signing them. Wind-Up Records, a very small New York indie label, felt differently.
Wind-Up Records had been started by Alan Meltzer, a guy who owned a few record stores and a CD distributor in the New York area, and his then-wife Diana. They’d bought the indie Grass Records and changed its name, which is how the Wrens ended up labelmates with Creed. Diana Meltzer heard My Own Prison, and she was interested right away. The Meltzers flew down to Florida to see Creed, and they quickly offered the band a deal. Creed wanted a major deal, but Wind-Up had distribution through BMG, and the band thought that maybe this was their one shot. They took the deal.
Later on, the Meltzers also signed Evanescence and Seether and Finger Eleven. They made a whole lot of money in that radio-rock racket. The couple eventually divorced, and Alan Meltzer died in 2011 at the age of 67. In his will, he left a million dollars to his chauffeur and another $500,000 to the doorman of his apartment building. The New York Post asked Diana Meltzer what she thought of this, and she responded with this immortal line: “He can leave it to whoever he wants to. I’m doing fine. I could care less. If he wants to give it to the bums, he can give it to the bums. He could fuck a nun. I couldn’t give a shit. He can give his money to whoever he wants. We’re divorced. The man is dead.” I wasn’t expecting a piece on Creed to include the phrase “he could fuck a nun.” Sometimes, life gives you gifts when you least expect them.
Wind-Up released a remixed version of My Own Prison and started pushing the album to radio, and it became one of those slow-blooming success stories. The LP never charted higher than #22, but it eventually went platinum six times. Creed toured hard, and they built up an audience even though critics either disdained or ignored them. Mainstream rock radio loved the band; all four singles from My Own Prison dominated that chart. None of those singles were commercially released, so Creed didn’t chart on the Hot 100 until 1998, when the Billboard rules changed and “One,” the LP’s fourth single, made it to #70 on airplay alone.
In his Stereogum piece on My Own Prison, Phil Freeman compared Creed to Grand Funk Railroad, another band that reached stadium status without ever appealing to the critical establishment. It makes sense; Creed were an American band for a more sincere and monastic age. I can kind of understand the appeal. Creed had the penitent sincerity of the early-’90s alt-rock stars without any of the punk baggage. Scott Stapp sang like Layne Staley gargling hot asphalt, but he hit the same poses as Robert Plant. He had no qualms about embracing mass adulation. Behind him, Stapp’s bandmates busted out a thick, utilitarian sort of riff-rock that was spacious enough to echo around an arena.
The members of Creed seemed normal; you could picture these guys managing your local mall’s knife store. Their open Christianity also probably opened a few markets up to them. They made a kind of grunge that was fit for a megachurch. They didn’t cuss or smoke or make anti-Grammy speeches at the Grammys, and they kept their prodigious drinking quiet. They played golf. None of that stuff made Creed seem cool, but back then, you could sell a whole lot of records without worrying about coolness.
Creed went back to work with producer John Kurzweg when they made their 1999 sophomore album Human Clay. They didn’t go back to Kurzweg’s home studio, but that was only because Scott Stapp was allergic to Kurzweg’s cats. The second album sounded bigger and broader, and it sold more. It sold in astounding, mind-melting numbers. Human Clay was double platinum within two months. In five years, it sold 11 million copies in the US alone. First single “Higher” became Creed’s first top-10 hit, peaking at #7. (It’s a 4.)
Scott Stapp wrote the lyrics for “With Arms Wide Open,” the second single from Human Clay, shortly after finding out that he was going to become a father. Stapp had married his first wife in 1997, and they’d only stayed together for a year; they were already divorced by the time Human Clay came out. Stapp’s story on “With Arms Wide Open” is that he heard Mark Tremonti playing a guitar part that he liked at soundcheck and that he ran out and freestyled the whole song. I don’t see any real reason to doubt that story. Those lyrics read like one big, heartfelt rush of feelings.
On “With Arms Wide Open,” Scott Stapp sings about the excitement and fear of new fatherhood. Stapp sings that he hopes his son is “not like me” and that he finds a way to face the world with confidence. I know that feeling, and I wish I could find something to like in “With Arms Wide Open” beyond that very real sentiment. But whoof, I’m sorry, I cannot. Scott Stapp’s strangled-walrus singing style just has nothing for me. Millions of people have mockingly imitated Stapp’s vocals over the years, but nobody has ever approached the man’s own absurdist backwoods holler. He sounds like he can’t possibly be serious, and yet he’s so serious. It’s too much.
Some of the deep cuts on Human Clay have a not-bad generic riff-rumble thing working for them. “With Arms Wide Open” is not one of those songs. It’s a slow death-trudge to nowhere, a melodramatic geyser of syrup. To make things even worse, the version of the song that reached #1 isn’t the one that initially appeared on Human Clay. Instead, it’s a remix with strings artlessly piled everywhere, drowning out the guitar-crunch that might’ve been the only halfway-effective thing about the original track. The end result hits like a phlegm-soaked Hallmark card.
That remix got Creed the pop airplay that they’d been missing. When the song finally broke into the top 10, Creed released a commercial version of the single as a benefit for Stapp’s With Arms Wide Open Foundation, which aimed to “promote healthy, loving relationships between children and their families.” The extra sales were enough to push “With Arms Wide Open” to #1 for a week. In the frankly hilarious video, Stapp strikes dramatic poses while CGI meteors rain down around him and finally does his big arms-out thing on a mountaintop for the helicopter money shot. This guy was not worried about people making fun of him, and I’d find that pride admirable if I liked his music even one tiny bit.
Just before Creed reached #1, the band kicked out bassist Brian Marshall after he dissed Pearl Jam on Seattle radio, claiming that Eddie Vedder wished he could write songs like Scott Stapp. Marshall didn’t get fired for blasting Pearl Jam; he got fired because he was drinking a lot and fighting with his bandmates. But Marshall wasn’t the only Creed member who had an alcohol problem. Creed followed Human Clay with the 2001 album Weathered, which sold another six million copies and which sent another couple of songs into the top 10. (“My Sacrifice,” the bigger of the two, peaked at #4. It’s a 3.) While touring behind that album, Scott Stapp’s dependency on alcohol and painkillers got worse. At a 2002 show outside Chicago, Stapp was so drunk and incoherent that a group of fans filed a class-action lawsuit. A judge threw the suit out, but anytime a band gets sued by its own fans, that becomes a news story.
Things within the band got worse, and Creed officially broke up in 2004. Scott Stapp started a solo career, and the other ex-Creed guys, including deposed bassist Brian Marshall, started a new band called Alter Bridge with new frontman Myles Kennedy. (Between the two of them, Scott Stapp and Alter Bridge have never made the Hot 100.) Creed reunited for long enough to make the 2009 album Full Circle, and they got to #73 with the single “Overcome,” but then they went on hiatus again. Scott Stapp has publicly pleaded for another Creed reunion a few times, but it hasn’t happened yet.
Scott Stapp has had a rough go of things. He’s talked about considering suicide a few times. He’s said that he once jumped off of a balcony in Miami and that T.I., an artist who will eventually appear in this column, saved his life. Stapp also sued to block the release of a sex tape that starred him, Kid Rock, and two women. Stapp was charged with felony domestic violence in 2007, but the charge was dropped. In 2016, Stapp replaced the late Scott Weiland as the new singer for the hard rock supergroup Art Of Anarchy, and then his bandmates sued him two years later for refusing to tour or to promote the album that they’d made together.
See? This is the shit I’m talking about. I’m not even trying to make fun of Scott Stapp, who is clearly a troubled person. I’m just saying what he’s been up to since Creed were on top of the world. It looks like mockery, like I’m kicking dirt on someone who’s down. The success of Creed just puts me in a bad position. I don’t like the person that I have to become when I write about Creed.
There’s this neighborhood in Baltimore called Hampden. When I was a kid, my dad called it a “white ghetto,” which seems like a fucked-up phrase in all sorts of ways but which also gives you some idea of what I’m talking about here. Hampden is now fully gentrified, of course. At one point in the early ’00s, Hampden was at a midpoint between its grimy working-class roots and the upscale hipster spot that it would become, and everyone who hung out there shared the space a bit uneasily. There was this one karaoke night at a local dive bar that would bring in people from both ends of the spectrum, since the original inhabitants and the gentrifiers both loved to get shitfaced and sing.
I have a distinct memory of one guy, clearly not from the gentrifier end of things, getting up and singing a very drunk, very sincere rendition of “With Arms Wide Open” in front of everyone. This guy wasn’t trying to make fun of the song. He meant every word he sang. I’d sort of taken it for granted that nobody really liked Creed, and this guy’s passion seemed brave and instructive to me. He had truly connected with this song, and I’m glad he had it in his life. But it still sounded like dogshit because the guy couldn’t sing and because the song is bad. It’s a bad song. What do you want from me? It’s not my fault that Creed sucks. It’s Creed’s fault. | |||||
3747 | dbpedia | 1 | 4 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Last_Breath_(Creed_song) | en | One Last Breath (Creed song) | [
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"One Last Breath"Single by Creedfrom the album Weathered ReleasedApril 15, 2002 ( )RecordedMid–late 2001StudioJ. Stanley Productions (Ocoee, Florida, US)Length3:58LabelSongwriter(s)Producer(s)
John Kurzweg
Kirk Kelsey
Creed
Creed singles chronology
"Bullets"
(2002) "One Last Breath"
(2002) "Hide"
(2002)
Music video on YouTube
"One Last Breath" is a power ballad by American rock band Creed. The band's lead vocalist, Scott Stapp, wrote the song over a period of three weeks and recorded at J. Stanley Productions Inc in Ocoee, Florida. The lyrics of the song are about reflecting on past mistakes and seeking comfort from friends who want to help. It was released in April 2002 as the third single from their third studio album, Weathered (2001).
The song reached number six on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming their fourth and final top-10 hit. It also reached number five on the Mainstream Rock chart and Billboard Hot 100 Airplay, number four on the Mainstream Top 40 chart, and number two on the Adult Top 40 chart. Worldwide, the song peaked at number 43 in Australia, number 29 in New Zealand, number 47 in the United Kingdom, where the song was released as a double A-side with "Bullets", and reached number 41 on the Irish Singles Chart.
Writing and recording
[edit]
Prior to recording the Weathered album, Creed had agreed that during the tour for Human Clay that no new songs could be written, so that the band members could "live life and have experiences". The band also agreed that they would not listen to any music between the ending of the Human Clay tour and the start of writing sessions for Weathered, so as not to allow any other music to subconsciously influence the band's writing process and to ensure that all the songs came completely from them. "One Last Breath" was written within a three-week period along with all the other material from the album, which was done primarily in Scott Stapp's living room during four-hour sessions, as well as on his Sea Ray cruiser.[2]
Stapp recalls the writing process for the song in a 2024 interview with Spin, stating "I didn’t feel any particular pressure to write a particular kind of song. I don’t think we ever thought that way; we just wrote what we felt. We just got together and created whatever came out, and we put on a record if we liked it." Stapp noted that after they had completed writing the song, the band felt that they had written something inspiration that would resonate with both them and the fans alike. The band would also use something they called "the goosebump test", where the song would have to give them literal goosebumps after the song was completely written, as they did not want to put any material on the record if it did not pass the test.[1]
The song was recorded and mixed at J. Stanley Productions Inc. recording studio in Ocoee, Florida, during the mid to late 2001 using Pro Tools.[3]
Music and lyrics
[edit]
As with all of Creed's songs, the music was written by guitarist Mark Tremonti. The song is written in the key of D major, with Tremonti playing in standard E tuning and Stapp singing in his traditional baritone with his vocal range spanning from D3-B4.[4][5] Tremonti stated in an interview with Songfacts that the song contains one of his favorite guitar lines and musical compositions that he ever wrote.[6]
"One Last Breath' is one of my favorite guitar lines, so it's one of my favorite musical compositions for Creed. It's a song that turned out to be one of our biggest songs we ever put out. I think it had some of the most views we've ever had on YouTube, so it's a very important one for the Creed camp." — Tremonti[6]
The lyrics, according to Stapp, were contributed by both he and Tremonti. Stapp recalls writing the lyrics to the verses over a loop of Tremonti's guitar picking, stating that they "came from the bottom of our hearts." He also recalls the artistic chemistry that he and Tremonti had, as well as the spiritual, emotional, and mental connection that would see them each provide lines that they found themselves articulating for each other. Stapp states, "We were on the same wavelength. [A specific lyrical line] may have come from a different place, but it was still one voice, and it was very special. And always straight from the heart."[1]
According to Stapp, the song is about someone crying out for help and realizing the mistakes they've made in their past, as well as being able to lean on one's friends and keeping them close. Stapp also expresses sentiments about how in the minds of "normal, well-adjusted" people, any thoughts of moving beyond this life are not real, and how these surreal thoughts are just flashes-in-the-pan and they would never act upon them.[7]
Further expanding on the meaning behind the song, Stapp recalls that lyrically, "One Last Breath" fit exactly where he personally was at the time, both in mind and spirit. The physical, emotional, and spiritual burnout he was experiencing at the time, which he attributes to the pressure on the band to constantly release new records as well as the aggressive touring schedule, was catching up to him. This, compounded with the taxing effect of the band's meteoric rise in previous years, eventually led him to go down several wrong paths in choosing how to cope with the pressure that would eventually lead to the band's breakup.[1] Mark Tremonti also recalls the song perfectly reflected where the band was at the time, as it was written during the initial stages of the band breaking apart. Calling that period the "darkest time for the band," "One Last Breath" is one of the band's most truthful songs and was "genuinely sung by Scott and genuinely played by us," according to Temonti.[1]
Release and reception
[edit]
Released on April 15, 2002,[8] as the third single from Weathered, the song was a chart success both in the United States and internationally. "One Last Breath" gave Creed their fourth and final top-10 hit on the US Billboard Hot 100, spending a total of 34 weeks on the chart and peaking at number six on the week of September 28, 2002.[9] The song also reached number five on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, number four on the Mainstream Top 40 chart, and number two on the Adult Top 40 chart.[10][11][12] Internationally, the song peaked at number 43 in Australia and number 29 in New Zealand.[13][14] In the United Kingdom and Ireland—where the song was released as a double A-side with "Bullets"—it peaked at number 47 on the UK Singles Chart and number 41 on the Irish Singles Chart.[15][16] It also charted in Germany, peaking at number 89.[17]
Music video
[edit]
The video was directed by Dave Meyers, who had previously directed the videos for "What If", "With Arms Wide Open" and "My Sacrifice". He would go on to co-direct the video for the band's next single, "Don't Stop Dancing", along with Stapp. Stapp drafted the treatment for the video and explained his ideas to Meyers. They soon found out they both had a shared love and affection for Salvador Dalí, a Spanish painter known for his surrealist artwork. Most of the video was shot against a green screen with computer-generated animations to create the setting in which the band performs in as well as the otherworldly visuals.[7]
"We've used surreal imagery in our artwork since the beginning, but this is the first video we've fully explored it in. "My Sacrifice" kind of started the surrealism vibe, but we took this one to a different level. There are backdrops kind of like 'Star Wars,' with all these computer-generated cities and scenes that look real but they're not." — Stapp[7]
On the day of the shoot, Stapp was involved in an automobile accident. On April 19, 2002, around 1:40 in the afternoon, Stapp, while driving his Cadillac SUV on Interstate 4 in Florida was struck from behind by a Ford SUV. According to Stapp, the vehicle was going at "probably 50 or 60 miles per hour". Stapp was sent flying forward in his vehicle, with his body hitting the steering wheel and his head hitting the windshield. Stapp, concerned about the wellbeing of the person who hit him, got out of his vehicle to check on the other driver. Although initially the officer on the scene reported no injuries, Stapp soon realized he had not gone unscathed while calling his manager after the accident. He had suffered a concussion from the whiplash and from hitting the windshield. Stapp claims that the police on the scene didn't note any injuries in their report because he refused to call an ambulance or go to the hospital.[18][19]
Due to prior commitments with director Dave Meyers, Stapp managed to show up to shoot the video the very next day where shooting began at 6:00 a.m. Actress Dawn Cairns, who appeared in the "My Sacrifice" video, also makes an appearance as the woman crying bloody tears into a bowl. The band flew her in from Argentina where she had just finished a shoot two days earlier. Beginning to feel the effects of the accident, Stapp had to be medicated during the shoot to deal with the pain in his head, neck, and spine, and was also suffering from a headache. A doctor and a masseuse were on site during the shooting of the video, and a body double was used for certain scenes Stapp was unable to complete. Stapp was limited in the video as he mainly just stood and sang with little movement or gesticulation. Meyers told Stapp during the shoot that his facial expressions from the pain actually helped in getting the emotion of the song to come across better and noted that he could tell Stapp was in terrible pain during the last shot of the video.[7][18]
After the shooting was completed, Stapp's pain continued to worsen, and after an MRI on his neck and back it was revealed that the extent of his injuries were worse than once thought. Doctors discovered he had a bulging disk between two vertebrae in his neck and a smashed disk in his lower back. An adjacent missing disk from a congenital condition likely worsened the situation.[18]
Appearances in media
[edit]
On September 16, 2014, "One Last Breath" was made available as downloadable content as part of the "Creed 5-Song Pack" for the video game Rocksmith 2014 along with "Higher", "My Own Prison", "My Sacrifice" and "With Arms Wide Open".[20]
Track listings
[edit]
Charts
[edit]
Certifications
[edit]
Region Certification Certified units/sales Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[36] Gold 30,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
Release history
[edit]
Release dates and formats for "One Last Breath" Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref. United States April 15, 2002 Wind-up [8] May 13, 2002 [37] United Kingdom July 22, 2002 CD
Epic
Wind-up
[38] Australia September 23, 2002 [39] | ||||||
3747 | dbpedia | 1 | 50 | https://blog.ticketmaster.com/creed-setlist/ | en | Creed Concert Setlist: Discover the Average Song List | [
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] | 2024-07-18T15:00:24+00:00 | Explore the average setlist of a Creed concert. Get insights into their most-played songs, fan favorites and unique live performances. | en | https://blog.ticketmaster.com/favicon.ico | Ticketmaster Blog | https://blog.ticketmaster.com/creed-setlist/ | Update (July 18): This article has been updated with Creed’s latest setlist.
Creed are ready to take their setlist higher for the Summer of ’99 Tour, the alternative rock band’s triumphant return from a 12-year hiatus. After several sold-out shows on the Summer of ’99 cruise in April, the founding quartet of vocalist Scott Stapp, guitarist Mark Tremonti, bassist Brian Marshall and drummer Scott Phillips will reconvene for the Summer of ’99 Tour in July, followed by the group’s inaugural Summer Of ’99 And Beyond Festival in San Bernardino, California and the North American Are You Ready? Tour launching in November.
In a statement, Stapp shared his excitement, saying, “I feel like I’m as strong as I’ve ever been vocally, and looking forward to sharing the stage with the guys again. The fans have clearly let us know they feel it’s long overdue. I want to give them what they deserve. I’m ready to bring it.”
The Summer of ’99 Tour — which kicked off on July 17 in Green Bay, Wisconsin — takes the “One Last Breath” band down memory lane as they celebrate the summer of their 1999 breakout sophomore album Human Clay, which has since been certified 11-times platinum. Completing the nostalgia tour is a rotating support roster of rock contemporaries like 3 Doors Down, Daughtry, Finger Eleven and Switchfoot.
For fans looking to know what to expect from a Creed tour in 2024, including the average setlist, welcome to this place, we’ll show you everything below.
Creed Tour Stats
Current tour: Summer of ’99 Tour (2024)
Set time: On their 2024 Summer of ’99 Tour, Creed has taken the stage at on stage around 9:10 p.m., though set times vary.
Length of average Creed show: 1 hour, 45 minutes (at the Summer of ’99 Tour)
Past tours:
2 Nights Live (2012)
Creed: Live on Tour (2012)
The 20-10 Tour (2010)
Full Circle Tour (2009–2010)
Weathered Tour (2002)
Human Clay Tour (1999–2001)
My Own Prison Tour (1997–1999)
Creed Discography:
My Own Prison (1997)
Human Clay (1999)
Weathered (2001)
Full Circle (2009)
Creed’s Popular Songs:
“One Last Breath”
“Higher”
“My Sacrifice”
“With Arms Wide Open”
“My Own Prison”
Creed – The Summer Of ’99 Tour
Creed’s Recent Opening Acts:
Switchfoot
Finger Eleven
3 Doors Down
Daughtry
Fuel
Vertical Horizon
Creed Concert Setlist Info
After nearly a decade away from the stage, Creed fans undoubtedly have high expectations for the setlist during the Summer of ’99 Tour. However, the band proved during their early 2024 cruise performances that they are prepared to embrace all of their big hits with arms wide open.
The setlist for the initial trek, which launched on Mark Tremonti’s birthday on April 18, featured the band’s four Top 10 Billboard Hot 100 singles, “Higher,” “With Arms Wide Open,” “My Sacrifice” and “One Last Breath,” as well as early staples such as “My Own Prison” and “Torn.” Elsewhere, the band gave rare performances of “Overcome” and “Rain” from 2009’s Full Circle, played the title track from 2001’s Weathered for the first time since 2002 and unearthed Human Clay deep cuts like “Beautiful” and “Inside Us All.”
Below, find an average Creed setlist from their 2024 Summer of ’99 Tour.
Creed 2024 Setlist:
Bullets
Torn
Are You Ready?
My Own Prison
What If
Never Die
Weathered
Say I
Faceless Man
One
What’s This Life For
Rain
With Arms Wide Open
Higher
Encore:
One Last Breath
My Sacrifice
Source: Setlist.fm.
How to Get Tickets for Creed Concerts | ||||
3747 | dbpedia | 1 | 27 | https://slate.com/culture/2009/10/creed-is-totally-underrated.html | en | Creed is totally underrated. | [
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"Jonah Weiner"
] | 2009-10-21T13:30:00+00:00 | In 1997, an unknown Florida hard-rock group called Creed spent $6,000 to make its debut album, My Own Prison. Talk about a good investment: An... | en | /favicon.ico | Slate Magazine | https://slate.com/culture/2009/10/creed-is-totally-underrated.html | In 1997, an unknown Florida hard-rock group called Creed spent $6,000 to make its debut album, My Own Prison. Talk about a good investment: An independent label, Wind-Up, signed the group, got Sony to provide distribution, and Creed became, for four years or so, one of America’s hugest bands. Its 1999 single, “Higher,” topped the modern-rock chart for 17 straight weeks. “With Arms Wide Open,” released the following year, reached the top of the pop charts, and won the Grammy for best rock song. Between 1997 and 2002, the band grossed more than $70 million touring. To date, it has sold 26 million records in the United States.
It was the perfect setup for a Behind the Music-style implosion, and Creed delivered. By late 2002, singer Scott Stapp was on a near-daily regimen of alcohol and Percocet—prescribed after a car crash—and he would soon add OxyContin and the steroid Prednisone to the list. In December of that year, Stapp stepped onto a Chicago stage visibly intoxicated, slurring his lyrics and performing one song while lying on his back. (Fans sued, unsuccessfully, for refunds.) It was the last show of a nationwide tour, and Stapp’s band mates didn’t speak to him for months. The next year, at home in Orlando, Stapp put two guns to his head, intent on blowing out his brains. Recounting this near-suicide, he has explained that he decided to put down the weapons after spotting a photograph of his infant son, about whom he’d written “With Arms Wide Open.” In 2004, Creed broke up, and as this recent New York Times piece shows, there is no disagreement within the band that it died for Stapp’s sins.
Today, Stapp has shaved his head, cleaned up his act, and Creed has reunited for a tour and a new album, out at the end of this month—the first single, “Overcome,” is a wailing survivor’s anthem. (ThisDetails story is a fine chronicle of the band’s dissolution and return.) Stapp’s lyrics have always been full of sweaty redemption narratives and howled prayers for second chances, so we could have seen this comeback bid coming a mile away. That is, if we’d had any reason to think about Creed at all. From the start, critical gatekeepers dismissed the band as derivative blowhards with a self-righteous Christian agenda, a consensus that did nothing to slow sales but that cemented in the popular imagination and took its own toll. In the Times article, guitarist Mark Tremonti said that he greeted the breakup with a degree of relief: “No matter how many records you sell, when you’re up there with a target on your head every day it’s not fun.” Along with Limp Bizkit (who made fun of Creed, too), Stapp and Co. are remembered today as poster boys for a turn-of-the-century musical nightmare we’re happily past.
There’s no telling whether Creed will make good on its second chance, but the band deserves a second listen. If your impulse on hearing that it has reunited is to groan, stifle it long enough to locate a copy of Creed’s 2004 Greatest Hits collection. It’s a fantastic baker’s dozen of first-rate schlock-rock, courtesy of one of the most underrated and unfairly maligned groups in pop history.
Listening to Creed today, it’s hard to reconcile the animus against the band with the music. (The animus against the group’s satiny tunics and slithery facial hair was always perfectly understandable.) In his lyrics, Stapp is a well-meaning, Bible-fluent doofus, easy to chuckle at but difficult to imagine hating. “The world is heading for mutiny, when all we want is unity,” he sings on “One.” The trouble wasn’t that he was a blustery, would-be messiah (that didn’t stop Bono’s canonization) so much as the unrepentant hamminess he brought to the role: ample baritone quaking and churning, arms outstretched atop mountains and hovering, Christlike, above crowds in music videos. On stage, Stapp was Charlton Heston in leather pants, humping the stone tablets. His brand of fist-pumping, hair-tossing, pelvis-swiveling rocksmanship was hardly without precedent; it just seemed obnoxiously anachronistic. An audacious throwback to the preening hair-metal era (and, even further, to Robert Plant’s roosterish sashay), Stapp audaciously reinflated rock’s hot-air balloon less than a decade after Kurt Cobain was thought to have punctured it for good.
And it’s not that the band didn’t deliver. To the contrary, Creed seemed to irritate people precisely because its music was so unabashedly calibrated towards pleasure: Every surging riff, skyscraping chorus, and cathartic chord progression telegraphed the band’s intention to rock us, wow us, move us. Tremonti was a brutally effective guitarist, and by 2001’s “Weathered,” he’d even added subtlety—or the hard-rock version of it, anyway—to his arsenal. Creed was formulaic, but that’s only an insult if the formula doesn’t work. One of the surprises involved in returning to Creed with a fresh pair of ears is how rocking, exciting, and, yes, moving, the songs can be. “Higher” might turn out to be the nu-grunge “Don’t Stop Believing“: dismissed by cognoscenti on arrival as bludgeoning and gauche but destined for rehabilitation down the road as a triumphant slab of ersatz inspirationalism.
There’s never any such thing as listening in a vacuum—see this recent New York Times Magazine story on the fascinating, ultimately paradoxical attempts of the music Web site Pandora to wean musical taste away from the sullying effects of “cultural information”—and it’s a lot easier to give Creed a sympathetic spin now that they aren’t so ubiquitous or so ubiquitously loathed. In fact, when you listen to the band’s third album, Weathered, with Stapp’s period of self-ruin in mind, its emotional heft is amplified. “Bullets” is a furious blast of metal and one of the most galvanizing persecution anthems ever penned: “At least look at me when you shoot a bullet through my head! Through my head! Through my head!” he howls, presumably at the band’s haters. At the other end of the spectrum is “One Last Breath,” a wounded ballad featuring one of Stapp’s most affecting vocals and a lovely refrain that foreshadows his suicide attempt: “Hold me now, I’m six feet from the edge and I’m thinking, maybe six feet ain’t so far down.” He vaults up an octave on the first “six,” cracking his voice a little in a heartstrings-tugging flourish. | ||||
3747 | dbpedia | 1 | 70 | https://www.multitracks.com/songs/Shane-and-Shane/Creed/ | en | Creed by Shane and Shane | [
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] | null | [] | null | One by Creed song meaning, lyric interpretation, video and chart position | en | /images/favicons/apple-touch-icon.png | null | I Can't Stand The RainAnn Peebles
Ann Peebles' "I Can't Stand The Rain" originated from a comment made by the singer to her husband, Don Bryant, when they were preparing to head out to a blues show and it began tipping down with rain.
Party DollBuddy Knox & the Rhythm Orchids
The drum sound on Buddy Knox's 1957 US #1 hit "Party Doll" was actually made by a cardboard box filled with cotton.
God Only KnowsThe Beach Boys
The most famous song to prominently feature a French horn is "God Only Knows" by The Beach Boys.
Somebody Like YouKeith Urban
When Keith Urban played "Somebody Like You" for his girlfriend, she called him a hypocrite because he "sucked at relationships."
The Safety DanceMen Without Hats
The Men Without Hats lead singer wrote "The Safety Dance" after getting kicked out of a bar for dancing too aggressively. The song is literally about being safe to dance if you want to.
How The Beatles Crafted Killer ChorusesSong Writing
The author of Help! 100 Songwriting, Recording And Career Tips Used By The Beatles, explains how the group crafted their choruses so effectively.
Rick SpringfieldSongwriter Interviews
Rick has a surprising dark side, a strong feminine side and, in a certain TV show, a naked backside. But he still hasn't found Jessie's Girl.
Brian Kehew: The Man Behind The RemastersSong Writing
Brian has unearthed outtakes by Fleetwood Mac, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Costello and hundreds of other artists for reissues. Here's how he does it.
La La Brooks of The CrystalsSong Writing
The lead singer on "Da Doo Ron Ron" and "Then He Kissed Me," La La explains how and why Phil Spector replaced The Crystals with Darlene Love on "He's A Rebel." | |||||
3747 | dbpedia | 1 | 31 | https://www.amazon.com/One-Last-Breath-Creed/dp/B000067CLM | en | Amazon.com | [
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3747 | dbpedia | 1 | 8 | https://open.spotify.com/track/6kYeLmi7sUm5javJeEQ4Sz | en | One | https://i.scdn.co/image/ab67616d0000b273819da3c7f79aa1c954eeb384 | https://i.scdn.co/image/ab67616d0000b273819da3c7f79aa1c954eeb384 | [] | [] | [] | [
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] | null | [] | 2023-09-22T00:00:00 | Listen to One on Spotify. Song · Creed · 2023 | en | Spotify | https://open.spotify.com/track/6kYeLmi7sUm5javJeEQ4Sz | ||||
3747 | dbpedia | 1 | 9 | http://creed_lover03.tripod.com/armswideopentocreed/id17.html | en | Creed Facts | http://creed_lover03.tripod.com//sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/weatheredcovercopy.jpg | [
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] | null | [] | null | null | When Creed was still a cover band they went under the name Naked Toddler. This name came from a newspaper article that Mark Tremonti always carried in his wallet.
The name "Creed" was made up by former bass player, Brian Marshall. He named it after his previous band, Maddox Creed.
Mark Tremonti's brother, Dan Tremonti, does all the album artwork for Creed.
Before Creed signed with Windup Records they released My Own Prison under their own label called Blue Collar Records for only $6,000. Only 2,000 copies of this record were released. Some songs were a little different then the Windup versions: the song Sister had different lyrics, Illusion was called Allusion, My Own Prison has added background vocals, One has a different guitar part, Ode has added cymbals, and What's This Life For had a different intro.
Creed was the first band to have 4 number 1 singles off a debut album. They also had 3 number 1 singles off their Human Clay album, for a total of 7 consectutive #1 singles.
Creed is the first band to have 3 singles (Torn, My Own Prison, and What's This Life For) on the Billboard top 20 at the same time.
Creed has sold over 20 million copies of their 3 albums. My Own Prison has sold 5 million, Human Clay sold 10 million, and Weathered has sold 5 million.
The guy on the cover of My Own Prison is Justin Brown, a friend of the band. The picture was taken by Danial Tremonti for a photography class.
Creed's first television performance was on David Letterman. They began playing One too early and Dave made them stop so that he could finish their introduction.
Creed were the executive producers for the Scream 3 soundtrack. What If and Is This the End is featured on the CD.
There are hidden lyrics in the song Ode. No one is sure what they actually say. When fans have asked about the lyrics, Scott Stapp replied, "This is a secret we will take to the grave......sorry.....It's a band thing..."
There are three hidden images on the cover of Weathered. They are (1) a lion on the man's hand, (2) the crest in the sun, and (3) a lamb in the top of the tree. There is also an angel hidden on the back cover in the flamelike thing. Look closely to find them! | |||||||
3747 | dbpedia | 1 | 30 | https://www.indievisionmusic.com/news/song-of-the-day-creed-meet-again-no-not-that-creed/ | en | Meet Again (no, not THAT Creed) | [
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3747 | dbpedia | 0 | 0 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_(Creed_song) | en | One (Creed song) | [
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] | 2005-12-15T07:51:02+00:00 | en | /static/apple-touch/wikipedia.png | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_(Creed_song) | 1998 single by Creed
"One" is a song by American rock band Creed. It is the fourth single as well as the tenth and final track from the band's 1997 album My Own Prison. It was also included as a B-side on the maxi-single for "With Arms Wide Open" in 2000.
Writing and recording
[edit]
"One" was one of 10-15 songs written by the band prior to entering the recording studio. The song was composed by singer Scott Stapp and guitarist Mark Tremonti and was originally recorded at producer John Kurzweg's home studio called "The Kitchen Studio", in Tallahassee, Florida. The band was on a pay-as-you-go agreement at the time, as each of the band members were attending college and working 40 hour-a-week jobs. They would then each pitch in around $100 a week and enter the studio to record demos. Unlike later records where Pro Tools was used, Kurzweg recorded the songs analog directly to tape. This process took about six months to complete and would cost the band $6,000. Stapp recalls: "I recorded vocals in a room where there was toys all over the floor, bunk beds next to me in his kids’ room and the guys would all do their parts." Stapp then said: "I think when we started getting early mixes of the record, we really started to feel like we had something special. We didn't have a record deal. This was all on our own dime and our own time and we had hopes of getting a record deal and getting this music out, but really had no clue where it was gonna go."[1][2]
Recording would continue at Criteria Studios in Miami, but the inclusion of "One" on the record was questioned by the band as they felt its sound was a departure from the direction they wanted to go in. After going back and forth as to whether or not they would include the song on the record at all, the band ultimately kept it on the record due to the positive response the song was receiving from fans as well as the label. Following the Blue Collar Records release of My Own Prison on June 24, 1997, the band was picked up and signed by Wind-up Records who wanted the band to re-record the whole album. After being given a small budget and two weeks to re-record, Kurzweg and Creed would only complete two songs before realizing it wasn't working out. Wind-up Records and the band reached a compromise and settled on remixing the album at Long View Farm in Massachusetts with Ron St. Germain. After some initial difficulties working with St. Germain, Kurzweg was brought in to help work on the remixing and eventually found working common ground with the band and St. Germain.[2]
Music and lyrics
[edit]
"One" features a catchy and upbeat tone and was considered by the band to be a departure from their sound compared to other songs on My Own Prison.[1][2] The song decries racial tensions in modern society and "discrimination now on both sides" which causes "seeds of hate [to] blossom further." The song suggests that "the goal is to be unified" and therefore "why hold down one to raise another?" To move on, we must realize that "the only way is one" because "all we want is unity" and "in the end we meet our fate together."
Release and reception
[edit]
"One" was the fourth and final promotional single issued from the band's debut album, and was the only single to not have a music video. Because Creed's singles were not initially sold in the United States, they were ineligible for the US Billboard Hot 100. However, by the time "One" was released, that restriction was lifted, and the song became Creed's first song that charted on the Billboard Hot 100, charting at number 70.[3]
"One" also managed to peak at number 49 on the US Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart in April 1999, and also reached the number two spot on both the Mainstream Rock Tracks and the Modern Rock Tracks. On the former chart, it was ranked the number one track of 1999, despite its number two peak position. The song also helped Creed win their first and only Top Rock Single of the Year at the 1999 Billboard Music Awards.[4]
Appearances in media
[edit]
The band played "One" on February 3, 1999, during their very first television performance on The Late Show With David Letterman. During the performance the band accidentally began playing the song before Letterman had finished introducing them and promoting My Own Prison, causing Letterman to force the band to abruptly stop playing the song so he could properly introduce them.
The song was used in a video montage at the 2nd annual WWE Tribute to the Troops professional wrestling event in 2004.[5] It was also used as wrestler Ricky Steamboat's entrance theme in 2006 and 2007 Raw live events.
Chart performance
[edit]
Chart (1999) Peak
position Canada Rock/Alternative (RPM)[6] 9 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[7] 39 US Billboard Hot 100[8] 70 US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[9] 2 US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[10] 2
Year-end charts
[edit]
Chart (1999) Peak
position US Billboard Hot 100 Airplay[11] 61 US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[12] 1 US Modern Rock (Billboard)[13] 6 | ||||||
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] | null | [] | 2015-08-26T18:33:25+00:00 | en | RIAA | https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/ | The Recording Industry Association of America® advocates for recorded music and the people and companies that create it in the United States. RIAA’s several hundred members – ranging from major American music groups with global reach to artist-owned labels and small businesses – make up the world’s most vibrant and innovative music community, working to help artists reach their potential and connect with fans while supporting hundreds of thousands of American jobs. | ||||||
3747 | dbpedia | 1 | 71 | https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/music-news/sources-creeds-scott-stapp-got-754568/ | en | Sources: Creed’s Scott Stapp Got $1.5 Million in Royalty Advances Just Last Year | [
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"Jon Wiederhorn Billboard"
] | 2014-12-05T17:55:05+00:00 | The singer says he's broke and homeless | en | The Hollywood Reporter | https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/music-news/sources-creeds-scott-stapp-got-754568/ | Creed helped fuel one of the music industry’s most robust runs, selling 27 million albums in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan, since its 1997 debut, My Own Prison. Today, frontman Scott Stapp says he’s broke and homeless.
But according to sources, it was only in 2013 that the singer received $1.5 million in advances from from his label Wind-up Records and his publishing company for his 2013 solo album, Proof of Life. An additional $3 million was paid out to Creed for the band’s last record, 2009’s Full Circle, which so far has U.S. sales of 444,000 units, according to Nielsen SoundScan; Stapp would have shared in that as well. No additional money is due at this time since the band and Stapp as a solo artist have not recouped.
The 41-year-old’s estranged wife, Jaclyn, who’s seeking a divorce and temporary sole custody of their two children, says through her attorney Jason Brodie that her husband of almost nine years has a history of “going on drug binges and disappearing for days or weeks at a time. Jaclyn loves Scott very much. It is now apparent, the seriousness of Scott’s health. Jaclyn has taken all the necessary steps to help him.”
A familiar tale in the music business, it has left friends and collaborators, including former publicist Steve Karas of SKH Music and biographer David Ritz, scrambling to find him. Creed guitarist Mark Tremonti wrote on Facebook on Nov. 27, “I know everyone is very worried about Scott; I am as well. I tried reaching out but didn’t have any success.” (He and two other former Creed members are currently in the successful hard rock group Alter Bridge.)
One person who has talked to Stapp, Creed bassist Brian Marshall, wrote on Dec. 2: “It is obvious Scott is not ‘ok’ and that he needs medical help and/or an intervention if he does not surrender to this disease before he hurts himself or others.”
Stapp was last seen Nov. 13 on Interstate 10 in Madison County, Florida when he called 911 asking for an ambulance to take him to a hospital because, as he told police, “someone was trying to kill him.”
In his YouTube rant, Stapp says he has audited his record label and “personal finances”and discovered “a lot was stolen or royalties not paid.” In order to recover the funds, he needs to hire a lawyer to pinpoint the theft and file the appropriate charges. A source close to Stapp says the singer has not yet secured an attorney, despite his taped open call to find one.
Stapp’s stumble has hit a nerve among industry insiders. “Whether these messages are a plea for help or a psychotic episode, someone from MusiCares should find him and reach out,” offers entertainment attorney Dina LaPolt, who represents Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Deadmau5.
As for Stapp’s insistence that he’s been robbed, LaPolt is skeptical. “Back in the old days, a lot of that happened, but we have a lot of measures now that have been put into place as businesspeople to try to make sure that doesn’t happen anymore,” she said. “There used to be one person getting all the money, managing the money and managing the group. Now there are a lot of checks and balances that weren’t there 40 years ago.”
With reporting by Ed Christman
A version of this article first appeared in the Dec. 13 issue of Billboard. | |||||
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3747 | dbpedia | 1 | 51 | https://www.ctproduced.com/the-abc-of-specialty-recording/ | en | The ABC of Specialty Recording | [
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] | null | [] | 2021-05-23T23:34:07+00:00 | [This post was originally written as part of the 2021 post, Happy Birthday Mr. Taylor and also continues and replaces an earlier post on the specialty recording period of Creed Taylor’s caree… | en | Creed Taylor Produced | https://www.ctproduced.com/the-abc-of-specialty-recording/ | [This post was originally written as part of the 2021 post, Happy Birthday Mr. Taylor and also continues and replaces an earlier post on the specialty recording period of Creed Taylor’s career.]
After graduating from Duke University, 2-years in the Army, one year of which was spent in Korea, Creed Taylor arrived in New York City in 1954, aged 24-years old, with no experience or history recording and producing records. Within a few weeks he’d land a job as artist and repertoire man for Bethlehem records. Within two years, he’d produced a amazing set of artists, including Oscar Pettiford, Carmen McRae, Charlie Mingus, Herbie Mann, Charlie Shavers, and the J.J. Johnson-Kai Winding Quintet and famously, Chris Conner, and her albums Sings “Lullabys Of Birdland”, “Lullabys For Lovers” and “This is Chris”.
To listen , press play and read on.
It was announced in August 1955 that Creed had left Bethlehem . The announcement that Creed was joining ABC Paramount came in December that year. Interestingly, despite what had previously been thought, Billboard from 12th of December 1955 announced:
Creed Taylor has been signed to set up a jazz department for the new ABC-Paramount label. He will concentrate on building a jazz LP catalog for Am-Par and an extensive roster of jazz artists. Artists already signed in this category include trombonist Urbie Green, pianist- singer Bobby Scott and pianist Dave McKenna. Taylor, who reports to Am-Par’s artist and repertoire chief, Sid Feller, formerly ‘served as a.&r. head at Bethlehem Records.
Billboard Magazine – Dec. 12th, 1955 – P39
The new startup recording division of the ABC Corporation, ABC-Paramount or the AM-Par Record Corp. as it was known until 1962. AM-Par, which had only started earlier(1955) that year was already recording pop-music, Creed was bought on board as an experienced producer with an eye for something new. Creed himself saw it as an opportunity to have a more broad impact in a large corporation with funding to do more recordings.
Was specialty recordings an actual name?
The name “specialty recordings”, came from the actual business line at AM-Par, best described in this article from the June 20th, 1960 issue of Billboard magazine.
Specialty means just what its name implies; albums that are geared for steady sales in specific markets.
According to Creed Taylor, who Is album and repertoire supervisor for the company. the leading members in the specialty group are the company’s Sing Along and Polka albums.
Taylor notes that “Music to Break a Lease” was one of the first sing along albums in the field, and since that time “College Drinking Songs” and “More College Drinking Songs” have done consistent business. The company has now instituted a foreign sing along series with its Spanish and Italian albums
Billboard Magazine, June 20th, 1960 P13
While Creed was bought on for his jazz work, Impulse!! would come later, Creed would produce a mix of jazz and dozens of specialty recordings as popular sellers, tracking culture, events and buyers in the USA. It appears that between leaving Bethlehem and being announced as the new jazz division head for Am-Par, Creed recorded his earliest Am-Par jazz albums.
It’s not clear how the Jazz recordings made between the time Creed left Bethlehem, and started at ABC, were funded. In private email, Marc Myers speculated that ABC had Creed recorded them as some form of try-out, which ABC funded. If that were the case, Creed would likely have been encouraged and supported by AM-Par Executive VP and co-founder Harry Levine. Harry was later instrumental with Taylor in the creation of Impulse!! in 1960.
The first of the albums to be recorded were Bobby Scott’s “Scott Free” (ABC-102) on September 19, 1955. Urbie Green (ABC-101) was October 12, 1955, and Dave McKenna (ABC-104) was October 31, 1955.
Creed went on to record Lucky Thompson (ABC-111) and Billy Taylor (ABC-112) in January 1956. Janet Brace (ABC-116), Tom Stewart (ABC-117) and Don Stratton (ABC-118) were February 1956. The Jackie Cain/Roy Kral was also March 1956. Oddly, the Don Elliott ABC-106 was June 1956. .
The next four years would prove to be a phenomenally productive period, full of album releases, which today you wouldn’t recognize, with music styles, and music you’d never associate with Creed. However, it was the baptism of record production fire that Taylor needed, to later become a multi-GRAMMY award winning producer. Arguably a period that would teach him the skills and market awareness that would allow him to be one of the producers that would redefine jazz and drive jazz forward in the seventies. Interestingly, one of these recordings would be nominated for the first ever Grammy awards.
While Creed was producing these popular mass market albums, he would also continue recording jazz musicians and new talent. Some of these artists, Jackie and Roy, Urbie Green, Kai Winding, Quincy Jones and others would become recurring artists in the Creed Taylor pantheon.
Many of the skills Taylor would learn during this period would serve him well for the rest of his career. Using a core arranger to develop a music style and approach; using a common recording studios, design for album sleeves, and photographer as part of a process to make recording and production as frictionless as possible.
JazzWax: When you joined ABC-Paramount Records in 1956, were you pressured to produce pop records?
Creed Taylor: No pressure at all. You have to remember, ABC-Paramount was a startup even though a major corporation owned it. The label began in 1955, a year before I arrived. I knew as much or more about the record business as everyone else who was there. Sam Clark was the label’s president and Larry Newton was in charge of sales. Both had been in the record distribution business and knew virtually nothing about producing.
Marc Myers Interview with Creed Taylor, Interview: Creed Taylor (Part 5) – JazzWax – July 14th, 2008
So what were the specialty recordings?
Broadly they were actually all popular music, cashing in in popular culture. It’s important to remember that music, especially popular and thus profitable music, typically follows culture, it doesn’t lead it. The recordings can be categorized into four main areas. Each of these targeted at the a different area of society.
A society at a time the was in a boom. The end of the World War II, troops returning home from Europe, from Korea and by the time the G.I. Bill expired min 1956, 7.8 million veterans had used its education benefits; Elvis Presley would have his #1 hit, “Heart Break Hotel” In March of 1956; NTSC Color TV had only just debuted, and color TV wouldn’t outsell black and white until the 1970’s ; commercial flight had taken off in a big way after World War II, off the back of former military aircraft and airports, while still the domain of the wealthy, commercial international flights were fast becoming aspirational; the space race had started in 1955 ; and finally, the first true stereo album as we know it today was released in 1957, with the popular releases starting in 1958 and stereo singles playing an increasing role in the market starting in 1959. What a time to be a record producer!
In addition to the specialty recordings, and the jazz albums, there were Cowboy/folk/country recordings featuring Elton Britt and Pete Brady and a number of other popular music albums that I will cover separately.
What was amazing, is the quality and production, as well as the presentation of these albums. Even today, digitized from their original vinyl recordings, the sound remarkably crisp and clear.
JazzWax: How did you rationalize producing albums like More College Drinking Songs along with albums by Oscar Pettiford?
Creed Taylor: I produced what I liked. While I was never a fan of barbershop quartets, I was familiar with that kind of music. Having graduated from Duke a few years earlier, I fully understood the appeal of drinking songs and the audience for the records. And they sold well.
Marc Myers Interview with Creed Taylor, Interview: Creed Taylor (Part 5) – JazzWax – July 14th, 2008
The Hot Line for ’59
By late 1958, the auto-industry had coined the term “The Hot line for ’59”, Mercury was advertising it’s new range on in-line engines using it, Pontiac adopted the phrase and ran with it for their 1959 Pontiac Bonneville. It was truly the Mad(ison Avenue) Men era.
In early 1959, AM-Par cut a double album in a gatefold sleeve that would become a trademark of Creed Taylor. The album, promotion copy only, with no ABC catalog number was recorded in late 1958, and pressed to support a major sales campaign of the same name, and ran from February 9th to March 31st, 1959. The sales campaign was both to support the stereo release of the older albums, as well as some 17 new albums, with more to follow for a fall campaign. Many, but not all would be part of the Aristocrat Series which would retail for $4.98 and feature “new deluxe double-fold sleeves”.
The sales campaign included albums with an OBI-like strip that could be removed after the 30-day promotional period starting February 9, the $4.98 stereo package was sold for $2.98, after which dealers could remove the strip and return the albums to full price, even though the purchased them at a reduced rate. That combined with a set of distributor meetings around the country, and you have the “Hot Line For ’59” sales campaign.
Another new trend in 1959 was Pay-For-Play , In a move to get away from deejay payola scandal’s, where labels would bribe deejays to play there discs, under pay-for-play distributors could formally buy plays and airtime from stations. I have no evidence to support it, but I can imagine the “The Hot Line for ’59” disc-1 playing as a late night, pay-for-play informercial.
I’d long looked for a copy of this album, there was only one discogs user who had a copy, I became the second. In the same way that you wait forever for a bus in London, and then two come along at the same time, as of Creed’s 92nd birthday, there is a copy for sale on ebay for $19.99.
The track list for disc-2 was documented, little was available about disc-1. I’d heard it contained spoken word tracks. I was really hoping that it would include interviews with Creed and other AM-Par executives and producers, it doesn’t. What it does contain is an amazing piece of 1950’s Americana. It’s a Mad Men special it’s features an AM-Par sales executive Harry and his beleaguered wife Lavern stuck on an island with the Chief, who is an impersonator who covers Liberace, Harry Truman and his wife Bess, and apparently cooks coconut pancakes.
It includes nods to drinking, sexism, misogyny and is racist, in so much as it’s promoting the Minstrel shows and music via Bill Cullen’s Minstrel Spectacular, an album Creed produced. It’s possible that Harry is either actually, or based on then AM-Par Executive VP and co-founder, Harry Levine. Listening to it now, it’s hard to believe the script wasn’t written as a spoof, meant only to be used at the distributor meetings.
Harry Levine, along with other executives Don Costa, Irwin Garr, Allen Parker, Dave Berger, Natt Hale, Lee Palmer, Al Genovese, and National Sales Director Larry Newton would attend the distributor conference along with “Prexy” Sam Clark. Creed had attended the 1958 conference/meetings and the Florida conference in 1960 .
Whatever else was going on, things at AM-Par couldn’t be better. By early 1959, their gross sales had hit $5.5 million dollars, “Prexy” Sam Clark said albums represent 50% of the label’s overall dollar volume. Clark said the “diskery” was planning to release 50-albums in 1959, giving it a catalog of 200-albums. For the labels 5th Anniversary in 1960, Clarke is quoted as saying the label expected to gross $12,000,000 .
There is no evidence that Creed produced the Hot-line double album, there were at least 3-producers at the time at AM-Par, Creed, Don Costa and Sid Feller, and tracks from all three were included, with even more if you count the samples introduced on disc-1.
Drinking songs and Ballads
Much of what we know about the studio musicians and singers from the specialty recordings come from the “drinking song” albums. “Bawdy Barracks Ballads“, “College Drinking Songs“, “Drinking Songs Around The World“, “More College Drinking Songs”, “Drinking Songs Under The Table“.
Many of these recordings featured The Blazers. I can find no record of them as an independent act outside of these recordings, which suggests they were a studio vocal group put together specifically for these recordings. Something that seems to be common for the specialty recordings.
Perhaps the primary contributor to these albums was James N. Peterson. Peterson arranged and conducted, many of the specialty recordings. Peterson would go on to become the musical director for the Ice Capades until his death in 1967, age 56. While I was able to establish and correct many entries on the recording and record database, discogs, in relation to Peterson, I was never able to find a picture of him.
Also from the ‘Barracks album credits we learn that the other vocalists included Frank Raye, Nelson Starr, Carter Farriss and Henry Clarke. With John M. Fay, Bud Christian, Bucky Pizzarelli, Eddy Manson as musicians. Peterson, Raye, Starr and Clarke were also members of the Four Sergeants, Raye a lead in Bill Cullen’s Minstrel Spetacular, and possibly the last specialty album Creed produced, The Four Counsellors And The Scouts – “Sing Along Around The Campfire“, which was again arranged by Peterson.
1960 saw the release of “The Best Of The Barrack Ballads”. ABCS-317. This was important as it was billed to Creed Taylor Orchestra and spawned a single release – arranged by Maury Laws. Laws had his own orchestra and was likely signed elsewhere. The year before, Taylor had used the same technique with Kenyon Hopkins and his orchestra, Hopkins was at the time signed to Capitol Records. The single “Johnny b/w Diane” was the only single release by Creed Taylor the artist.
A 1961 album “Bawdy Barracks Ballads Volume-2” was released by AM-Par, ABCS-381, it’s not clear that Creed had anything to do with this, or if it features the same core group of singers.
Marching Bands and Military
Perhaps the most obvious area for specialty sales were those that would appeal to the G.I. bill graduates and former servicemen, now with jobs in the post war economy and with money to spend. A studio group called the Four Sergeants where the main production vehicle for these albums. The recordings included:
“World War I Songs in Hi Fi“, and “More World War II Songs“. These were typically either traditional battlefield, military style chant/verse songs, or in the case of “Songs Of Freedom“, by the Four Sergeants and Massed Chorus, traditional patriotic American songs.
For most of the releases, like the Blazers albums, the albums contained no credits, some included recording dates, but true to their purpose, they included lyrics printed on the back cover. Almost without fail, the bottom right of the back cover contained the words “Produced by” and the now legendary Creed Taylor signature.
Perhaps the best of these albums technically, was “The Parade Field” featuring the First Army Honor Guard, then based on Governors Island in New York, and recorded on May 6th, 8-9th 1958. The album is a full on military band album, including a drill team, call and return, complete with whistle. The stereo release of this really needs to be heard to be appreciated, especially given the recording technology available at the time. Again arrangement and adaption was by James Peterson.
The Empire City Six “Salutes The Colleges” ABCS-210 was reviewed in Billboard magazine in December 1957
Here’s a fairly commercial package which could generate some sales action around college campuses and with old grads. The boys stir up a bouncy batch of instrumentals in Dixieland style on 12 college themes . . . “Washington and Lee Swing,” “Notre Dame Victory March,” “On Wisconsin,” etc.
Billboard – December 16th, 1957.
A footnote in this category is “The Eisenhower Story” ABC-128. The album includes the credit for producer for Creed Taylor, but does not carry the telltale signature bottom right.
Travel and International
The travel albums are dominated by international themed albums, but perhaps the best known of all of them these days is “The Sound Of New York” – A musical portrait . The album featured actual sounds of New York, either real or recreated and featured the music and arrangements of Kenyon Hopkins. Around this time, Taylor and Hopkins collaborated on more than a dozen albums.
Unlike the other targeted albums, travel and international was not dominated by studio only collaborations. The featured artists like Roy Smeck, and his Hawaiian themed “Hi-Fi Paradise” and “The Haunting Hawaiian Guitar“; The Lombardi Singers and “Sing Along in Italian” and the follow-up “Sing Along In Spanish” by Los Campeneros – where each album included an English translation. Also in the classification was The Lecuona Cuban Boys Featuring Candido and their album– “Dance Along With The Lecuona Cuban Boys“.
For me, the best albums in this target market, the Sabicas flamenco albums shine. The recording and production are excellent, and given flamenco as a style hasn’t really changed, you could be listening to tracks by the Gypsy Kings. There was one album in 1958, “Gypsy Flamenco” and two albums in 1959, “Solo Famenco” ABCS-304, and “The Day Of The Bullfight” ABCS-2265. Hopkins again provided additional orchestration for the ‘Bullfight album, recorded in September and October of 1958.
There were also a few outlier albums, Tony Scott’s “South Pacific Jazz”, which was a jazz album, and the “Adventures In Paradise“, Vol. 2” compilation album, which was a follow-up to the Sid Feller produced “Adventures In Paradise” compilation. Perhaps the unusual album in this category is “Hi-Fi In An Oriental Garden”. Arranged again by Peterson, with backing vocals by the Frank Raye singers, it includes authentic Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Thai and Filipino vocals/lyrics sung in traditional style. The album heavily leant on Chinese-American actor/singer Stephen Chung-Tao Cheng, who was also a featured track artist. Cheng went on to write the best selling book “The Tao Of Voice“.
In 1962, Creed would revisit the travel theme for Verve, with the Sound Tour albums . A series of four albums and a compilation that took the listener on a tour of Italy, Spain, Hawaii and France. They were complete with the same sort of sound effects Creed first used in the 1959 AM-Par musical portrait “The Sound Of New York”. As in 1959, the musical side of the sound tour albums was provided by Kenyon Hopkins.
Horror and Suspense
The final category, also probably the best known are the shock, horror albums. These must have sold well, purely by measure of how many can be bought online and in stores today. Again the albums feature Kenyon Hopkins and his orchestra, often unbilled with just a writing credit. Many of the albums also featured work by award winning sound effects man, Keene Crockett. Creed expressly said these were released before Halloween and aimed at kids
JW: Who was the audience for these records?
CT: Kids, mostly. I marketed them just before Halloween. They were like audio versions of those creepy horror comics popular at the time.
JW: How did they do?
CT: Quite well. They were in print for years, and some even made it to CD.
Jazzwax Interview JW= Marc Myers, CT= Creed Taylor, Interview: Creed Taylor (Part 5) – JazzWax
The first album was “Shock“, followed by “Lonelyville – The Nervous Beat“, then “Panic – Son of Shock“, and the 1962 “Nightmare!!” album which was released on MGM. I wrote briefly about Shock for Halloween 2020 . Arguably, while these albums contain some of New York’s finest jazz musicians of the day, the star of these albums is Keene Crockett. Crockett was a some time actor and radio announcer who became a sound effects maestro. Crockett was Creed Taylor’s go to man for sound effects.
An outsider in this category is the The Creed Taylor Orchestra album “Ping Pang Pong The Swinging Ball” album. Mostly only because it could be described as a novelty/sound effects album.
Taylor and Hopkins would work together again on the Sound Tour series for Verve. Taylor would also go on to produce Hopkins “The Yellow Canary (Music From The Motion Picture)” and “Mister Buddwing (Music From The Original Soundtrack)” – using what were increasingly some of Creed’s first call musicians including Phil Woods, Kenny Burrell, Milt Hinton, Lalo Schifrin, Clarke Terry, Zoot Sims, Jimmy Cleveland, Romeo Penque and Jerome Richardson on reeds; a regular fixture on these albums was also young recording engineer made good, Phil Ramone.
CREED TAYLOR
Once upon a time, there was a timid little boy who hated to go to bed because when the light in his room was turned off a variety of shadowy demons rushed at him, and strange hands reached for his throat, and horror was at his side.
Once upon a time, Creed Taylor went into ABC-Paramount’s recording — studios with a big orchestra, Kenyon Hopkins music, soundman Keen Crockett, and the Misses Toni Darnay and Gertrude Warner, and when the recording light was turned off, they emerged with a record of horror set to music.
It’s called Shock! (ABC-Paramount 259), and it has 12 tracks with such titles as Heartbeat; Jungle Fever; The Long Walk; Haunted House; In Bedlam; Time Runs Out, and Gloomy Sunday. It’s quite
well done, and often a bit amusing. But later on you wonder if what seemed funny was really a nervous reaction. Don’t play it for the youngsters.
Sound is brilliant. (D.C.)
Down Beat November 27th, 1957 – Vol 24 Issue 2 – Page 24
Please Exit via the gift shop
While the specialty recording period isn’t one Creed is well known for, there is no doubt this is where he earned his chops. Everything from working with a core group of creators, recording and production specialists, from musicians to design artists and photographers. Some of the earliest Pete Turner cover photography was in this period! It also gave a 27-year old Creed Taylor an insight into starting and running a successful record label.
By 1961, Creed had started to have real success with his jazz albums, and arguably, the final specialty recording released that was produced by Creed Taylor was Roy Smeck His Singing Guitar And Paradise Serenaders “For Your Listening And Dancing Pleasure“. Creed would go on to record Ray Charles seminal “Genius + Soul = Jazz” , Bob Thiel woud typically manage the more soul productions, and Sid Feller would handle popular music as well as Ray Charles.
While I know the jazz enthusiast will dismiss many of the specialty recordings out of hand, you shouldn’t. There are many fantastic recordings, both creatively and technically. If I were starting over with my collection from this period, for which I have almost all the albums discussed here, I would definitely favor the stereo pressings. The mono pressings are fine musically, but to get the full effect of a brilliant young producer exploiting the emerging field of stereo, these are the best. | |||||
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] | null | [] | 2022-10-31T09:08:33-05:00 | As one of the last bands standing after the grunge wave in the ‘90s, Creed’s unabashed rock sold millions of albums worldwide and solidified them as one of | en | Concord | https://concord.com/artist/creed/ | As one of the last bands standing after the grunge wave in the ‘90s, Creed’s unabashed rock sold millions of albums worldwide and solidified them as one of the decade’s most successful bands. In 1997, members Scott Stapp, Mark Tremonti, Brian Marshall, and Scott Phillips recorded their debut album My Own Prison beginning an epic string of albums earning Creed multiple spots on various Billboard charts, a Grammy for Best Rock Song (2001’s “With Arms Wide Open”) and the rare RIAA Diamond certification for selling 11 million albums of Human Clay. In 2004 the band went on an official hiatus with Stapp venturing into solo work while the remaining members formed Alter Bridge. They reunited in 2009 for a tour in support of their latest album, Full Circle. | |||||
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] | null | [] | 2010-03-09T00:00:00 | Artist: Creed Album: Full Circle Year: 2009 Grade: F+ In Brief: Let me fix that misspelled band name for you: It should be GREED. 'Cause I can't see any other logical reason for this reunion. You know a band isn't that great when they break up seemingly prematurely, and a guy like me who once considered a fan of the… | en | https://s1.wp.com/i/favicon.ico | murlough23 | https://murlough23.wordpress.com/2010/03/09/creed-full-circle-more-like-the-downward-spiral-of-a-toilet-flushing/ | Artist: Creed
Album: Full Circle
Year: 2009
Grade: F+
In Brief: Let me fix that misspelled band name for you: It should be GREED. ‘Cause I can’t see any other logical reason for this reunion.
You know a band isn’t that great when they break up seemingly prematurely, and a guy like me who once considered a fan of the band is so ambivalent about it that the breakup seems strangely appropriate to him. Then, years later, when rumors of a reunion begin to swirl about, he hopes those rumors are unfounded, and lists off several reasons why it would be a horrible idea for the band to get together. Despite hoping that cooler heads will prevail, when that band does inevitably reunite, this former fan suddenly sounds as vitriolic as the people who have hated the band all along, almost praying for them to crash and burn and disintegrate once again, never to be heard from under the name that once made them famous. Look at this guy’s past opinions of the band, and you’ll find a seemingly inconsistent story, once defending the group against accusations he now willingly levels against them. This, friends, is my story with the band Creed.
Maybe things were just different for me in the year 1999, when I first heard the band. Here I was, this kid fresh out of college, raised on Christian rock, never having heard any of Pearl Jam‘s earlier stuff outside of a radio being played in earshot when I wasn’t paying attention, and wishing I could find something in mainstream rock that actually sounded like it had some hope. Enter a relatively young, eager-faced band with an uplifting song called “Higher”, and a follow-up ballad called “With Arms Wide Open” about the lead singer’s son. It worked for me on an emotional level, so I was affable. I checked out Human Clay, and despite knowing the criticism that the band got even then, I related, even to some of their angry stuff. Sure, it could be turgid and repetitive at times. But it bridged a gap for me that I’d seen few bands successfully bridge. I was too naive to understand the backlash, and I was prepared to defend the band against their critics as best I could until Scott Stapp got a little too obsessive about doing that on his own by way of his song lyrics. That bad habit severely marred Weathered, an album placed in the unfortunate position of having to follow a massive commercial breakthrough, on which the band tried way too hard they could prove to be all things to all people. I still enjoy the songs I considered highlights from that record back in the day (as I do with all of their albums), but Weathered in particular suffered from a slew of poorly thought-out ideas that made it an extremely rough ride to get through. One minute they were harshly denouncing critics, the next trying to sound socially conscious, and a bit too much of an attempt at sentimentality marred its back half. This was a band that played doppleganger based on what they thought they needed to prove to people they could do, rather than ever really carving out their own identity. I wasn’t particularly clamoring to hear where they’d go next.
The answer to that question, of course, was nowhere. As Stapp’s personal life began to spiral out of control, he took the band with him, leading to an eventual breakup in 2004. For a time, I pointed the finger and jeered at his idiocy. That might not have been fair. But it was clear that his time in the limelight wasn’t doing him many favors (as evidenced by his further descent into embarrassingly self-defensive songwriting on his ill-conceived solo debut The Great Divide), so it seemed that if Stapp would just go away already, the results would be as favorable for him as they would for us. The remaining members of Creed wasted no time in getting on about their business without Stapp around, as guitarist Mark Tremonti and drummer Scott Phillips re-hired Creed’s former bassist Brian Marshall and found a new, more dynamic, and far less overbearing lead singer in Myles Kennedy. I didn’t catch on to the resulting band Alter Bridge, right away, feeling like it was just a retread of Creed with better guitar work and a better singer at first, but the band’s second album, Blackbird, really grabbed my attention. It wasn’t a work of genius, but Tremonti, Kennedy, and company showed a lot of musical growth away from post-grunge and back toward some of their old-school metal influences, and it was a lot of fun, even inspirational at times, in ways that Creed only attained on the rare song that overcame its blustering cliches. Wind-Up Records pressured the guys to mend fences with Stapp and reunite Creed, which was clearly all for the money (and led to Alter Bridge leaving the label), and I was proud of Tremonti for saying, “Hell no.” Whatever it was that changed between Blackbird‘s release in 2007 and the apparent “Hell yes” that led to Creed’s dreaded reunion in 2009, I can’t say. But I’ll be honest, I felt a little betrayed, like these guys were slumming it by making music with Stapp again. Hey, if broken friendships can be fixed, I’m cool with that, but that doesn’t mean we need a forced attempt to recapture glory days that weren’t really that glorious in the first place. Were that many fans really rallying for this?
Of course, morbid curiosity got the best of me, so I ended up giving Creed’s much-ballyhooed “comeback” album, Full Circle, a few spins. And at first, I had a lot of thoughts that began with the phrase “To be fair”. For example, to be fair, a lot of Tremonti’s guitar work on this album is pretty kick-@$$. Whether it was Stapp’s ego holding him back in the old days when lackadaisical power chords meant more to the climate of popular music than shredding solos, or just Tremonti having a reputation that previously outstripped his actual abilities, the two men seem to have worked out an agreeable arrangement where neither holds anything back. This is good for Tremonti, even if it brings the worst out of Stapp. And to be fair to Stapp, as much as I may despise his ragged bellowing, his voice seems to have improved since that God-awful solo album. He’s still overbearing as all get-out, and his songwriting is more cloying than all of Creed’s past work combined, but pair him up with Tremonti’s backing vocals for a solid chorus, and I can usually live with the results. The songwriting is the part where “to be fair” ends, though, because yeesh, this album is even more all over the map then Weathered in the department of “things we have to prove to the audience”. Want more vicious comebacks aimed at the band’s critics? No? Too bad, ’cause you got ’em. Want a couple breezy pop singles and “thoughtful”, apologetic love ballads? Hate to break it to you, but that’s what you’re getting anyway. The band leaves no cliche unturned, echoing the worst of their imitators (and there have been so many in Creed’s absence that we never truly had the chance to miss them!), just with better guitar work and a decent rhythm section in most places. I can’t fault Tremonti and the other guys. They try their darndest to make this as lively and dynamic a record as the work they’ve done with Alter Bridge. Musically, this might be Creed’s most appealing record. But the hackneyed lyrics make it impossible for me to recommend more than a small handful of songs, culminating in an absolutely wretched stretch through most of the middle of the album that will leave the listener praying against all odds for a lyric that they can’t predict ahead of time (or find a reason to laugh at once the line arrives that’s worse than what they anticipated). Yeah, it’s that bad. The worst part is that Stapp seems to think he owes the listener an apology for all of his personal mishaps over the last, oh I don’t know, ten years or so. He doesn’t owe me an apology for that stuff any more than Tiger Woods owes me an apology for cheating on his wife. (An apology to the folks he actually hurt would suffice – and I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt that this has already happened.) All he owes the general public an apology for is screeching laughably bad rhymes at us and expecting us to care.
But that’s what we’re gonna get from Creed, for as long as this second iteration of the band lasts before their inevitable second implosion. Decent-to-good post-grunge-hinting-at-hard-rock that gets wasted on amateur hour songwriting. Which makes Full Circle a wince-inducing listen, but gives me an incredibly fun review to write.
INDIVIDUAL TRACKS:
1. Overcome
As the first mean guitar riffs come lurching out of the gate, Stapp seeks to set the record straight with all those meanie critics and bloggers and whoever else who gave him a hard time. I could be making that up, but when a band is so hell-bent on decrying vague adversity in so many of their songs, you kind of have to fill in the blanks on your own. There are parts of this song that I can bang my head and pump my fist along to, when isolated lyrics are taken on their own – I think the line “I’ll be damned fighting you, you’re impossible” is a pretty apt description of a mocking audience that just won’t let him win, for example. But when the song as a whole is so heavy on stuff like, “Now it’s my turn to speak, it’s my turn to expose and release what’s been killing me”, it suddenly feels like he’s the guest on a very special episode of Oprah or something. I’m not bothered by the vocal performance here the shouting and the overall gruffness of it fits in nicely with guitar riffs that are more old metal than nu-metal (thankfully), but when you devote the chorus of the first song on your reunion album to telling us “I’m entitled to overcome”, that really just adds fuel to the fire for those who think acting like you were entitled to something was what got you into so much trouble in the first place.
2. Bread of Shame
I’m going to do something uncharacteristic here and actually give Creed a compliment for this song. I like it. It seems positively harsh on the ears at first with its dissonant riffing and its bludgeoning stops and starts, and it might easily be mistaken for more of Scott’s bellyaching about a public that doesn’t understand him. But I see some growth in the lyrics here – they haven’t completely dodged the awkward landmines inherent in Stapp’s songwriting process, but there’s a central idea to the song that I think shows some insight. Blasting forth from the speakers with a melody that intentionally grates against the grind of the rhythm guitar, along comes a confession of sorts that seems to suggest Stapp is owning up to the part he played in the making of his own scandal. It’s something we’ve seen many times before, or at least those of us who watch reality TV (I dabble), where celebrities who know they’re not well liked capitalize on how well hated they are and plaster their mugs anywhere they can because bad publicity beats no publicity. I think this is the “bread of shame” that Stapp speaks of – taking whatever crumbs you can get at the expense of your own self-esteem. Recognizing it hopefully means that chapter’s behind him. Even if it’s all B.S., it’s Creed’s most hard-hitting song since “Bullets”. (It’s also not nearly as pretentious as “Bullets”.)
3. A Thousand Faces
I would love to be able to flip a switch and just turn the lyrics off on this one. Musically speaking, it’s a beautifully executed piece, with an ominous acoustic guitar intro and a full-throated blast of a chorus that makes me notice what I took for granted on Alter Bridge’s records – Mark Tremonti can provide some pretty sweet backing vocals when they’re needed. It might the combination of those two things that caused me to initially put this song on my short “It doesn’t suck!” list, or it might be the unexpected melodic turns that the bridge takes – this one tries harder composition-wise than your average Creed song. But then I notice Scott Stapp’s moaning about a lying liar who lied to him and who wears “a thousand faces” and he doesn’t know which one’s the real person. It’s an analogy with about as much subtlety to it as a gang rape. So my feelings on this song are mixed. It’s probably a good live highlight (not that I would pay money to see this band live. I mean, not again.)
4. Suddenly
Uh-oh, looks like I’m running out of compliments. I want to like this one when it gets off to a chugging start with one of Tremonti’s tried-and-true arpeggios, but it all goes down the crapper as soon as Stapp starts singing. He won goodwill with me by being confessional in “Bread of Shame”, but that trick doesn’t work nearly as well here when I feel like I’m being beat to death by a personal pep talk. “Own up to the sin you bury within.” UGH! The biggest moment when I’m tempted to retch comes in the absolutely dreadful chorus, in which Stapp feels the need to repeat the word “Suddenly” so many times that I have to wonder, how could a thing happen suddenly that many times in a row? Check this brilliant bit of penmanship: “Suddenly my world is falling apart. So suddenly, so suddenly…” wait for it… “Suddenly!” Things that are sudden are supposed to be surprising, aren’t they?
5. Rain
Creed coasts through this one in full-on pop radio pandering mode, with an easygoing acoustic guitar strum, placeholder lyrics about rain bringing new life so that we can look forward to the sunshine ahead or some crap, and basically no hint that this is the work of what’s supposed to be a “hard rock” band. Hey, I’m all for diversity, and it’s not like Creed hasn’t grabbed my attention in a positive way with the occasional mellow song in the past. But this feels like it’s trying way too hard to get by on poppy parlor tricks without the benefit of having anything truly inspiring to say. It’s the same “WB Drama” fodder that I’d expect from one of Lifehouse‘s weaker albums. (What’s that? It’s called “The CW” now? Guess a lot’s changed since your last album, guys.)
6. Away in Silence
Aw, isn’t that acoustic intro pretty? Apparently, this is the kind of song a multi-platinum rock singer with a beauty pageant-winning wife writes after he gets really jacked up and comes home and tries to beat the crap out of her. Touching, isn’t it? Seriously, just take a few seconds to read each line of this so-called apology. “I’m not the man I used to be, I’ve changed”. “Don’t give up on us, don’t give up on love.” “We can rebuild and forever we can go on.” You know how celebrities release written apologies for stuff they got caught doing and it feels totally fake? Yeah, this is kind of like that, on account of the fact that he could be bothered to take more than about five minutes to cut and paste lines from the leftover cards on the discount rack at Hallmark. (It’s also worth noting that, right after he says that she walked away in silence, he notes that she turned around to say goodbye. Apparently she knows sign language.) Sadly, this song has another one of those sweet compositional moments where it turns from schlocky ballad in 3/4 time to something heavier and more inventive in the melody department during the bridge, but it’s all wasted on Stapp’s half-@$$ed attempt to prove to the world that he’s a sensitive guy. I don’t mean to make light of domestic violence. But this song is about as pleasant as an empty liquor bottle thrown at my face.
7. Fear
After a couple of misfired anthemy ballad-type songs, we’re back to rocking out. Or, at least, Tremonti’s back to shredding the best he can with the material he’s given, which seems routine by Creed standards at this point – a little livelier than the heyday of Human Clay, but still a bit monochromatic. But what’s this – they’re trying to be socially conscious or something now? Man, that’s awesome. First a name-drop of “The Cradle of Civilization”, so I figure this is a song about war, but then there are all these ominous warnings about the change being permanent, and… is this about climate change? The two could be related, since much of the conflict in the Middle East is rumored to be about oil, but with lyrics this vague, it could be about another one of Stapp’s bar fights, for all I know. In any event, the rest of the song could be positively awesome (don’t worry, it’s not) and the whole thing would still crash and burn when it arrives at the hilariously awful chorus, in which Stapp intones: “Listen to me when I tell you, feel the passion in my breath.” I’m not so sure it’s passionthat I’m feeling, Scott. Maybe a strong hint of alcohol. And man, you really oughta lay off the onions.
8. On My Sleeve
Hey, what’s with the electronic violin thingy in the intro? Is this an Evanescence song or something? Oh wait, never mind. It’s another quintessential Creed ballad, and by that, I mean it’s completely unremarkable and those first few seconds have no bearing on the rest of it. “The eyes around me are so cold”, go the opening lines. “With every chance they steal my soul.” Don’t you only have one soul? How many times can it be stolen, anyway? I think Stapp wants us to know that he’s really real and he’s gonna share his feelings and he’s going through some really painfully painful stuff, man. I hadn’t already gathered that from the rest of the album, so this is helpful! I actually do kind of feel sorry for the guy listening to this, knowing that he’s just trying to be honest and it’s only going to lead to more ridicule. But man, if you’re gonna resort to stuff like “My heart is tattoed on my sleeve” and “It only hurts to breathe” and other lines you’ve no doubt cribbed from a million other songs on the subject, maybe it’s better to just talk about it off the cuff in interviews and leave the songwriting to someone else. Aside from the whole being a jerk in public thing, people are really only ragging on you for writing crappy songs like this one, so cut it out, and we’ll cut it out too.
9. Full Circle
Ooh, slide guitar! I’m not joking around when I say that the possibilities of southern twang and hard rock mixed together are pretty tantalizing to my ears. Unfortunately, Creed’s particular swampy blend of the two doesn’t really go anywhere once the novelty wears off and the song begins to wear on. The fact that you know where it’s going from the title (which is pretty much around and around in circles, once again beating a cliched idea to death) is a bad omen from the start. Stapp actually gets a bit preachy on us, asking in just about the most cliche-ridden way possible (outside of Christian music proper) if we’re prepared to account for our wasted lives when facing eternity. If that wasn’t enough to turn my reaction from a smile to “P.U.!”, then certainly the chorus will do it, as it trots out the most aggravatingly obvious rhyme in the books: “It’s funny how times can change, rearrange.” Things that change in pop music almost always rearrange too, don’t they? Funny. But the real piece de resistance is saved for the chorus, in which Stapp tells us: “I looked at God, he winked at me. I might just mess myself.” Wow, first Skillet makes a passing nod to the stuff hitting the fan and now this? What’s with the God-fearing singers referencing excrement these days?
10. Time
More pretty balladeering, 3/4-style. There’s less of note here as far as the music is concerned than there was in the similar “Away in Silence” – this one feels like a faceless 12 Stones filler track, truth be told. When the dust settles, Tremonti does offer some nice harmonic accents on the old acoustic – but the intro and outro in which we hear this is just the bread of an excrement sandwich. Stapp pontificates on “The difference that makes us so different” in the opening lines, and if that weren’t painful enough, he goes on to accuse someone, “You left me when I had no one at all.” (Wait, so if you had no one, then how was there somebody there to leave you?) The icing on the cake is once again the chorus, which finds Stapp boldly declaring, “It’s about time that I speak my mind.” (Wow, REALLY? Man, I bet that would be FASCINATING!!! So what were you doing before?) This is all just a bunch of generic mourning for stupid mistakes made and bridges burned, and once again, I’m generally sorry life didn’t go this guy’s way, but WRITE BETTER SONGS.
11. Good Fight
Creed hits rock bottom here with what might be their worst song yet – it’s on par with Stapp’s solo album (“The Fight Song” comes to mind) and some of Kutless‘s most misguided attempts to emulate the band. This one trudges along as if it were still 2001 and we were still clamoring for a rabble-rousing follow-up to “What If” (wait, we never were? Oops), demonstrating little musical growth, with the sole exception of a halfway-decent Tremonti solo that just manages to p!ss me off that much more because of the abysmal song that it’s wasted on. The lyrics are about perseverance and fighting the good fight. Since I’m not sure that a man who is so easily provoked into fisticuffs actually knows the difference between a good fight and a bad one, the reasons why this song belongs on the scrap heap should be self-evident. Stapp’s gnarled barking after the song is supposed to be done just makes him sound like a hyperactive mutt mix between a pit bull and a chihuahua nipping at someone’s heels.
12. The Song You Sing
Remember “Inside Us All”, the cheesy closing track from Human Clay? This song aims to outdo that one in the “bald-faced platitudes” department, having the audacity to ask us, “Does the song you sing have enough meaning? Inspire us to sing along.” Can I turn those statements back around on your song, guys? In that case, the responses are “No”, and “You didn’t”. Once again, throwing in a bit of guitar solo pyrotechnics isn’t enough to do distract me as the album stumbles painfully towards its end. I can’t even come up with much of anything funny to point out about the lyrics here – it’s just wall-to-wall stock phrases that sound like they came from the journal of a high school freshman who suddenly realized it was really clever to write a song about writing songs.
Usually, I’ll finish off a review with closing thoughts about my hopes for an artist’s next album and what they might want to try if they want to make it an improvement. In Creed’s case, the obvious approach is to STOP MAKING THEM. Just set the time machine back to that wonderful period of about five years during which you guys did not exist as a band, let Tremonti and co. get back to their other gig, and let Stapp continue on as the crazy man trapped only in our memories. (Or, if you want, you can go back further and prevent Creed from forming. It might have an interesting butterfly effect on popular music in general.)
WHAT’S IT WORTH TO ME?
Overcome $1
Bread of Shame $1.50
A Thousand Faces $1
Suddenly $0
Rain $0
Away in Silence $0
Fear -$.50
On My Sleeve -$.50
Full Circle $.50
Time $0
Good Fight -$1
The Song You Sing -$.50
TOTAL: $1.50
BAND MEMBERS:
Scott Stapp: Lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Mark Tremonti: Lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Scott Phillips: Drums, percussion, keyboards
Brian Marshall: Bass
LISTEN FOR YOURSELF: | ||||
3747 | dbpedia | 3 | 7 | https://primalbranding.medium.com/how-do-i-create-a-music-brand-using-primal-branding-week-2-creed-bd97dc547340 | en | How Do I Create A Music Brand Using Primal Branding®? Week 2: Creed. | [
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"Patrick Hanlon",
"primalbranding.medium.com"
] | 2023-02-22T16:26:14.651000+00:00 | In Week 1, we presented the seven pieces of Primal Branding®, which we call the Primal Code® (creation story, creed, icons, rituals, lexicon, nonbelievers, and leader) and we talked about the first… | en | https://miro.medium.com/v2/5d8de952517e8160e40ef9841c781cdc14a5db313057fa3c3de41c6f5b494b19 | Medium | https://primalbranding.medium.com/how-do-i-create-a-music-brand-using-primal-branding-week-2-creed-bd97dc547340 | In Week 1, we presented the seven pieces of Primal Branding®, which we call the Primal Code® (creation story, creed, icons, rituals, lexicon, nonbelievers, and leader) and we talked about the first piece, the Creation Story. Once we know where you’re from, we want to know what you’re all about.
In Week 2 we’re here to reveal the second piece of Primal Code: the Creed. Why are you here?
There are at least 100,000 books that hope to explain how you can find your purpose in life. Google it. It’s presumptuous to suggest that 100,000 books can be boiled down into a few sentences, but it comes down to this:
What do you believe in?
Specifically, What core beliefs or values drive you and your music? Why do you create music? Are you driven to make art, or driven to become successful? (The former works, the latter does not; both joined together become secret sauce.)
More specifically, What makes you different from everyone else?
Be committed to something. Not only do we want to belong to something larger than ourselves, but in a world that becomes increasingly thinner, we need something to believe in.
Keep your promises. It is amazing that most people don’t. So please do. | ||||
3747 | dbpedia | 1 | 21 | https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/scott-stapp-creed-reunion-higher-power-album-1235630596/ | en | Scott Stapp Feels Grateful for Another Chance: ‘I Know What It’s Like to Have It and to Lose It All’ | [
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"Jason Lipshutz"
] | 2024-03-12T12:30:00+00:00 | Scott Stapp feels grateful for Creed's return, his new solo album and a major year ahead. | en | Billboard | https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/scott-stapp-creed-reunion-higher-power-album-1235630596/ | “Man, it’s an incredible year,” Scott Stapp tells Billboard, despite not being even one-quarter of the way through 2024. His sentiment is understandable, though: after a decade of inactivity, Stapp’s mega-selling hard rock group Creed has roared back to life this year with a slate of reunion shows that keeps growing due to overwhelming ticket demand.
One four-night reunion-show cruise in April — first announced last July as Stapp, guitarist Mark Tremonti, bassist Brian Marshall and drummer Scott Phillips’ first shows together since 2012 — led to a second cruise, and both quickly sold out. Then a months-long summer reunion trek, amphitheater shows that will kick off in July, wasn’t enough to meet consumer demand, so Creed plotted an arena run for the fall, too. And ahead of those reunion shows, Creed experienced an online revival, thanks to viral remixes, TikTok clips, World Series sing-alongs and an appearance in a Super Bowl commercial.
Over two decades after their commercial peak (1999’s Human Clay and 2001’s Weathered have sold a combined 19.9 million copies, according to Luminate) and 10 years since they disbanded amid waning sales and audiences, Creed has suddenly never been cooler. A band that was once a critical punching bag now has no less a barometer for contemporary cool than SZA declaring, “I will be a Creed fan forever.”
“So many positive things have already happened that are just mind-blowing, in terms of the level of Creed’s resurgence,” Stapp says.
Meanwhile, the wins have extended to Stapp’s solo career: Higher Power, his fourth album on his own, will be released through Napalm Records this Friday (Mar. 15) and is being preceded by the highest-charting single of his non-Creed career, the hard-charging title track, which has climbed to No. 12 on Mainstream Rock Airplay and earned 1.4 million streams to date, according to Luminate. Higher Power is Stapp’s most complete solo offering to date — growling and energetic, but also admirably reflective, particularly on “If These Walls Could Talk,” a powerful meditation on his well-documented past substance abuse issues, created as a duet with Dorothy Martin of the hard rock band Dorothy.
Stapp, who kicked off a solo tour last night (Mar. 10) ahead of the release of Higher Power, says that the support for the solo album and Creed reunion has “already exceeded all expectations.” He spoke to Billboard about what that encouragement means for him, personally and professionally. [Ed. note — this interview has been condensed for clarity.]
You’ve sold millions of albums and scored a ton of hits, and yet I have to imagine that the excitement around this comeback represents a special sort of achievement for you.
I’m still trying to process it, to be honest with you. It’s so profound of a resurgence that it’s an anomaly. But when I look back, I could see the build — you know, Creed was going viral online during COVID, and then it just intensified in 2021 and kept happening in 2022. And so you could see the swell of our music just connecting with an entire generation — some of whom weren’t even alive when we broke up — and then reconnecting with those that were a part of the ride back in the day.
And then to see it move from social media, to the World Series, to the Super Bowl — and then to see the overwhelming response in the ticket sales? It’s just a lot to take in. It’s all positive stuff, and so now, it’s just making sure that we’re all in a good place, we can ride on this positivity, and give the fans what they want.
You’re putting out your fourth solo album before any of the Creed reunion shows. When did Higher Power start coming together?
I went in the studio and first started writing for this record in January 2021. I had no timeline, and the whole Creed conversation wasn’t even happening — I was solely going in to write a record and then turn it in when I was done. So I began writing then and just went in when I felt inspired, when I felt like I needed to go get something off my chest, or I needed to escape and use the creative process as a form of therapy.
The album came together as a direct reflection of my life — I was living it during the period of time that I was writing it. And I was capturing the vocal performance right when the song was born, in the heat of feeling that emotion that birthed the song. A lot of times, you’ll go back and you’ll re-track vocals, and do things over again. And it’s really hard, I’ve found, to recapture some of that spirit that comes out when you’re really living it. And so with this record, I didn’t attempt to do that: I captured it, kept it, and would continue to build the music around it. And I think it really had a dynamic impact on the vibe of the record, because we captured lightning in a bottle with each song.
That certainly extends to “If These Walls Could Talk,” your duet with Dorothy Martin and one of the rare duets in your catalog.
The duet itself came together after the song was written. I recorded the vocals initially thinking that it was just another song on my record, but after I listened back, I knew immediately this needed a female vocal, it needed to be a duet. So I went on my search, looking for the right female vocalist, [and being in Nashville now seven years, I thought that this song would possibly be my entry point into country music.
I did a weekend gig in Montana with Daughtry, and I was unfamiliar with Dorothy, who happened to be opening that show. We watched her perform, and I knew two or three songs in that that was the voice that needed to be on the song. She happened to be recording in Los Angeles with the same producer that I used on this record, Scott Stevens. I reached out to Scott for something about my record, and he said, “I’ll have to get back to you, I’m in the studio with Dorothy.” And I said, “Oh, dude, I just met her in Montana! Play her ‘If These Walls Could Talk’ and see if she’s interested!” He played her the song, and he wrote me back and said, “She’s in tears. She’s in.”
A couple of weeks later, I got the email with her performance on it, and when I listened to it, I knew instantly that my gut was right. Her performance just blew me away, and I think it really took the song next level. I think it’s really going to do what I had hoped for this song — help it reach more people, and connect with more people who can identify with that message, and let them know they’re not alone in the world.
You’re squeezing in a solo tour in March to support the album. Was that always the plan before the Creed shows?
There was no Creed reunion on the table when I was making this record — the only thing that I had on my radar was making a solo record and going on a solo tour. When the cruise conversations came up, I was still in the mindset of, “I’m doing a solo record.” But then the excitement kept building, and more conversations began to happen, and the next thing you know, we’ve announced two tours, an [amphitheater] tour and an arena tour.
I remember having conversations with my team about this, and they just kept communicating to me, “Hey, this is a good thing, man. The vibes are so positive with you and the guys in Creed, and a rising tide raises all ships.” Everyone in Creed is supportive of everyone’s projects outside of the band, so I just look at it as a win all the way around — a win for Creed, and a win for for my solo record.
It’s a nonstop year, between the solo tour, the Creed cruises, the amphitheater run and then the arena run. What are you doing to physically and mentally prepare?
Well physically, I exercise and train at least five days a week at minimum — I’m preparing my body and have been for years, but I’ve even stepped it up, because of everything that’s in front of me. And mentally, I’m just trying to stay centered, grounded and focused on my faith. I know that when I’m walking right, in my spiritual life, and in my faith, good things happen. When I get off track with that, bad things happen.
But it’s still going to be challenging, and I’m approaching this like it’s a marathon. You can’t walk into anything like this like it’s a sprint, or you burn out. So you’ve got to take those moments for yourself when you need them. It’s OK to rest. It’s OK, on certain days that you have nothing to do, you clean your plate and take a mental and physical timeout to regroup. I think at this point in my life, I know what to do. And I’m fortunate that I’m going to have people around me that support me and encourage me, and are there to help me navigate as well, because there’s no point in trying to do this alone.
What’s it been like messaging back and forth with the other Creed guys as more shows get announced and viral moments occur?
Overwhelming, in a positive way. All our correspondence and all our interactions have been nothing but good vibes. Everyone wants everybody else to win, and everyone’s excited about getting onstage again. We’re just gonna ride this wave and really appreciate it in a whole new way. Because you know, especially from my standpoint, I know what it’s like to have it — and I know what it’s like to lose it all. And so this go-around is just walking in complete appreciation, gratitude and respect, and just trying to cultivate and nurture relationships. Because you never know when it can be gone again. | |||||
3747 | dbpedia | 1 | 60 | https://www.kerrang.com/artists/creed | en | Creed News | [
"https://images.kerrangcdn.com/images/2024/03/SCOTT-STAPP-WEB-SLEEVE-2024.jpg?auto=compress&fit=max&w=640 640w, https://images.kerrangcdn.com/images/2024/03/SCOTT-STAPP-WEB-SLEEVE-2024.jpg?auto=compress&fit=max&w=750 750w, https://images.kerrangcdn.com/images/2024/03/SCOTT-STAPP-WEB-SLEEVE-2024.jpg?auto=compress&fi... | [] | [] | [
""
] | null | [] | 2018-03-15T15:54:23+00:00 | The world's greatest metal / punk / hardcore / rock music publication. | en | /_ico/apple-touch-icon.png | Kerrang! | https://www.kerrang.com/artists/creed | Alter Bridge’s Mark Tremonti will be releasing a Christmas album this year
After his Frank Sinatra record last year, for 2023 Mark Tremonti will be releasing his first-ever holiday album, Christmas Classics New & Old.
Alter Bridge’s Mark Tremonti: The 10 songs that changed my life
Alter Bridge guitar hero Mark Tremonti reflects on some of the most important songs of his life (spoiler: he really, really likes Metallica).
Why rock music needs to do more to support its artists
One day you’re on top of the world and feeling indestructible. The next, you’re on the scrapheap and lost. But what happens to rock stars who fall on hard times? Addiction and mental health issues are rife, but in an industry slowly waking up to its duty of are there is hope and outlets for support… | ||||
3747 | dbpedia | 0 | 7 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creed_(soundtrack) | en | Creed (soundtrack) | [
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"Contributors to Wikimedia projects"
] | 2015-11-23T20:15:23+00:00 | en | /static/apple-touch/wikipedia.png | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creed_(soundtrack) | 2015 album by various artists
Creed: Original Motion Picture SoundtrackSoundtrack album by
Various artists
ReleasedNovember 20, 2015GenreLength69:38LabelAtlanticProducer
Kevin Weaver
Gabe Hilfer
Ludwig Göransson
Rocky soundtrack chronology
Rocky Balboa: The Best of Rocky
(2006) Creed
(2015) Creed II: The Album
(2018)
Singles from Creed
Released: June 1, 2015
Creed: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is a soundtrack album for the 2015 film Creed, which features music by various artists. The album was released on November 20, 2015, through Atlantic Records.[1]
Overview
[edit]
In March 2015, it was announced that composer Ludwig Göransson would score Creed, marking the second feature-length film collaboration between Göransson and director Ryan Coogler after Fruitvale Station (2013).[2] Influenced by 1970s culture and the musical legacy of the Rocky film series, Coogler noted that "the music was a big focal point" for the film, stating, "'Eye of the Tiger', 'No Easy Way Out', all those songs were a massive hit. And we embraced that. We recorded original songs for the movie."[3] Göransson brought in an array of artists to modernize the orchestral aspects of the soundtrack. "The first name that came to mind was obviously Meek Mill, because we needed a voice from Philly," said Göransson. "For me that was an obvious choice for the big training montage. It's all full orchestral, and it has some dark 808s under it. In the middle there are all these dirt bikes coming out, and there's a 45-second rap verse that Meek Mill is doing over that."[4] Other musicians that recorded with Göransson specifically for the film include Donald Glover, Future, Vince Staples, and Jhené Aiko.[4]
A music video for Mill's "Lord Knows" was created as a companion to the film. Released on November 20, 2015, the Spike Jordan-directed video features footage from the film edited together with footage of Mill and Tory Lanez performing the song.[5] Both of Mill's respective tracks that appear on the film's soundtrack, the former, along with "Check", were originally listed on his sophomore album, Dreams Worth More Than Money, released earlier that year.
Actress Tessa Thompson, who portrays singer/songwriter Bianca in the film, was involved early with the film's preparation in order to write music for her character with Göransson.[6] "We spent two weeks in Los Angeles in a studio basically writing from morning until night," said Thompson. "It was cool and also gave me insight on [Bianca's] musical abilities, which is something I dabbled in."[7] Three tracks featuring Thompson are included in the film: "Grip", "Breathe", and "Shed You".[8]
Track listing
[edit]
Chart positions
[edit]
Chart (2015) Peak
position Italian Compilation Albums (FIMI)[9] 30 US Billboard 200[10] 101 US Top Soundtracks (Billboard)[11] 7
Score album
[edit]
Creed: Original Motion Picture Score is a soundtrack album for the 2015 film Creed, composed by Ludwig Göransson. It was released on November 20, 2015, through WaterTower Music.[12] The score was recorded with a 100-piece orchestra and a 24-piece choir at Warner Bros. Studios.[4]
† - Contains interpolations of "Going The Distance" and "Gonna Fly Now (Theme from Rocky)" from the original Rocky film.[13]
Personnel
[edit]
Additional music
[edit]
Additional music credited in Creed:[14]
Title Musician(s) Key scenes/Notes "El Padre Armando" Macias & Macias Plays during Donnie Creed's boxing bout in Tijuana, Mexico. "24/7 Boxing Theme" José Cancela, Amy Beauchamp Plays during the HBO 24/7 documentary on Ricky Conlan and Danny Wheeler. "Be Alright" Tessa Thompson, Ludwig Göransson, DJ Dahi Plays during the scene in the beginning of the movie where Donnie goes downstairs to tell his neighbor to turn down their music and is surprised to meet Bianca. "Days Undone" The Jay Vons "Gray" Gedeon Luke and The People "Commas" Future "Pardon the Interruption Theme" Joel Langley Plays during the Pardon the Interruption segment regarding the Creed–Conlan match. "Throw Caution To The Wind" Ronnie Gesser "E Cosi' Per Non Morire" Luciano Beretta, Elide Suligoj "Gonna Fly Now (Theme from Rocky)" Bill Conti, Carol Connors, Ayn Robbins Plays between the eleventh and twelfth rounds of the final match. "Going the Distance" Bill Conti Plays during the twelfth round of the final match.
References
[edit] | ||||||
3747 | dbpedia | 1 | 37 | https://www.musicradar.com/news/creed-higher-scott-stapp-mark-tremonti-higher | en | "It was probably in front of 4,000 people": Scott Stapp and Mark Tremonti reveal the surprising story of how the chorus of Creed hit Higher was written during a live show | [
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"Rob Laing"
] | 2024-06-11T13:11:59+00:00 | "It was freestyle" | en | MusicRadar | https://www.musicradar.com/news/creed-higher-scott-stapp-mark-tremonti-higher | It's no secret that Creed managed to somehow follow-up their hugely successful debut My Own Prison with an even bigger album in the form of 1999's Human Clay. It was one of the biggest-selling albums of the '90s, no less. But the way that album came together is less well known – and dare we see, highly unusual in places.
"Scott liked to play this game where he would put the band on the spot and say, 'Were's going to write a song,' recalls guitarist Mark Tremonti in a new covers tory with Guitar World magazine about how he, vocalist Scott Stapp, bassist Brian Marshall and drummer Scott Phillips worked on Human Clay lead single Higher while they were still touring their debut album.
"In our college years, he would do that in front of a live audience at a club, and I would just start riffing out," adds Tremonti. "The band would follow me and he'd start singing. The chorus of Higher was born that way. That song was written in front of a live group of people."
Stapp remembers that night too. "It was probably in front of 4,000 people," he remembers of the audiences Creed found themselves performing to after My Own Prison's rapid ascension. "It was a freestyle. I still like to do that – I'm sure the band guys around me hate it. But it's fun and you get a flow. Mark can trigger me sith some of his licks and interludes between songs. When I heard it, I roll with it. I'm glad Mark jogged my memory on that one, because that's how that chorus was written."
Creating and road-testing material wasn't unusual for Creed then – the video above shows fellow Human Clay favourite Say I being performed by the band for the first time as far back as a hometown Tallahassee gig in August 1997 when the band were celebrating the release of My Own Prison.
Creed were reportedly returning to their old approach and working on an album's worth of new material during their soundchecks on the 2012 tour when they parted ways for a second time, with fan-recorded audio of songs labelled 'Devil Inside You' and 'Shackle My Pride' appearing on YouTube. But now they're back on the wave of a huge resurgence in popularity, could they return to the plan for a fifth album?
Read more
Scott Stapp interview: "I felt that it just got to a point where I was intentionally getting set up and taken advantage of"
"This year's been so crazy, so we would've had to plan way ahead to have new music on this tour," Tremonti tells Guitar World. "But we've always got tons of ideas in the hopper ready to go. It's just a matter of getting it done and doing it in the proper manner before the next time we go out."
"Let's see what happens," says a more cautious-sounding Stapp about the potential for 'Creed V'. "Let's do these tours and let's see where we are. If it compels us and inspires us to take that next step and do a new record… you know what I mean?"
Find out more about the new issue of Guitar World here. | |||||
3747 | dbpedia | 2 | 5 | https://www.stereogum.com/2197985/the-number-ones-creeds-with-arms-wide-open/columns/the-number-ones/ | en | The Number Ones: Creed’s “With Arms Wide Open” | [
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"Tom Breihan",
"Tom Breihan Staff tombreihan"
] | 2022-09-02T09:07:35-04:00 | In The Number Ones, I’m reviewing every single #1 single in the history of the Billboard Hot 100, starting with the chart’s beginning, in 1958, and working my way up into the present. | en | Stereogum | https://www.stereogum.com/2197985/the-number-ones-creeds-with-arms-wide-open/columns/the-number-ones/ | In The Number Ones, I’m reviewing every single #1 single in the history of the Billboard Hot 100, starting with the chart’s beginning, in 1958, and working my way up into the present.
If I had just one wish, only one demand, it would be to not write about Creed. This isn’t because I don’t like Creed — although, let’s be clear, I do not like Creed. Over the years, this column has covered plenty of wack shit, and I’ve enjoyed writing about a lot of it. It’s not because of the band’s tasteless grandeur, either; tasteless grandeur can be pretty fun. It’s not because they were a Christian rock band who objected to the term “Christian rock.” That was true of U2 and Mr. Mister, too, and I didn’t hate writing about them. It’s because the mere act of writing about Creed is going to turn me into a sneering elitist dick. It’s going to bring out all my snarkiest impulses. It’s going to turn me back into the old me. So it goes. Some things can’t be helped.
To take any kind of critical stance on Creed, you almost have to take a side in a culture war. I can’t find the quote online — it might’ve been in Creed’s episode of Behind The Music — but I remember a moment when lead growl-moaner Scott Stapp pointed out that Led Zeppelin, just like Creed, had once been a massively popular band and a critical punching bag. Stapp’s point was that the millions and millions of people who bought Creed’s records couldn’t be wrong and that the critics would catch up eventually. Never happened. You need to go pretty deep down the contrarian-takes wormhole to find anyone repping for Creed. When the subject comes up today, it’s mostly because people are trying to figure out what the fuck that was — why so many millions decided that Human Clay was worth their money. I’d love to answer that question, but I can’t. Creed was just some shit that happened.
My best guess has something to do with timing. After the wave of grunge excitement died down, the American public still evidently had a hunger for a version of stadium rock that scratched some of those same itches. If a band had churning riffs and a deep-voiced bellower out front, that band could get airplay. Seven Mary Three and Three Days Grace and Godsmack and Staind and Puddle Of Mudd all fit the bill, and a whole new wave of radio-friendly chug-rock was born. Vertical Horizon and Matchbox 20, two bands that have already appeared in this column, took advantage of that moment in one way or another. But nobody rode the butt-rock wave like Creed. They were the kings of that shit.
Creed had already sold millions upon millions of records, and they’d already packed arenas, before they finally ascended to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for a single week in 2000. That very same week, Mississippi grunt-wailers 3 Doors Down reached #3 with “Kryptonite” — a chart peak for both that song and that band. (“Kryptonite” is a 4.) The weeks just before the Bush/Gore election were high times for the turgid bawlers of the world, and I am trying with all my might not to draw false equivalences between music and politics. It makes sense that Creed notched a #1 hit, and I don’t have a philosophical problem with that. My problem is the song. The song is bad.
Much like Matchbox 20, Creed came from Florida. This is not a value judgment; it’s simply a fact. The band was a genuine independent rock sensation, a hit that nobody anticipated. Creed started off on the Tallahassee bar circuit in 1994, the time when the actual grunge giants were at their peak. Scott Stapp grew up in a strict Pentecostal family in Orlando, and rock ‘n’ roll wasn’t allowed in his house at all. (When Stapp was born, Maureen McGovern’s “The Morning After” was the #1 song in America.) Stapp struggled with all the restrictions that his family placed on him. When he snuck a copy of Def Leppard’s Pyromania into the house, his parents found it and took it away. When he played high-school football, he couldn’t go out and party after the games. He had a hard time with it.
At 17, Scott Stapp ran away from home and finished high school while living with another family. A girlfriend took him to his first concert — Lenny Kravitz, Blind Melon, and Porno For Pyros — and Stapp decided that this was what he wanted to do with his life. One of Stapp’s friends in high school was Mark Tremonti, a metal guitarist who’d been born in Detroit and who’d moved to Orlando at 15. (Weirdly, Tremonti and of Montreal frontman Kevin Barnes were childhood friends in Detroit, long before they both became vastly different varieties of rock star.) Stapp and Tremonti met up again when both of them were going to Florida State University in Tallahassee in the mid-’90s, and they decided to start a band together. The band played a single show under the name Naked Toddler before they realized that this was a terrible, terrible name. They changed their name to Creed, and their new name stuck.
Creed found a gig at a local Tallahassee bar called Big Daddy’s. Owner Jeff Hanson was intrigued with the group, and he started booking them at Floyd’s Music Store, a larger venue that he owned. Pretty soon, Hanson also became Creed’s manager. Hanson knew John Kurzweg, a local record producer who’d played in a few regional bands and who’d released one unsuccessful major-label album in 1987, and he convinced Kurzweg to come see Creed. In Fred Bronson’s Billboard Book Of Number 1 Hits, Hanson says that Kurzweg “wasn’t overly impressed” with Creed. (Kurzweg: “They were playing really heavy stuff. It was real loud. It didn’t have the finesse that they were later able to conjure up.”) But Hanson still convinced Kurzweg that he should produce a Creed record.
When Creed started recording their 1997 debut album My Own Prison at John Kurzweg’s home studio, the members of the band had day jobs. In a Stereogum interview a few years ago, Mark Tremonti says that he and Scott Stapp were both cooks at chain restaurants — Tremonti at Chili’s, Stapp at Ruby Tuesday’s. Drummer Scott Phillips, meanwhile, was “managing the knife store at the mall,” a truly evocative phrase. It cost just $6,000 to record My Own Prison. Initially, Creed released the LP on their own label, which they called Blue Collar Records, and they sold a few thousand copies of the record around Florida. They also played a showcase for some major labels in New York, but all those labels passed on signing them. Wind-Up Records, a very small New York indie label, felt differently.
Wind-Up Records had been started by Alan Meltzer, a guy who owned a few record stores and a CD distributor in the New York area, and his then-wife Diana. They’d bought the indie Grass Records and changed its name, which is how the Wrens ended up labelmates with Creed. Diana Meltzer heard My Own Prison, and she was interested right away. The Meltzers flew down to Florida to see Creed, and they quickly offered the band a deal. Creed wanted a major deal, but Wind-Up had distribution through BMG, and the band thought that maybe this was their one shot. They took the deal.
Later on, the Meltzers also signed Evanescence and Seether and Finger Eleven. They made a whole lot of money in that radio-rock racket. The couple eventually divorced, and Alan Meltzer died in 2011 at the age of 67. In his will, he left a million dollars to his chauffeur and another $500,000 to the doorman of his apartment building. The New York Post asked Diana Meltzer what she thought of this, and she responded with this immortal line: “He can leave it to whoever he wants to. I’m doing fine. I could care less. If he wants to give it to the bums, he can give it to the bums. He could fuck a nun. I couldn’t give a shit. He can give his money to whoever he wants. We’re divorced. The man is dead.” I wasn’t expecting a piece on Creed to include the phrase “he could fuck a nun.” Sometimes, life gives you gifts when you least expect them.
Wind-Up released a remixed version of My Own Prison and started pushing the album to radio, and it became one of those slow-blooming success stories. The LP never charted higher than #22, but it eventually went platinum six times. Creed toured hard, and they built up an audience even though critics either disdained or ignored them. Mainstream rock radio loved the band; all four singles from My Own Prison dominated that chart. None of those singles were commercially released, so Creed didn’t chart on the Hot 100 until 1998, when the Billboard rules changed and “One,” the LP’s fourth single, made it to #70 on airplay alone.
In his Stereogum piece on My Own Prison, Phil Freeman compared Creed to Grand Funk Railroad, another band that reached stadium status without ever appealing to the critical establishment. It makes sense; Creed were an American band for a more sincere and monastic age. I can kind of understand the appeal. Creed had the penitent sincerity of the early-’90s alt-rock stars without any of the punk baggage. Scott Stapp sang like Layne Staley gargling hot asphalt, but he hit the same poses as Robert Plant. He had no qualms about embracing mass adulation. Behind him, Stapp’s bandmates busted out a thick, utilitarian sort of riff-rock that was spacious enough to echo around an arena.
The members of Creed seemed normal; you could picture these guys managing your local mall’s knife store. Their open Christianity also probably opened a few markets up to them. They made a kind of grunge that was fit for a megachurch. They didn’t cuss or smoke or make anti-Grammy speeches at the Grammys, and they kept their prodigious drinking quiet. They played golf. None of that stuff made Creed seem cool, but back then, you could sell a whole lot of records without worrying about coolness.
Creed went back to work with producer John Kurzweg when they made their 1999 sophomore album Human Clay. They didn’t go back to Kurzweg’s home studio, but that was only because Scott Stapp was allergic to Kurzweg’s cats. The second album sounded bigger and broader, and it sold more. It sold in astounding, mind-melting numbers. Human Clay was double platinum within two months. In five years, it sold 11 million copies in the US alone. First single “Higher” became Creed’s first top-10 hit, peaking at #7. (It’s a 4.)
Scott Stapp wrote the lyrics for “With Arms Wide Open,” the second single from Human Clay, shortly after finding out that he was going to become a father. Stapp had married his first wife in 1997, and they’d only stayed together for a year; they were already divorced by the time Human Clay came out. Stapp’s story on “With Arms Wide Open” is that he heard Mark Tremonti playing a guitar part that he liked at soundcheck and that he ran out and freestyled the whole song. I don’t see any real reason to doubt that story. Those lyrics read like one big, heartfelt rush of feelings.
On “With Arms Wide Open,” Scott Stapp sings about the excitement and fear of new fatherhood. Stapp sings that he hopes his son is “not like me” and that he finds a way to face the world with confidence. I know that feeling, and I wish I could find something to like in “With Arms Wide Open” beyond that very real sentiment. But whoof, I’m sorry, I cannot. Scott Stapp’s strangled-walrus singing style just has nothing for me. Millions of people have mockingly imitated Stapp’s vocals over the years, but nobody has ever approached the man’s own absurdist backwoods holler. He sounds like he can’t possibly be serious, and yet he’s so serious. It’s too much.
Some of the deep cuts on Human Clay have a not-bad generic riff-rumble thing working for them. “With Arms Wide Open” is not one of those songs. It’s a slow death-trudge to nowhere, a melodramatic geyser of syrup. To make things even worse, the version of the song that reached #1 isn’t the one that initially appeared on Human Clay. Instead, it’s a remix with strings artlessly piled everywhere, drowning out the guitar-crunch that might’ve been the only halfway-effective thing about the original track. The end result hits like a phlegm-soaked Hallmark card.
That remix got Creed the pop airplay that they’d been missing. When the song finally broke into the top 10, Creed released a commercial version of the single as a benefit for Stapp’s With Arms Wide Open Foundation, which aimed to “promote healthy, loving relationships between children and their families.” The extra sales were enough to push “With Arms Wide Open” to #1 for a week. In the frankly hilarious video, Stapp strikes dramatic poses while CGI meteors rain down around him and finally does his big arms-out thing on a mountaintop for the helicopter money shot. This guy was not worried about people making fun of him, and I’d find that pride admirable if I liked his music even one tiny bit.
Just before Creed reached #1, the band kicked out bassist Brian Marshall after he dissed Pearl Jam on Seattle radio, claiming that Eddie Vedder wished he could write songs like Scott Stapp. Marshall didn’t get fired for blasting Pearl Jam; he got fired because he was drinking a lot and fighting with his bandmates. But Marshall wasn’t the only Creed member who had an alcohol problem. Creed followed Human Clay with the 2001 album Weathered, which sold another six million copies and which sent another couple of songs into the top 10. (“My Sacrifice,” the bigger of the two, peaked at #4. It’s a 3.) While touring behind that album, Scott Stapp’s dependency on alcohol and painkillers got worse. At a 2002 show outside Chicago, Stapp was so drunk and incoherent that a group of fans filed a class-action lawsuit. A judge threw the suit out, but anytime a band gets sued by its own fans, that becomes a news story.
Things within the band got worse, and Creed officially broke up in 2004. Scott Stapp started a solo career, and the other ex-Creed guys, including deposed bassist Brian Marshall, started a new band called Alter Bridge with new frontman Myles Kennedy. (Between the two of them, Scott Stapp and Alter Bridge have never made the Hot 100.) Creed reunited for long enough to make the 2009 album Full Circle, and they got to #73 with the single “Overcome,” but then they went on hiatus again. Scott Stapp has publicly pleaded for another Creed reunion a few times, but it hasn’t happened yet.
Scott Stapp has had a rough go of things. He’s talked about considering suicide a few times. He’s said that he once jumped off of a balcony in Miami and that T.I., an artist who will eventually appear in this column, saved his life. Stapp also sued to block the release of a sex tape that starred him, Kid Rock, and two women. Stapp was charged with felony domestic violence in 2007, but the charge was dropped. In 2016, Stapp replaced the late Scott Weiland as the new singer for the hard rock supergroup Art Of Anarchy, and then his bandmates sued him two years later for refusing to tour or to promote the album that they’d made together.
See? This is the shit I’m talking about. I’m not even trying to make fun of Scott Stapp, who is clearly a troubled person. I’m just saying what he’s been up to since Creed were on top of the world. It looks like mockery, like I’m kicking dirt on someone who’s down. The success of Creed just puts me in a bad position. I don’t like the person that I have to become when I write about Creed.
There’s this neighborhood in Baltimore called Hampden. When I was a kid, my dad called it a “white ghetto,” which seems like a fucked-up phrase in all sorts of ways but which also gives you some idea of what I’m talking about here. Hampden is now fully gentrified, of course. At one point in the early ’00s, Hampden was at a midpoint between its grimy working-class roots and the upscale hipster spot that it would become, and everyone who hung out there shared the space a bit uneasily. There was this one karaoke night at a local dive bar that would bring in people from both ends of the spectrum, since the original inhabitants and the gentrifiers both loved to get shitfaced and sing.
I have a distinct memory of one guy, clearly not from the gentrifier end of things, getting up and singing a very drunk, very sincere rendition of “With Arms Wide Open” in front of everyone. This guy wasn’t trying to make fun of the song. He meant every word he sang. I’d sort of taken it for granted that nobody really liked Creed, and this guy’s passion seemed brave and instructive to me. He had truly connected with this song, and I’m glad he had it in his life. But it still sounded like dogshit because the guy couldn’t sing and because the song is bad. It’s a bad song. What do you want from me? It’s not my fault that Creed sucks. It’s Creed’s fault. | |||||
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"Higher" is a song by American rock band Creed. It was released on August 31, 1999, as the lead single from their second studio album, Human Clay. The song became the band's breakthrough hit as it was their first song to reach the top ten on the US Billboard Hot 100 where it peaked at number seven in July 2000. It spent a total of 57 weeks upon the survey, the longest stay for any Creed song on the Hot 100. "Higher" also became the band's second chart-topping hit on rock radio as it topped both the Modern Rock and Mainstream Rock charts, for a then-record of 17 weeks.
Writing and recording
[edit]
According to an interview with Loudwire, in an episode of "Wikipedia: Fact Or Fiction", Mark Tremonti revealed that the song was a culmination of improvising live onstage. During their earliest shows, vocalist Scott Stapp would placate the audience by goading his bandmates to come up with a song live on the spot. Drummer Scott Phillips was the first to begin playing the drum set piece, with Mark later entering the chord progression associated with the song. After reviewing the tapes of the show, as they had always recorded their performances for later review, they decided that the song was worth working out in the studio.[3]
Music and lyrics
[edit]
Vocalist Scott Stapp and long-time friend Steven Harang wrote the song about the power of lucid dreaming.[4] In another episode of Loudwire's "Wikipedia: Fact Or Fiction?" Stapp stated that the inspiration for the song came from a recurring dream that he had. In the endlessly present nightmare, Stapp would be hunted down and killed by an unknown assailant brandishing a firearm. Once he took up studying lucid dreaming, he was able to escape the gunman, and subsequently wrote the song as a memento towards the dream.[5]
Musically the song has an anthemic and uplifting sound, often drawing comparisons to one of the band's later hit singles, "My Sacrifice".[6][7] The song is written in the key of D major, with Tremonti playing in drop D tuning and Stapp singing in baritone.[8][9] "Higher" has been described as post-grunge,[8] hard rock[1] and alternative rock.[2]
Music video
[edit]
The video begins with the band sitting backstage before heading out to perform the song in front of an audience on stage. The video features slow motion and pause scenes of the band and the crowd, along with Stapp hanging in mid-air with his arms out while wearing his signature leather pants. At the end of the video, the camera pans back to the band backstage as they are seen once again walking to the stage to perform as they did at the beginning of the video, leaving the viewer to wonder if the original live performance was a dream or not. Director Ramaa Mosley, who also directed the video for "What's This Life For", recalls coming up with the idea after listening to the song with the record label. The first idea she had was of an epic performance that is later questioned to have ever happened. It was the only idea she pitched for the video.[10]
The music video was shot in Orlando, Florida, at the Hard Rock Cafe Orlando.[11] According to Mosley, filming the video was a "creative struggle", as Creed had only a short time to shoot the video before they went on tour in Japan. Over 300 extras were used in the video as members of the audience as well as the people seen with the band backstage. For the pause scenes, Mosley had the band and the audience freeze while the camera rotated around them, and also used multiple cameras set up around the band that were then joined with hovering objects added later in post-production. Cables were also used for scenes where Stapp is hovering over the audience. For the final scene, a 360 degree photography spin technique is used, a relatively new technique at the time, which required an array of cameras and sophisticated software to interpolate the still images into what appears to be one continuous shot of Stapp and the band backstage before heading off to play on stage.[10]
Stapp himself has stated that he is embarrassed by the video and that it has not aged well. During a 2017 interview with GQ, Stapp said in regard to the video that "Sometimes I cringe when I see it. Like, 'What was I thinking? Look at those pants.'"[12]
Release and reception
[edit]
Released as the lead single to the bands sophomore album, Human Clay, "Higher" would prove to be Creed's major breakthrough hit when it peaked at number seven on the US Billboard Hot 100 on the issue dated July 22, 2000. It spent a total of 57 weeks upon the survey, which is the longest stay for any Creed song on the Hot 100, and finished on the Hot 100 year end chart for 2000 at number 11. Furthermore, it topped both the Modern Rock and Mainstream Rock tallies in the process, which gave the band their fifth consecutive chart-topping hit on rock radio. "Higher" remained in the top spot on the Mainstream Rock chart for a then-record of 17 weeks until it was surpassed by 3 Doors Down's song "Loser". The song would finish at number 4 on both the Mainstream and Modern Rock year end charts for 2000. It also charted in the top five on the Adult Top 40 chart. Internationally the song topped the UK Rock and Metal (OCC) chart for four weeks in early 2000, and also peaked at number two on the Canada Rock/Alternative (RPM) chart. To promote the Human Clay album, the band also released a free digital download of "Higher" a full month before the records release.[13] On May 10, 2019, nearly 20 years after its original release, the song was given gold status by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over 500,000 certified digital units.[14]
"Higher" placed at number 95 on VH1's "100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs" in 2009.[15] It won the Song of the Year award at the 2000 My VH1 Music Awards, and was also nominated for the Best Rock Video award at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards, but lost to Limp Bizkit's "Break Stuff".[16][17]
Higher EP
[edit]
HigherEP by Released1999GenrePost-grunge, hard rockLength20:42LabelWind-up, EpicProducerJohn KurzwegCreed chronology
Human Clay
(1999) ''Higher''
(1999) Weathered
(2001)
Charts
[edit]
Certifications
[edit]
Region Certification Certified units/sales United States (RIAA)[39] Gold 500,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
Release history
[edit]
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref. United States August 31, 1999 ( ) Wind-up [40] United Kingdom January 3, 2000 ( ) CD
Wind-up
Epic
[41] United Kingdom (re-release) September 17, 2001 ( )
7-inch vinyl
CD
cassette
[42]
Appearance in media
[edit]
"Higher" appeared in the films The Skulls and 22 Jump Street.[43]
The song had appeared in some of the official trailers for Titan A.E., but did not appear in the film itself or its soundtrack.[44]
The book The Ishbane Conspiracy mentions the song.
The song was performed live on the November 16, 1999, episode of Late Night with David Letterman, the 2000 Billboard Music Awards, the 2001 Blockbuster Entertainment Awards and the April 23, 2010, episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.[45][46][47][48]
"Higher" was performed as part of a medley, which also included "Don't Stop Dancing" and "My Sacrifice", during the bands performance at the halftime show at the 2001 Dallas Cowboys' annual Thanksgiving Day football game on November 22, 2001.[49]
"Higher" was used for the closing video package at the 2nd annual WWE Tribute to the Troops professional wrestling event in 2004.[50]
The song was released as downloadable content for the music video games Rocksmith 2014 and Rock Band 2.
In the film Neighbors, the fraternity boys of Delta Psi sang the first sentence from the chorus during the meeting after reciting their version of Sigma Nu's creed.
The Chicago Wolves used the song in a pregame video montage played at Allstate Arena before playoff games en route to winning the 2008 Calder Cup.
In Game 3 of the 2023 American League Division Series between the Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles, Rangers fans sang along to "Higher" as it was played at Globe Life Field. According to Rangers pitcher Andrew Heaney, the team began listening to Creed's music during the second half of the regular season as motivation.[51][52] In Game 3 of the 2023 American League Championship Series between the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros, the band made a surprise appearance at Globe Life Field to sing along with Rangers fans to their song; the band earlier tweeted their support for the team.[53] Following their win in Game 7 against the Astros at Minute Maid Park, the Rangers celebrated by singing along to "Higher" in the visitor's locker room.[54] After winning the 2023 World Series, the Rangers celebrated by singing the song in the locker room.[55] That same night at the American Airlines Center, following a game where the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Chicago Bulls, the World Series game was put on the jumbotron and "Higher" was blasted inside the arena following the Rangers' victory.[56] Two days later, the Rangers held their victory parade in Arlington and played the Creed song as they took the stage with the Commissioner's Trophy in front of over half a million Rangers fans.[57]
Inspired by the Texas Rangers, the Minnesota Vikings played "Higher" before their Week 6 victory over division rival the Chicago Bears; Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins credited the song in an interview. The following week, they repeated this before and after their victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football.[58][59][60] Despite the successful use of the song, the Vikings were eliminated from postseason contention.
"Higher" was used in an advertisement of Paramount+, made for Super Bowl LVIII, which was released on February 1, 2024. The ad features Patrick Stewart, Drew Barrymore, Tua Tagovailoa, Knuckles the Echidna, Arnold from Hey Arnold!, Peppa Pig, and numerous other properties belonging to Paramount or related to Paramount+ shows. The premise of the ad features the group of characters attempting to get over a tall cliff. After conspiring, Creed (consisting of Scott Stapp and Mark Tremonti) suddenly appears and starts playing "Higher". This gives the characters the energy to tempt fate, and Stewart is seen picking up Arnold, and throwing him like a football (a gag on Arnold's head shape). Throughout the ad, Arnold flies through the air, and the vocals of "Higher" switch between Stapp's studio vocals and parody vocals sung by the characters, including Arnold. Arnold crashes into the cliff, and the characters then look at Peppa as the next candidate (a play on the word "pigskin"). It also shows Lieutenant Jim Dangle (Thomas Lennon) from Reno 911! showing off a Creed tattoo on his lower back.[61]
See also
[edit]
List of Billboard Mainstream Rock number-one songs of the 1990s
List of Billboard number-one alternative singles of the 1990s | ||||||
3747 | dbpedia | 1 | 40 | https://grammy.com/news/creed-scott-stapp-interview-higher-power-reunion | en | Creed's Scott Stapp On New Solo Album 'Higher Power,' Sobriety & Being "A Child With No Filter" | https://i8.amplience.net/i/naras/Scott%20Stapp%20Credit%20-%20Matt%20Akana | https://i8.amplience.net/i/naras/Scott%20Stapp%20Credit%20-%20Matt%20Akana | [
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"You look like a Jedi," his rep quips in an adjacent Zoom window. "They're training me," Stapp quips back.
Twenty-five years ago, this might be a breeding ground for his inner hellhounds, his unprocessed torments — as he sang, his own prison. But a sweatpants-clad Stapp looks relaxed, grounded, rooted; after this interview, he's eyeing a nap in the belly of this beast.
Stapp is a vocal proponent of recovery culture, and his language is permeated with it — God, squaring up with your ego, taking it one day at a time. "Some of us, we're so allergic to alcohol, so allergic to drugs," Stapp explains, "that when we use them, we break out in handcuffs and end up on the six o'clock news. And that's been my story, no doubt."
You can Google these stories; they're out there. While he's in no mood to recapitulate details to the press — who would be? — his new solo album, Higher Power, out March 15, directly addresses everything he's been through.
The title track begins with the line, "Forty feet down falling/ Headfirst off the edge" — and, well, that happened. (The rapper T.I. saved him, not knowing who he was at the time; Stapp later called him his "guardian angel.") By the chorus, Stapp frames what followed as a resurrection: "The day that I died was the day I came back to life."
At the zenith of Creed's career, Stapp pleaded "Can you take me higher?"; on Higher Power, this request seems to have been greenlighted. Which doesn't mean he has a messianic complex; Stapp doesn't project a shred of solipsism. He's just doing what he's meant to do.
"I don't pay attention to what's going on or try to follow trends, try to write to ride a wave or to catch something that's hot in the moment," he says.
What can he say? He's just Stapp — the same he's ever been, with a new album, a reunited Creed (who are about to head on tour) and a new lease on life.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
The song "Black Butterfly" is a great reminder that recovery isn't a one-and-done thing. It's a continuum, with peaks and valleys. Can you talk about that?
Well, it's absolutely a continuum and I think it not only applies to sobriety, but I think it applies to growth as a human being in general in every aspect of your life.
Just as we try to evolve…it is always five steps forward, three steps back. As long as you're continuing to move forward and learning from every setback, that's where true growth happens.
"Black Butterfly" represents so much, and I don't really want to get into the details of every aspect of what that song meant to me. Clearly, it involves a rebirth, but there's many contextual layers on that song in terms of the depths of the rebirth and what rebirths I'm talking about. But if we want to apply that to sobriety, there's definitely a continual process of cocooning and rebirthing.
Relapse has been a part of my story. It's not a part of everybody's, but it's been a part of mine. And each time that I have, I've definitely learned where a chink in my armor was that I was unaware of.
I also learned that I can't ever get overconfident. I can't ever think I've got it. I have to always stay on guard and continue to take it one day at a time and be vigilant. And then as time goes on, you get into a place where it becomes a lifestyle and a routine.
I'm glad you're on the good foot.
I just continue to grow, man, and take it one day at a time and know that God is doing a work in me in such a profound way, not only through my sobriety, but through my spiritual life.
One thing that you learn in recovery is the key to sobriety is the condition of you as a spiritual being. And for me to finally make that connection and tie it back to the roots of my faith — that really kind of put a bow and an icing on top of the cake, because everything started making sense.
I've always been interested in spirituality, but we live in a relentlessly anti-spirit world. How do you keep that antenna up when we're all deluged by the "make money and shut up" attitude?
It's a daily commitment to wake up and get into prayer — from my perspective as a Christian, getting in the word of God. Reading, surrounding myself with other like-minded people who do the same thing, as we edify and help each other grow in the spiritual walk that we have together.
When you embrace it and you make it a part of your lifestyle, surround yourself with people who have the same passion, drive, and heart in seeking that, then it creates the perfect storm for spiritual growth. And I'm fortunate to have that around me right now.
*Scott Stapp performing with Creed in 2003. Photo: Chris Trotman/Getty Images for NASCAR*
When Creed were on top of the world in the early 2000s, I'm sure your Christian ethics were completely at odds with everything going on around you.
Oh, 100 percent. And I also had this inflated, youthful ego; I thought I could handle it on my own, and didn't have any support around me. And you live and learn.
I help younger artists now who are going through similar situations and entering this business and let them know how important it is to surround yourself with support. And for those that don't have family, like I didn't, we really create a team.
Because this is a gift that we have — this career in music — and we can become so easily dismantled and it can be robbed from us by the trappings that come along from success and the temptations of the world. We're blessed with this opportunity to be creatives for a living. And so to nurture that, cherish it, protect it, look at it with professionalism and gratitude.
For those that don't have an issue with having a few drinks every now and then, do it on your off days. But when it's showtime and when it's a workday, look at it that way — with a vigor and passion of someone who's trying to be the best at what they do with their craft in their job.
That way, you can preserve it and it can be long-lasting, and you won't shoot yourself in the foot with self-sabotage.
Higher Power is such a production bulldozer. Can you talk about crafting the sound of it?
I was just creating those songs with my guys that I write with, in real time, as I was feeling inspired. I was trying to stay true to what I do, how I feel, and just continue to try to lyrically and sonically create cinematic pieces of art.
Fortunately, by the way that it was created, there was a theme and each song kind of bled into the other and were held together by a singular thread — which was the impact that God, my higher power has had in my life throughout the ups and the downs and was always there even at my darkest times.
And I think I addressed that in Higher Power. It's resounding with them in its sonic presentation and lyrical narrative.
You said you're looking to "create cinematic pieces of art." What role does the cinema play in your life? Do you think of great rock songs as being akin to mind movies?
No, I think I refer to that more in terms of how I'm creating the picture, not necessarily any reference points on any films. I'm trying to create something cinematic. I'm trying to create something that when it's heard, well, hopefully when someone connects, paint a picture in their mind of an experience and not only just connect with them on a personal level.
I think that's something I've always tried to do lyrically since I started writing songs. Since my first professional record in 1997, with My Own Prison, I think it's just been a part of the way that I create. And I think I really wanted to intentionally focus on that, in terms of the production and the music beds that went around the themes that I was talking about.
And I definitely think we did. I think my producers, Marti Frederiksen and Scott Stevens, captured that. I'm proud of what we did, and I feel that this is my best solo work to date.
And I've got a song I'm very proud of. It's a duet that I did with the Rock Queen herself, Dorothy, which will be out this Friday. And I'm very excited to share that song and everything that's coming with it because I think it's just a centerpiece of this record and a theme that really is what this album is: the walls talking.
The first line of "Higher Power" reflects a very traumatic event in your life; I don't need to recite it back to you. You're a very candid and honest cat.
I mean, if you go back to 1997 and you listen to "My Own Prison," that's probably one of the most personal and confessional songs I've ever written. That's the only way that I know how to write. That's the only way that the inspiration, the creativity comes out of me.
I bear my soul. I talk about my flaws, my weaknesses, my failures, the dark times. I just speak what's in my heart. I mean, I think that's probably a part of being a child with no filter. And that's kind of translated into how I write lyrics. I just say how it is and how I see it, how I'm observing it, how I'm experiencing it.
And call it what you will, but I call it my style. However you want to interpret that is cool. And I appreciate that you hear the vulnerability and the honesty in that because that's where it comes from.
I remember the early 2000s as a highly macho world — of raunchy comedies, shock jocks, getting called the f-slur on the playground. In the hard rock world of that time, I'm sure vulnerability was steamrolled over.
Well, I know that we came out with a song called "One Last Breath" in 2002, which was clearly a cry for help and vulnerability. So, I don't think I was paying too much attention to what was going on around me and what other people were doing. I never really have, I just do what I do.
And so it was kind of the antithesis of what you just described. You're talking about this macho era, and I'm writing lyrics, "Please come now, I think I'm falling/ I'm holding onto all I think is safe/ I think I found the road to nowhere, and I'm trying to escape."
I don't pay attention to what's going on or try to follow trends, try to write to ride a wave or to catch something that's hot in the moment. I really don't pay attention to the outside world.
That seems to be a throughline of your career.
To be honest with you, I'm a bit of a recluse. And when I was younger, I kind of romanticized that loner poet sitting under a tree, writing lyrics in a book, observing the world around him.
And I guess, looking back, that wasn't so much of a romantic approach, but more of just who I was and me trying to come to grips with it and accepting that that's who I am and being comfortable with it.
I think sobriety and clarity has helped me become comfortable with it — because I think that part of the reason I overindulged at times is because I never really felt comfortable around crowds. I never really felt comfortable around groups of people and socializing and mindless conversation and chit-chat. I think that's fine and that's great for other people, but it never really worked for me.
So, it's nice to be in a place in life all these years later, where you find your tribe and you find the people that speak your language, and are like-minded, and feel comfortable and safe there.
*Scott Stapp performing in 2023. Photo: Jerry Kingwell — Revelry Studios*
Back then, the mean-spirited humor about Creed couldn't have jibed with your psychological state. These days, you take it all in good fun, but back then, it must have been like poison.
You know, it didn't line up with what we were experiencing. It was a media narrative that was created. I can't look back and say that there were times where it didn't hurt and where I didn't understand. You've got stadiums on hold and you're selling out every arena in America, but then you're reading articles that you're this hated band, and it's just not lining up.
And we didn't have social media to talk back and correct things that were said. Not that I would even do that now, or waste my time.
I definitely feel that some of that did affect me in a negative way, and I didn't handle it appropriately. I would actually say that some of it probably caused some trauma, and the only way I knew how to do that was numb the pain.
We're in a different place now. We've got much thicker skin, and know what's important in life, and know whose opinions matter. But when you're young and that happens, it definitely has a profound impact on you. And I think was a big contributing factor — one of the reasons the band split up. I mean, there were others, but it was kind of a domino effect.
All in all, you seem to be in a really healthy and positive spot. Where do you want to go from here?
Right now, I'm in the moment. The album hasn't come out yet. I feel like we're at the very tip, tip, tip of the iceberg on this record. We've got the Creed stuff in between, and something tells me in my heart that this album's really going to be making continual impact all the way through 2025.
I'll be doing some solo touring and promotion in between the Creed stuff along the way, and then I look at 2025 as a continuation of the Higher Power tour and promotion.
Not to be clichéd, but I think the best is yet to come for this record, and we're at the beginning. So, I'm just taking it one day at a time, man.
The Salvation Of Chris Daughtry: How He Conquered Music-Biz Machinations & Fear Of Irrelevance For Triumphant New Album Dearly Beloved
The original members of Jane’s Addiction are a diverse bunch. There’s trippy visionary singer/stylist and Lollapalooza co-founder Perry Farrell; Stephen Perkins, the monster drummer with a goofy-meets-spiritual vibe; and bassist Eric Avery, who opted not to be part of the 1997 and 2001 Jane’s reunions and played with Garbage from 2005 to 2022.
Then there’s multi-faceted musician Dave Navarro, who in addition to his work with Jane's, spent five years with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and brough his guitar stylings to songs by Janet Jackson, Nine Inch Nails, Alanis Morissette and Guns N’ Roses. The Los Angeles native has made headlines with high-profile romances, TV reality appearances, television hosting duties, and in numerous all-star collaborations and benefit performances.
But Jane’s Addiction, which formed Los Angeles in 1985, has his heart. The group’s groundbreaking 1988 major label debut Nothing Shocking and follow-up Ritual De Lo Habitual marked the band as progenitors of the alternative scene. Their DIY aesthetic in videos, art and music resulted in subversively joyful creations, including the chart-topping "Been Caught Stealing."
However, egos, creative differences and substances interferred in the band’s trajectory, and a 1991 farewell tour also marked the inception of the first Lollapalooza and of Farrell as business mogul.
Read more: 'Lolla: The Story of Lollapalooza' Recounts How An Alt Rock Fest Laid The Blueprint For Bonnaroo & More
Jane’s Addiction may have helped make alternative rock mainstream, but never lost their sense of edgy creativity. They performed and recorded on and off in the ‘90 and early 2000s, in various incarnations with and without Navarro. The original lineup reunited in May 2024 at Bush Hall in London; that victorious, energized live return led to songwriting, with new single “Imminent Redemption” offering up lyrics that seem to be a rallying cry for Jane’s circa 2024 and onward: “Let's make some good trouble / Let's stir up that karma / Let's launch us a comeback.”
The track dropped ahead of a 23-city tour that kicked off on Aug. 9 at Fontainebleau Las Vegas. GRAMMY.com caught up with an energized, loquacious Navarro ahead of that jaunt, Jane’s first with the OG 1985 lineup in 14 years.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Listening to "Imminent Redemption" conjured a mental image of shaking up a two-liter bottle of Coca-Cola; You want to rock out, explosively, and you finally get to do it.
To me, it feels like a follow-up to Ritual. The band right now is in such a great place. We have the original lineup. God bless Chris Chaney, who's one of the best bass players in the world, one of my best friends. He stood in and he did two records with us,15, 20 years.
A lot of the Jane's Addiction material is primarily written from basslines Eric Avery comes up with, and those are usually the memorable singable parts of the song. You might sing the vocal, but you're not singing the guitar part. Sometimes you're not singing the vocal part, but you're singing the intro to "Mountain [Song]" in your head, or the intro to "Three Days." His input is really the musical backbone of the band. When we got together to do these [new] songs, that was immediately there.
We also wanted to keep the music under-produced. We didn't want to go crazy with modern-day technology and all kinds of crazy instrumentation, overdubs and tracks; we wanted to keep it pretty raw. In fact, I think there's parts of "Imminent Redemption" that are reminiscent of Ritual and Nothing Shocking, but I also think it's reminiscent of the Triple X record [1987’s Jane’s Addiction] because there aren't 15 guitar tracks. There aren't synths, there aren't all kinds of things that we ended up doing as we went on and probably will do on other songs.
Lyrically, Perry's coming from such a... I don't want to speak for him, but my interpretation is that it's an aggressive cry for unity and peace. There's a little bit of anger there, but anger in the name of let's not have any anger anymore, if that makes any sense.
It does.
Another weird thing about Jane's Addiction is a lot of our most well-known songs — "Mountain Song," "Stop," "Ocean Size," "Jane Says" — they really don't have choruses. They just, say, have two parts to go back and forth.
So the fact that we got away with "Imminent" and we're able to put a chorus in there is kind of unusual. But I think it works, and it still kind of keeps it like the two-part formula of Jane's Addiction. But then the outro goes into another musical direction, which is also very us, because we get bored within songs.
Do you think "Imminent Redemption" will grow into a record?
There might be stuff I can't talk about, but no one's told me not to talk about it, so that's their problem, I guess!
The idea is to release a full-length album; I would consider it the fourth Jane's Addiction record. The two records we did with Chris Chaney I love, but it's a different band. With this lineup, I really feel like this next record's going to be the follow-up to Ritual. It's really special to be back with Eric and writing with Eric; Eric and I have always worked really well off each other in terms of finding parts that work together and complement one another but are not really the same.It's like we picked up just where we left off.
I don't know if we're going to put out a record or if we're going to put out a song every once in a while. Whatever that master plan is, that I can't speak to. It's either a song comes out every month until there's 12 songs, or we put out a couple songs and then we put out the record. I don't know. We have plenty of completed material already, so it's one way or another it'll all be out there.
A "follow-up record" more than 30 years later…
In some ways, it was such a shame for the band to part at such a musical peak, because I think that record [Ritual] is really, really special. But it also saved us from following it up with something subpar. So it is just part of the legacy. It's part of the story. And so far I've been really happy with everything we've been making.
How has it felt being back on the road?
We just finished a two-month tour of Europe, and I was so grateful to be back out, and doing it with the band, and being able to do it. But man, it was challenging.
It still has that [feel of] the early days, where we were on this edge of this cliff where nobody really knew what was going to happen from time to time, from song to song, in between songs, what Perry was going to say or do. Or if he was going to all of a sudden just go into some stream-of-consciousness banter in the middle of a breakdown of a song. And you just kind of have to pay attention and just feel where it's going to change.
We kind of lost that for a long time. And now that element of surprise has come back to the shows. Also, I think the fact that this last tour was just the four of us on stage with minimal to no production, a couple of lights and four guys playing weird music, that's all we needed. It left room for there to be magical moments that gave you goosebumps because you weren't distracted by a bunch of stuff.
In the broadest sense, what is at the core of what makes this lineup special?
Stephen Perkins and I were in high school together, and we had a heavy metal band. We played heavy metal covers, we wrote heavy metal songs, and we were into technical wizardry. We were into fast guitar playing. He was into Neil Peart.
Perry, at the same time, was doing a goth band called Psi Com. Eric was more in the new wave punk rock world. He was doing different experimental stuff. And we ended up getting together as a result of Stephen dating Eric's sister. Perry and Eric met, and started playing together, and they needed a drummer and a guitar player. And they called us and we got in there.
The formula is that the four of us have no business being together in a band given our backgrounds. Now, since then, they've grown to love some of the music Stephen and I came up with. We've grown to love the music that they came up with. And then it kind of just blossomed.
We decided we weren't any particular kind of band. We were just musicians, and we would just pull from anything. If we wanted to go in a Pink Floyd direction, we'll do that. If we want to go in a Black Sabbath direction, we'll do that. If we want to go in an Iggy direction, we'll do that. But without consciously choosing to, just being open to all genres.
Fans would agree.
That’s kind of like the secret sauce: Combining elements that wouldn't normally go together and putting them together and seeing what happens. It's been a long road. Although in our older years, we do get along very well and have a lot of respect for each other. But coming up and through the early years, it was difficult. There were resentments, there were stylistic differences of opinions. There were multiple breakups, multiple problems that just came from adolescent ego.
Now that we're all at the ages we're at, and just about everybody has a family, we kind of just let go of that. We’re just, "You know what? We had something really special back then, and I don't know what we were complaining about." So we're doing it again.
Morgan Enos and Katherine Turman contributed to this story.
Explore The World Of Rock
Los Lonely Boys have found success in spades over the past two decades, thanks in no small part to their familial bonds.
Following in the footsteps of their musician father Enrique Garza, Mexican American brothers JoJo (vocals, bass), Henry (guitar, vocals) and Ringo Garza (drums, vocals) formed Los Lonely Boys in 1997. Their dynamic, "Texican Rock ‘n Roll" sound netted the group a GRAMMY in 2005, as well as five career total nominations. Throughout their career, togetherness has remained an important component of their artistry.
"We're homebodies, we're family men and this is where we're most happy," JoJo Garza tells GRAMMY.com. "But when we get out there and we're on stage and we're in a different city, different state or whatever, the way that people make us feel like family is, it's a home away from home feeling."
That feeling inspired the band to reunite in 2022 after a four-year hiatus. Their return tour, which included several shows with the Who, went so well that they decided to also get back into the studio and record new music. On Aug. 2, the band will release their first album of new music in 11 years, Resurrection. Each song on the album sounds different, highlighting Los Lonely Boys' roots in Texas blues, soul, country, and Tejano music.
"When we got back together and started jamming, I think the rejuvenation, it came natural, the same, and it just felt right, fresh," says Ringo Garza. "I think our playing is the same as anything that gets older. If it doesn't start to rot, it gets better."
The Garza brothers have built their success through belief in one another. It paid off early on, when San Angelo, Texas club owner John R. Steele hired the group as his house band (and later became LLB's road manager). They also supported their musician father before branching out as a trio. In 2003, they struck gold when they got the opportunity to record their self-titled debut album at Willie Nelson's Pedernales Recording Studio in Austin.
Released in 2004, Los Lonely Boys' lead single, "Heaven," hit No. 1 on the Billboard adult contemporary chart and reached the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100. The following year, the song took home a golden gramophone for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.
Their success allowed them the chance to collaborate with the other musicians. Los Lonely Boys partnered with Santana on 2005's "I Don’t Wanna Lose Your Love," performed with Ronnie Milsap on an episode of "CMT's Crossroads," and released music with Dr. John, Enrique Garza Sr. and Willie Nelson. LLB also released a string of popular studio albums, including 2006’s Sacred, 2008’s Forgiven, 2011’s Rockpango, and 2013’s Revelation.
Recorded in part at Henry’s home studio in Texas, Resurrection finds the trio continuing to channel their love of making music together. Their unique sound continues on the album, featuring everything from the Beatles-eque pop of "Wish You Would" to the smooth R&B and soulfulness of "Dance With Me."
Family continues to be important for the brothers. The album comes at a challenging period as they’ve tried to help and make their father comfortable after he suffered a stroke and heart attack earlier this summer. Ahead of the Resurrection's release, the group spoke with GRAMMY.com about the importance of their brotherly bond and how music has a magical quality that lets them connect with others.
This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
The new album is the band’s first in 11 years and comes on the heels of a recent return to the road. What brought everyone back together?
Henry Garza: We got to give all that credit to the man upstairs, brother. Of course, we could take some little bit of credit for that being brothers and family, but we accredit the higher power man. It's just the way things happen. It's like why are the stars in the places they are and why did that one shine brighter tonight than the last?
JoJo Garza: We need to pay our bills, man. I'm kidding. I mean, it is our livelihood, but it ultimately comes down to realizing that we still have a major purpose. While we have life in our bones, we still have a purpose to express what the creator has given us as a blessing, but also to express purpose in needing to show how important music is and what it means to us to do with it.
Henry: Yeah, we’ve got to still keep spreading that message of love through music.
What made the band start thinking about creating new music?
JoJo: We never stopped creating music. Even when we took our much-needed sabbatical, we were still in the process of always writing music. And I think when Covid happened, that really put a halt on what musicians could do as far as touring goes. So, we were able to really sort of almost start over. The songs that we chose for the album were given an ample amount of time to be something we felt really positive about.
Some of [those songs] are about having a good time and a lot of them are about life's lessons, but there's a few tunes in there too that are really, really deep as far as offering some input to the people, to the youth, as well as people in our age bracket as well.
JoJo: We were also personally affected by losing some family members and things like that, just like everyone across the world. Whenever we finally did regroup and saw each other for the first time, one of the first things we did was we gave each other big hugs and big kisses and a lot of crying.
I know that Henry and Ringo had done some work together. One of the first things I told Henry when I had heard "Send More Love" was the last time he had delivered a song like this it went global, we went worldwide. We won a GRAMMY.
It's got the basis of what was going on through Covid and it's kind of like a letter to or a phone call to the man upstairs saying, "Hey, could you send more love down here because this world is going crazy."
Was it challenging starting to play again after a few years apart?
Henry: Oh man. It was hard to remember any of the songs that we had played. It was a really emotional gettogether. When we first started rehearsing again together, every song that we played, even old songs, tears were falling because you just didn't know during that time if and when that was ever going to happen again.
Were there things the band was able to do better or differently on 'Resurrection' with everyone older and wiser?
JoJo: I think as far as the music goes, it’s very apparent that we have matured and grown. We actually embraced a little bit more of the digital aspect of what you can do in a studio.
Henry: There was growth during that period with technology for us and getting into the actual recording part of it ourselves and creating a studio to do the work in. We never had that gift or the comfortableness to be able to do that. We were always recording in somebody else's studio where you're paying a thousand dollars for every second that counts. So, we had some kind of freedom to be able to do that on our own and we grew in that aspect.
JoJo: We were always a live band, [that recorded live to tape]. The magic happens when you're live because then you can't go back and recut it or you can't go back and overdub it. Even when you record a live show, there's just a spark between each of us, a connection that it's really hard to capture. But building our own little studios and having the ability to do it ourselves, it's actually brought us closer and to the idea of maybe we should do a little more of this or a lot more of this instead of having to tour so much. So, that's in the cards for Los Lonely Boys as well. Squad goals.
My brothers gave me the opportunity to sit in the producer's seat on most of these songs. I was actually mixing some of the record while driving from Texas to California, listening in the car speakers. I was able to tell him, "Oh no, this has too much bass. We need to move that to the left or the right. Let's swap places." The ability to do that. Mix a record while you're driving. Come on man.
The band’s sound has been called "Texican Rock n' Roll" due to the diverse influences and that continues with this new album. Why is it important to have that dynamic, diversified sound?
Henry: We created what we call Texican rock and roll, which is anything and everything that has to do with real music from real musicians. This record really still expresses that about what we're about: family, love, brothers, the message of truth through music and resurrection. There's a little bit of flavor of everything in these songs, so it's kind of hard to just classify it as a certain genre.
Ringo Garza: Every single one of our albums has always had a song that you could put in another genre of music, country or pop or rock.
JoJo: It really is because we don't see or feel the boundaries between music. What we promote is not exclusivity, but inclusiveness because we're all one people…We're the human race and music is food for the soul.
Henry: Our dad taught us that music was the universal language, it didn't matter where you were from even if you didn't understand what they were saying. It speaks to everybody all across the board. I think that's our main focus with music.
Ringo: When I'm recording drum tracks or vocal tracks, I want my brothers to be impressed more than anything in the world. My brothers and my family. When we can get a song together and it brings a tear to our eyes and makes us love each other even more, that's what I strive for.I think my brothers are the same in that aspect of trying to impress and please one another.
You've all followed in the footsteps of your father, who himself had a band with his brothers called the Falcones. Why is that brotherly bond and honoring tradition so important?
Henry: If you can imagine a cup being filled with water and it spills over and there's another cup that takes on that water too. Our dad did it with his brothers, our mom's family did it with their brothers and my grandpa. Music was so natural, we thought everybody did it growing up. We owe all that to our greatest teacher, which of course for us is our dad. It began with him, and he’s our biggest hero.
He's the guy that showed us anything from the Beatles to Willie [Nelson] and Waylon [Jennings] to Richie Valens to Fats Domino. Every song he showed us growing up, we thought he wrote all those songs that he was showing us, and we believed he came on the radio, and we'd be like, "They're playing your song." He didn't deny it either.
Ringo: Having each other to play in this band together, it was just as natural as being brothers. I think when we were younger, we knew that we were brothers and we were a band, but I don't think that really dawned on us until we started playing out everywhere and knowing that there's not too many bands of brothers. I think that's where our strength comes from.
JoJo: We're family first. Even if we were doctors or we were lawyers or roofers, we were always going to stick together because that's the way we were raised. That's part of our destiny and that's part of what we're here to express. As beautiful it is as it is to have friends and extended family or whatnot. There's nothing like having true family, true blood.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Los Lonely Boys' debut album and one of your biggest hits "Heaven." What do you recall about recording that record?
Henry: The way we grew up, we had zero expectations for anything because it just wasn't in the cards for where we came from. We were completely shocked and completely amazed when we were grabbing success.
Ringo: When we were younger playing and writing and recording, we knew that if we continued something was going to happen. But I don't think that we ever thought to ourselves, Hey, let's put this on the album so we can win a GRAMMY or so that we can sell millions of records.
JoJo: We have a very close connection to all the songs [on our debut album], but when it came to "Heaven," that was the only song that it seemed like everybody would pick on. All the people that were the Lonely team [were] basically saying that they didn't see nothing special in that song. The special thing to us was that it was a prayer that Henry had written that he was instructed to write down as a song. So, what a turn of events for everyone that said "nay" to have it turned up being the song.
Ringo: The first single was supposed to be "Real Emotions," and when we sent out [our music to radio stations in Austin], DJ Jody Denberg played "Heaven" instead. It lit the fire. It stayed up there [on the charts] for a little bit, and it broke. We're still able to reap the benefits of that.
What was your favorite memory of working at Willie's studio?
Henry: We can't talk about that man. Oh man. [Laughs.]
JoJo: The fact that we were there in a place that belonged to Willie Nelson. We had seen him on TV and heard him on the radio or whatever, you don't imagine that you're going to be that close to people. Basically, that was his home away from home. And so that's pretty freaking huge, man.
Henry: I'll never forget him driving up in his pickup and visiting us while we were outside drinking a couple of herbal refreshments. He treated us just like family. There's a lot of things to remember, but I think the fact that Willie was even around or took the time to make that connection with us.
JoJo: We were able to start meeting other artists and things like that, but he was the first one that said "these guys got something special. You might want to check him out."
Henry: Right around that time when we were recording the record, 9/11 had happened. "Heaven" was the only song that was recorded that day, on the day that the Twin Towers were hit and everything, man.
You later recorded a song with Willie and your dad called "Outlaws." What was your favorite memory from working on that song?
Henry: Our dad always considered himself the missing outlaw. So just to be working with Willie and having our dad work with him and be on the same song, man, that was the treat in itself. TWhen we hear that song, it's like tears to the eye because we were given the blessing to help our dad's dream come true a little bit.
Ringo: And it's a rocking song. It's pretty badass.
The album’s title 'Resurrection' continues the trend of using religious terminology. What drew you to that word?
JoJo: You can definitely tie it to religion, but resurrection exists without religion. When you look at how grass dies every winter and comes back to life and how trees, leaves fall through the fall and the winter and then they return. And resurrection is also like music. It's a gift that most people don't recognize as a gift or as something considered resurrection.
The reason we chose the term resurrection is because we were off the road for nearly three years and we weren't even sure we were going to play again. When we finally made that decision to come back I felt like…I mentioned the trees, the grass, how the sun rises and sets every day. It's a constant resurrection.We were given a chance to breathe new life into something.
Ringo: I love the fact that it does bring people closer to our father, closer to the love of this world in just that name.
Henry: When you got a band like us who won a GRAMMY for a song called "Heaven," and I think that speaks all in itself. So, when you hear a name title for a record called Resurrection, it ties into what we believe and how we were brought up, but it's definitely not something that we were going to go off and say that "Hey, this is religious."
What songs from the album surprised you most and how they came together?
Henry: Oh man, all of them. Songs seem to come out of thin air sometimes. Even when you try to write a song, it doesn't [always] happen. So, all of them are really just a surprise.
JoJo: Our song "Natural Thing" is really special because something we had already had [written years ago]. The way Ringo delivered it, I can't wait for the rest of the world to be able to hear this song. Ringo usually sings one song per album or something like that, but this one is very dear to us, but it's also very dear to Ringo because he sang it to his wife at their wedding.
Henry: It's a resurrected song.
JoJo: It really is. That's the true resurrection on the album.
The band's song "Wish You Would" has a pretty encouraging message about going for your dreams, while being careful. And conscient. Has becoming parents and grandparents shifted your perspective?
JoJo: We've been parents for a long time. Some of our oldest kids are in their twenties...There’s the old saying of "be careful what you wish for." If you're not careful about what you call dreams and aspirations, it can come with some serious consequences.
Another song on the album, "See Your Face" is a very emotional one as it pays tribute to your mother who passed away in 2015 as well as other family and friends. How was it helpful writing that song?
Henry: It's about our mother and how memories are in your head when you haven't seen someone for so long. You don't want to forget their face, but it's crazy how a memory pops up and you wish you could just hold it and control it.
Henry: Our dad had a massive stroke and a heart attack at the same time. And it's been a really tough time right now.
Ringo: It’s crazy how that song came out and the video and everything having to do with our mama and our dad is having a pretty rough time. Nothing is coincidental. Everything is meant to be, there's no such thing as coincidence.
JoJo: "Wish You Would" and "See Your Face" are kind of intertwined. That's one thing we're here to really express to people, is tell the people you love them or you're going to wish you would because someday you're going to be wishing just to see their face.
JoJo: Do it while you have the time, express to the people that mean the most to you, that they mean that to you.
Ringo: I think it ties into even "Send More Love" because I think a lot of that is being forgotten.
Henry: Love is growing cold in this world, man.
JoJo: We do music purely because first off, it's a given to us. Secondly, we do it purely for the music and each song that is given to us sort of appears out of thin air. It's definitely given from the creator of all things. There's nothing greater than being able to have the consciousness that we're given as human beings to be able to express these things so deeply.
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] | null | [] | null | One by Creed song meaning, lyric interpretation, video and chart position | en | /images/favicons/apple-touch-icon.png | null | I Forgot To Remember To ForgetElvis Presley
Elvis Presley' first #1 on any chart was "I Forgot To Remember To Forget." It arrived at the top of the country tally on February 25, 1956 and stayed there for two weeks.
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Livin' La Vida LocaRicky Martin
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3747 | dbpedia | 1 | 56 | https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/creed-reunion-tour-return-feature-1235734055/ | en | Inside Creed’s Mega-Selling Return: Why the Touring World Met Them With Arms Wide Open | [
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] | 2024-07-18T15:50:32+00:00 | Creed is back with a reunion tour: here's why their return has been one of the best-selling tickets in rock. | en | Billboard | https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/creed-reunion-tour-return-feature-1235734055/ | Scott Stapp remembers feeling young and determined — an unknown singer, certain he wouldn’t be for long — when Creed started in the mid-’90s, more than half a lifetime ago. “We wanted to write timeless songs,” Stapp asserts to Billboard.
Practicing with his new band members in Florida’s panhandle roughly 30 years ago, Stapp would discuss his outsize dreams in drummer Scott Phillips’ living room. “That was an actual goal,” Stapp continues, leaning forward in his chair, “that the band would write things that would stand the test of time. It was a lofty goal! And I don’t think we ever knew, during our run, if we really accomplished that.”
Indeed, the general longevity of Creed’s biggest hits was something of a question mark for a while. In its turn-of-the-century heyday, Creed’s burly post-grunge anthems were everywhere, as Stapp, guitarist Mark Tremonti, Phillips and bassist Brian Marshall scored multiple top 10 smashes on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold millions of albums behind them. Chest-thumping singalongs like “Higher,” “With Arms Wide Open” and “My Sacrifice” earned prime MTV plays and crossed over to pop radio; for years, the quartet was undoubtedly one of the most bankable rock bands in the world.
Then: a breakup, personal problems, a haphazard reunion and a prolonged hiatus. By the dawn of the streaming era in the early 2010s, post-grunge had receded from popular rock and Creed’s mainstream footprint had evaporated. Its biggest songs could have been shrugged off as relics of a bygone moment in music history — maybe, in spite of the towering initial success, it wouldn’t endure after all.
Yet as the four members of Creed sit together in midtown Manhattan on a Tuesday afternoon in June 2024, the mood is light, and the guys — all of whom have entered their fifties over the past year-plus — are clearly enjoying a sea change in how their catalog is being treated. They’re at the SiriusXM offices, prepping for an in-studio performance of songs like “Higher” and “My Sacrifice”; the day before, they played both hits on Good Morning America.
Earlier that month, a mariachi band made the internet rounds for covering “Higher” at Globe Life Field, the same stadium that blasted the song throughout the Texas Rangers’ run to a World Series victory last fall. And of course, the latest viral moments follow the Super Bowl commercial in February, the SZA shout-out last November and plenty of TikTok remixes in between.
As they pal around ahead of the SiriusXM showcase and crack jokes about too-early call times (their GMA sound check was at 5:30 a.m.), Marshall slips in that his 5-year-old daughter was singing their 2002 power ballad “One Last Breath” that morning, albeit with some misplaced lyrics. Stapp adds that he has noticed a lot of the social media championing and TikTok trends engineered by younger listeners — proof positive that, even as the nostalgia cycle plays a major factor in the band’s reunion and resurgence, his decades-old goal for Creed’s music to persist was ultimately accomplished.
“To see that happening for Creed, with a whole new generation of fans and listeners? It’s just… very rewarding,” Stapp says, his voice catching. “I mean, we’ve been through a lot, man — individually, as a band. I mean, this…” he continues, gesturing toward his bandmates, “it’s just so emotional. Your eyes water. You tear up. You’re just grateful because it really could have gone in another direction.”
Creed’s catalog has not just endured — now, there’s real demand to experience its full power live. The band’s 2024 North American reunion trek, which kicked off last night (July 17) in Green Bay, Wis., has turned into one of the hottest rock tickets of the year. A pair of Creed cruises got the reunion started in April, and after announcing a summer 2024 amphitheater run last October, Creed added 20 fall arena shows to its itinerary in February, citing “overwhelming fan demand.”
During a topsy-turvy year in the touring industry, with other arena tours being downgraded or canceled as the market readjusts following a post-pandemic boom, Creed’s team expects most of the band’s upcoming dates — including its first headlining show at New York’s Madison Square Garden since 2000, set for Nov. 29 — to sell out and is already eyeing opportunities for 2025.
“It’s a pretty unbelievable comeback, as comebacks go,” says Ken Fermaglich, the band’s longtime agent at UTA. “The consumers are out there and want to connect with the music, whether it’s on the nostalgia side for the fan that was aware of it from years ago, or the newer fan that’s never gotten to see them.”
Although it’s been over a decade since Creed last toured together in 2012, plenty of rock fans remember its commercial apex, which began with singles like “My Own Prison,” “One” and “What’s This Life For” garnering airplay in the band’s local Tallahassee, Fla., scene before Wind-up Records scooped up debut album My Own Prison in 1997 and it spread across the nation. Commanding the post-grunge strain of popular rock that sprouted up from the alternative explosion of the mid-‘90s, Creed turned My Own Prison into a smash debut, with 6.5 million copies sold to date, according to Luminate. Its 1999 follow-up, Human Clay, turned even bigger singles — “Higher” was an uptempo anthem ripe for stadium halftime shows, and “With Arms Wide Open” topped the Hot 100 for one week in November 2000 — into RIAA-certified diamond status: a whopping 11.7 million copies sold.
When Creed became a mega-selling act, “We were kids, really — 24 or 25, as things went through the roof,” Marshall recalls. “Having to navigate that at that time in your life is really tough. And I turned to substances.”
Marshall departed the group due to substance abuse issues in 2000, and Stapp also struggled with personal issues, including depression and problems with self-medicating, in the following years. Creed’s third album, 2001’s Weathered, sold another 6.5 million copies, but a rocky tour in support of the album led to prolonged inactivity, then a 2004 breakup.
Creed reunited for 2009’s Full Circle, but the industry had changed, the hits had dried up, and the mainstream had moved on. The album sold less than one-tenth the copies (455,000) of the band’s previous three. By Creed’s 2012 tour, the arena shows were a distant memory, and theaters were filled only with the most die-hard supporters. That run grossed $2.3 million and sold 49,000 tickets over 20 reported shows, according to Billboard Boxscore — compared with a $39.5 million gross and 932,000 tickets sold over 86 shows for the group’s 2002 tour.
All four members stayed busy after Creed returned to hiatus after the 2012 tour: Stapp has released three solo albums since 2013, including this year’s Higher Power, while the other three members formed Alter Bridge with singer Myles Kennedy, in addition to Tremonti leading his own band, Tremonti. Meanwhile, Marshall got sober in 2012, and Stapp’s well-documented road to recovery commenced in the mid-2010s. And while their other musical projects have earned live followings, none of them have scored hits of the stature of “Higher” or “With Wide Arms Open.” Plus, as Stapp puts it, “There’s a chemistry and synergy that we have when we play together — that only we have when we play together.”
According to Fermaglich, discussions of a Creed reunion began in 2021, when the touring industry was still working through COVID-19-related uncertainty. “The time wasn’t quite right yet,” he says, “but it got everybody talking, to a point of, ‘Oh, maybe this is a good idea.’ ”
Conversations picked up last year, and all four members concluded that 2024 would be a strong window for a reunion tour, in between side projects and personal commitments. Meanwhile, the band members got back in touch last fall during the Rangers’ World Series run, after the eventual champs had adopted “Higher” as their unofficial anthem at home games. “The four of us were on a text thread together, watching the game and cheering on the team, celebrating a win or lamenting a loss,” Phillips recalls. “It was a nice bond to have again, where it was just the four of us communicating with each other, reconnecting as friends — not only as bandmates, but as people.”
The band tested the waters for ticket demand with the July 2023 announcement of the Summer of ’99 Cruise — setting sail in April 2024, it featured post-grunge contemporaries like 3 Doors Down, Tonic, Buckcherry and Fuel, and boasted a reunited Creed as the main draw. Tremonti was responsible for the Summer of ’99 idea, and the band partnered with immersive festival producers Sixthman on the cruise, which Fermaglich says “sold out very, very fast. We started to realize, ‘Wow, there’s a lot of demand here,’ ” so they added a second cruise for the following week.
Phillips felt the nerves return during Creed’s first performance in over a decade on the inaugural cruise — but after the first few songs, he witnessed how locked in the crowd was, exhaled and could “sit back and enjoy the moment,” he says. Tremonti chimes in that the energy provided by Stapp, who has circled in and out of the lives of the other members over the years, gave him the boost he needed during the band’s first reunited performance.
“The most nerve-racking thing about it was that you knew every cell phone in the boat is going to be out, filming those first few songs,” Tremonti says. “Those first performances are going to live forever on YouTube! But Scott stepped onstage like this was just another day, confident as can be, which makes us go, ‘All right, we’re good.’ ”
When the amphitheater tour dates that would follow the cruises went on sale last fall, Fermaglich says that Creed’s team was “blown away by the initial sales” and that the feedback received about ticket buyer demographics encouraged them to consider adding arena dates to follow the summer run. “Some of the ticketing data made us understand that younger ticket buyers were out there,” Fermaglich explains, “and that got everyone pretty pumped because it meant that we were turning it over to some extent. We would have the fans who remembered the band from the late ’90s and early 2000s, but also a new fan who is learning the catalog, potentially via social media.”
The current numbers back up that theory: Radio stations, primarily at rock and alternative formats, are still playing Creed’s hits, with 31,000 plays of its songs on U.S. terrestrial and satellite radio over the first six months of 2024. But during that same time period (Dec. 29, 2023-June 27, 2024), the band’s catalog earned a robust 263 million official on-demand song streams, with the Spotify generation either returning to or uncovering Creed’s discography.
“They had big songs, and those records crossed over to pop radio,” says Brad Hardin, COO of national programming at iHeartMedia. “And when you see the show, it’s hit after hit after hit.” (Indeed, at last night’s tour opener at Green Bay’s Resch Center, the band rolled out all of its biggest songs, often accompanied by flame-spitting pyrotechnics.)
Creed’s 2024 return is a perfect storm of a touring proposition: Longtime fans haven’t seen it live in over a decade, and the hits hold up well enough to attract new listeners. Although the bands of the macho-leaning post-grunge movement from a quarter-century ago made for a critical punching bag at the time, Creed’s wide-reaching singalongs “have aged in a way that we hoped they would back in the day,” says Fermaglich. “The production really stands the test of time, and the songs, the melodies, still work well right now and don’t sound out of place with contemporary rock.”
With that in mind, Creed and its team are already mapping out a future following this year’s big reunion: The Summer of ’99 Cruise will again set sail on Apr. 9, 2025, and beyond that, Fermaglich says the plan is “take a look at different opportunities that are out there.” Although nothing is yet confirmed, those possibilities could include international dates following this year’s focus on North American markets, and that could also mean more North American gigs — including festivals and “bigger shows in bigger buildings with other bands,” he says. “We’ll see! I think the short answer is, we’re open for business.”
Will the Creed revival eventually extend to new music, and potentially the band’s first album together in over 15 years? “We haven’t written anything or thrown anything out there, but I think it’s definitely something that’s on our minds,” says Stapp. Phillips points out that a lot of Creed’s early music resulted from sound-check sessions — kernels of ideas that were drawn out by the quartet’s natural chemistry, then fashioned into global hits. Maybe that same connection can spring back to life all these years later.
Stapp nods in agreement. “We’ve always been a band that functions better just being in the moment instead of making a decision and then having to force it,” he says. “Let’s just let it happen. That’ll be where the best material comes from.”
For now, the response to the band’s live return — watching one cruise turn into two, then amphitheater shows beget arena gigs — has been humbling for the members. “We were hopeful — but, you never know,” Phillips says of fan interest ahead of the reunion launch. Creed is thankful to be in a position where more shows need to be added and venue sizes need to increase. It’s a professional moment that was never promised, and the band is savoring it.
“We’re sort of listening to the universe,” Phillips continues. “If you tell us, ‘Don’t do it,’ we won’t do it. But everybody’s saying, ‘Go for it.’ ” | |||||
3747 | dbpedia | 2 | 8 | https://www.redbull.com/ | en | Red Bull Energy Drink – Verleiht Flüüügel. | https://img.redbull.com/images/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,f_auto,q_auto/redbullcom/2024/4/18/ivl4mtjrxfcdk3pbwfxo/red-bull-summer-edition-image | https://img.redbull.com/images/c_fill,w_1200,h_630,g_auto,f_auto,q_auto/redbullcom/2024/4/18/ivl4mtjrxfcdk3pbwfxo/red-bull-summer-edition-image | [
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] | null | [] | 2024-08-25T12:00:00+00:00 | Willkommen in der Welt von Red Bull. Hier findest du die neuesten Nachrichten und Geschichten über unsere Energy Drinks, Sportler, Künstler, Inhalte, Veranstaltungen, Livestreams und mehr. | de | Red Bull | https://www.redbull.com/de-de | ||||
3747 | dbpedia | 1 | 57 | https://www.allmusic.com/artist/creed-mn0000782768 | en | Music Search, Recommendations, Videos and Reviews | [
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3747 | dbpedia | 1 | 41 | https://enjoytheriderecords.com/products/creed-human-clay-2xlp | en | CREED - HUMAN CLAY 2xLP | http://enjoytheriderecords.com/cdn/shop/files/humanclay_2d_cb51b56f-d458-4ab9-afdb-5a1de7b32650_1024x1024.webp?v=1717013083 | http://enjoytheriderecords.com/cdn/shop/files/humanclay_2d_cb51b56f-d458-4ab9-afdb-5a1de7b32650_1024x1024.webp?v=1717013083 | [
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] | null | [] | null | This 20th anniversary reissue marks the first time Human Clay has been available since the original limited pressing in 1999. Though the Tallahassee, FL–based band had already found enormous success on the rock charts with their multiplatinum-selling 1997 debut, Human Clay would make them mainstream stars. Driven by th | //enjoytheriderecords.com/cdn/shop/files/fav_32x32.png?v=1613511019 | Enjoy The Ride Records | https://enjoytheriderecords.com/products/creed-human-clay-2xlp | This 20th anniversary reissue marks the first time Human Clay has been available since the original limited pressing in 1999. Though the Tallahassee, FL–based band had already found enormous success on the rock charts with their multiplatinum-selling 1997 debut, Human Clay would make them mainstream stars. Driven by the anthemic, first single “Higher,” Human Clay debuted at Number One on the Billboard 200, and Creed quickly became one of the biggest bands in the world. “Higher” spent a whopping 57 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at Number Seven. In July of the following year, the band scored their first Number One hit on the pop charts with the third single, “With Arms Wide Open.” The track—which frontman Scott Stapp wrote when he found out that he was going to be a father—earned the band a GRAMMY for Best Rock Song in 2001.
To-date, Human Clay has sold well over 11 million copies in the U.S., earning a rare Diamond certification from the RIAA, joining the ranks of the Beatles’ Abbey Road, Prince’s Purple Rain and Nirvana’s Nevermind. It remains one of the top-selling albums of all-time in the United States.
TRACKLIST
A1. Are You Ready?
A2. What If?
A3. Beautiful
B1. Say I
B2. Wrong Way
B3. Faceless Man
C1: Never Die
C2: With Arms Wide Open
C3: Higher
D1. Wash Away Those Years
D2. Inside Us All | |||
3747 | dbpedia | 3 | 1 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creed_(band) | en | Creed (band) | [
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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]
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 subsequently announced a headlining tour throughout 2024.
History
[edit]
Early years (1994–1996)
[edit]
Creed began in 1994 in Tallahassee, Florida.[4] Founding members vocalist Scott Stapp and guitarist Mark Tremonti had been classmates in high school and friends at Florida State University.[5] Stapp and Tremonti realized that they had a mutual love of writing music and performing. After multiple discussions and much time spent writing songs, several of which addressed themes of Christian theology and spirituality (due to Stapp's spiritual background as the stepson of a Pentecostal minister), the duo held auditions that led to the recruitment of bassist Brian Marshall, drummer Scott Phillips, and rhythm guitarist Brian Brasher, completing the quintet. The five-piece band lasted through 1994, and Brasher left in 1995. Creed decided to remain as a quartet. The four musicians had already written and collaborated on four songs that would form part of their chart-topping debut album, My Own Prison. The band found local success, playing shows in bars and small dives in Tallahassee. In 2012, Stapp wrote that Creed first performed under the name "Naked Toddler" at Yianni's in Tallahassee; the name was picked up by Tremonti from a headline in that day's newspaper, but the reaction that night to the name was negative. The group was trying to find ideas for a better name when Marshall said he had been in a band called Mattox Creed. Stapp latched onto the ‘creed’ aspect, and the band agreed.[4][6]
My Own Prison and rise to fame (1997–1998)
[edit]
Wanting "a real show at a club", they managed to persuade the owner of a bar in Tallahassee to book them by claiming that they could guarantee an audience of 200 people.[7] Owner and manager Jeff Hanson recalled that the band had played mostly cover versions, but two original songs stood out and impressed him so much that he promptly signed them to his management and promotions company and set about developing their act.[8] For their first recordings he matched the band up with John Kurzweg, a producer and friend of Hanson's who he felt was an appropriate fit. Together they recorded their debut album for $6,000, which was funded by Hanson.[8] The album, titled My Own Prison, was initially self-released on their own label, Blue Collar Records, selling 6,000 copies throughout Florida.
My Own Prison had been circulating around the music industry for a while when, in May 1997, Diana Meltzer from Wind-Up Records heard the album and decided almost immediately that she wanted to sign them to the label,[9] which had creative issues with Baboon over the latter's reluctance to alter their image and sound to suit the label's demands. Meltzer later said that she heard "an arena band".[9] Within the same week, Meltzer, together with Wind-up president Steve Lerner, CEO Alan Meltzer, and A&R representative Joel Mark, flew to Tallahassee to see Creed perform live and decide for certain whether to offer them a contract. "Seeing the energy in the room when Scott Stapp stepped up to the mic, and hearing his powerful voice fill the room, alongside Mark Tremonti's now legendary guitar riffs and that big Creed anthemic rock sound, was all I needed," she told HitQuarters.[9] According to Tremonti in his "Wikipedia: Fact or Fiction" video in 2015, Creed had been rejected by Atlantic and Cherry Universal Records before Wind-up flew down to sign them.[10] The band signed with Wind-up Records in 1997.
My Own Prison was remixed, given a more radio-friendly sound, and re-released by Wind-up Records in August 1997. Four singles were released from the album: "My Own Prison", "Torn", "What's This Life For", and "One". Each of these songs reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, making Creed the first band to accomplish such a feat with a debut album.[5] With little MTV exposure, media coverage, or label support, My Own Prison sold extremely well, moving over six million copies and going six times platinum. Creed continued to top year-end charts and was recognized as the Rock Artist of the Year at the 1998 Billboard Music Awards. My Own Prison was also the highest-selling heavy music record of 1998 on Nielsen SoundScan's Hard Music chart.[11] The band's hit song "My Own Prison" was also featured as a live performance on the charity album Live in the X Lounge in 1998. The band covered Alice Cooper's song "I'm Eighteen" for The Faculty soundtrack in 1998.[12] Critical reception toward My Own Prison was mostly favorable. Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic gave it four out of five stars and said that Creed "work well within their chicken tender dinner" despite "basically [falling] into the category of post-Seattle bands who temper their grunge with a dose of Live earnestness."[13] The album lyrically deals with themes of questioning and struggling with faith and spirituality.
Human Clay and Marshall's departure (1999–2000)
[edit]
With money made from My Own Prison, the band started to write for their second album, Human Clay. The album's first single, "Higher", spent a record-breaking 17 weeks on the top of the rock radio charts.[5][14] In 2009, "Higher" was ranked as the 95th greatest hard rock song of all time by VH1.[15] The album was released in 1999, when My Own Prison was still doing reasonably well.[16] However, Human Clay was an instant and overwhelming success debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and selling over ten million copies over the next two years, allowing it to become one of the few rock albums to be certified diamond by the RIAA.[5] The album was the band's first to hit No. 1 in the U.S., where it debuted with first week sales of 315,000, and stayed on top for two weeks.[17] After the release of "Higher" and then the album in late 1999, three follow-up singles were released in 2000: "What If", "With Arms Wide Open", and "Are You Ready?". The first three singles topped radio charts, giving Creed a total of seven chart-topping singles.[5] The band would later go on to win their first, and to date only, Grammy Award for "With Arms Wide Open" for Best Rock Song in 2001.[18]
Reviews for Human Clay were largely positive. Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic said that the record "does make it clear that there is an audience for post-grunge hard rock, as long as it's delivered without pretension and as long as it meets the audience's desire for straight-ahead, hard-hitting music."[19] The lyrical content of Human Clay is a slight departure from that of My Own Prison, touching on subjects such as fatherhood ("With Arms Wide Open") and lucid dreaming ("Higher"), as well as darker, more violent themes such as sexual abuse ("Wash Away Those Years") and hostility ("What If").[20]
In March 2000, an authorized home video about Creed was announced on the band's website, but never released.[21] During the summer of 2000, bassist Brian Marshall began a spiral into alcoholism. The band had a meeting with management to discuss Marshall's future. Stapp and Tremonti supported the idea of Marshall going to rehab and attempted to talk Marshall into going, but he refused. Initially, the public thought Marshall was let go because he criticized Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder in a radio interview with KNDD in June 2000, claiming that Scott Stapp was a better songwriter, and criticized Pearl Jam's recent albums for "having songs without hooks."[22] Stapp later distanced the rest of the band from Marshall's comments and stated, "Yes, we get tired of the PJ question, but there is no excuse for the arrogance and stupidity [of Marshall]. I ask you all not to judge Creed as a band, because the statements made were not the band's feelings, they were Brian's. I'm sorry if Brian offended anyone, and he has already apologized for his comments."[23] Although it was reported that Marshall left Creed "on friendly terms", he did not. Tremonti and Stapp were concerned for Marshall and their collective friendships, but soon after the controversy, Marshall formed a new band called Grand Luxx with his old Mattox Creed bandmates.[5] Stapp stated that Marshall's leaving was his choice and was unrelated to the Pearl Jam comments.[24] Brett Hestla, from the band Virgos Merlot, replaced Marshall as a touring member of Creed.
Weathered and break-up (2001–2004)
[edit]
Creed worked on their third album for most of 2001, with Tremonti choosing to play bass on the record to "[preserve] the band's initial core," although Hestla remained in Creed's touring lineup. Weathered was released on November 20, 2001. Six singles were released from the album: "My Sacrifice" (which earned the band a nomination for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 2003), "Bullets", "One Last Breath", "Hide", "Don't Stop Dancing", and "Weathered". The album was a commercial bestseller[25] and was certified platinum six times over and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200. It remained at that spot for eight weeks, a record which Creed notably shares with The Beatles.[26] The tour to promote Weathered was met with considerable controversy; it was delayed in April 2002 when Stapp suffered a concussion and vertebrae damage after being involved in a car crash. As a result, in addition to his growing addiction to alcohol, he became addicted to pain medication. This, along with other events, led to a considerably controversial concert on December 29, 2002, at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois, which ultimately led to the band's disunion. Four disappointed concertgoers filed a lawsuit against the band, claiming that Scott Stapp "was so intoxicated and/or medicated that he was unable to sing the lyrics of a single Creed song."[27] Creed later issued an apology on Stapp's behalf,[28] although Stapp would later deny the claims. Ultimately, the case was dismissed.[27] Stapp later confirmed that he was intoxicated during the concert, but he asserted that he was not incoherent.[24]
Creed disbanded in June 2004, after more than a year of inactivity. Tremonti cited tensions between Stapp and the rest of the band as the reasoning. He said that the relationship with Stapp had become so strained that the creative juices were no longer flowing. The reality was that Stapp was in Maui battling his addiction to alcohol and drugs.[dead link][29] Almost simultaneous with the announcement of Creed's break-up, Stapp opted for a solo career. On November 22, 2004, Wind-up Records released Creed's Greatest Hits album. Stapp released his debut solo album The Great Divide in 2005. Tremonti and Phillips reunited with Marshall to form a new band, Alter Bridge, in 2004 with singer Myles Kennedy, formerly of American rock band The Mayfield Four.[30]
Reunion, Full Circle and 2012 tour (2009–2012)
[edit]
While Tremonti referred to Creed as "officially in our past" in 2006,[31] years later, on April 27, 2009, Creed's website announced that the band had reunited for a new tour and plans for a new album. According to Tremonti, "We're all very excited to reconnect with our fans and each other after seven long years."[32] He later added that being in Creed again was "the last thing [he] expected." Phillips also stated: "Our career as Creed came to a very abrupt and unforeseen ending. After reflecting on some of the greatest personal and professional moments of our lives, we've come to realize that we are still very capable of continuing that career and our friendship on a grander scale than ever before."[32] In an interview for People magazine, Stapp elaborated on the reunion, saying, "We never felt like we weren't together. We're not looking at this as a reunion. It's more of a rebirth."[33]
In June 2009, Creed performed with Marshall on bass for the first time in eight years on Sessions@AOL, showing the band playing four of their hits.[34] In addition, the band performed live on Fox & Friends on June 26, 2009.[35] Creed's reunion tour, with touring guitarist Eric Friedman, kicked off on August 6, 2009, and concluded on October 20. Full Circle, Creed's first album in eight years, came out on October 27, 2009. Stapp explained the title as follows: "It really defines and articulates, melody-wise and lyrically, what's happened with us. We've come full circle and it's a great place to be."[36] The first single from Full Circle, "Overcome", was posted on the band's official website on August 18, 2009, the same day the radio premiere started along with its release as a digital download on August 25. The second single, "Rain", was released to radio stations on September 23 and became available on October 6, 2009, as another digital download. The third single, "A Thousand Faces", was released in 2010.
On September 25, 2009, Creed performed a concert in Houston, Texas that was recorded, broadcast via a live internet stream, and subsequently released on December 8, 2010, as a concert film titled Creed Live, the band's first live recording.[37] The performance shattered Justin Timberlake's world record for the most cameras used at a live music event by using an unprecedented total of 239. Three other world records were also broken.[clarification needed] The performance also featured the first usage of the "big freeze" technology, popularized by the 1999 film The Matrix, in a concert environment.[38] Drummer Scott Phillips also confirmed that Full Circle will not be the band's final album. The same announcement confirmed that Creed was to go on a world tour in support of Full Circle between April and September 2010, starting with an Australia/New Zealand tour, followed by South America, Europe, and North America.[39] The tour was called The 20-10 Tour. Tickets for the tour were ten and twenty dollars to stand up against rising concert ticket prices. The first 2,010 tickets purchased for every concert did not include any service fees.[40] Despite these efforts, not every show sold out, and critical reviews were mostly mixed.[41] Skillet joined the tour as main support.
Creed reconvened in late 2011 and early 2012 to begin work on a potential fifth studio album. A tour was also announced in which the band would perform their first two albums, My Own Prison and Human Clay, from front to back over the course of two nights, with selected tracks from Weathered and Full Circle also featured. This tour kicked off with two shows on April 12 and 13, 2012, at the Chicago Theatre in Chicago, Illinois, with the band performing My Own Prison the first night and Human Clay the second. They also toured in South America and Indonesia.[42][43]
Hiatus (2013–2023)
[edit]
The band went on hiatus in 2012 or 2013.[44] In October 2013, Stapp noted in an interview that extensive work was done on a fifth album throughout 2011 and 2012. However, the project was subsequently abandoned.[45][46] Stapp has maintained that Creed is "still a band."[47][48] He also said that he's open to continuing to work with Creed when the time is right.[49]
In June 2015, while promoting his second solo album Cauterize, Mark Tremonti claimed in an interview with Kerrang that he "[hasn't] been a close friend of Scott's in 9 years". The other members did not speak to Stapp throughout the South American Tour in 2012 and plans for their fifth studio album were shelved, and they continued to work with Myles Kennedy in Alter Bridge.[50]
In September 2015, Stapp appeared on the Dr. Oz Show. When asked about a Creed reunion, Stapp replied: "I can tell you what, I sure hope so. I love the guys with all my heart and if they're watching, 'Come on guys, let's make a record.'"[51] He later doubled down on the statements by stating that Creed would "definitely" reunite and that he expected new material from the band within "the next two years."[52] When asked about Stapp's statements, Tremonti clarified that he was still busy promoting his solo albums and that Alter Bridge would record and tour in 2016, making it unlikely for him to return to Creed within Stapp's proposed timeline.[53]
On November 20, 2015, Creed released a compilation album, entitled With Arms Wide Open: A Retrospective. It was a boxed set with three discs: one with hits, the second with rarities, and the third with acoustic versions of hits.[54] In the United States, the album was available exclusively at Walmart.[55]
In 2016, Stapp joined Art of Anarchy. His first album with the band was released in March 2017, and is titled The Madness. Alter Bridge continues to tour and record, while Mark Tremonti released, with his solo metal band Tremonti, his third album Dust in April 2016, and his fourth album, A Dying Machine, in April 2018. Scott Phillips has drummed in the supergroup project Projected, releasing the first album Human (2012) and the second effort the double album Ignite My Insanity (2017). Scott Stapp has since bridged away from Art of Anarchy, having released his third solo album, The Space Between the Shadows, on July 19, 2019.
In November 2020, drummer Scott Phillips announced that a reunion was a possibility.[56]
Second reunion and return to popularity (2023–present)
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On July 19, 2023, the band announced that they had reunited and would be headlining the Summer of '99 cruise in April 2024.[57] On October 30, 2023, the band announced The Summer of '99 Tour, their first tour since 2012. The tour will feature more than 40 shows across the US with support from 3 Doors Down as well as Finger Eleven, Daughtry, Switchfoot, Tonic, and Big Wreck on select dates.[58] This was followed on February 6, 2024, with the announcement of the "Are You Ready? Tour" starting in November 2024 with supporting acts 3 Doors Down, Mammoth WVH, and Finger Eleven.[59] By June 2024, Creed's return to mainstream popularity was evidenced by a return to four Billboard charts.[60]
Musical style and influences
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Creed has been primarily described as post-grunge, hard rock, alternative rock, and alternative metal. Creed also has been categorized, but less frequently, as Christian rock, grunge, nu metal, and heavy metal.[a]
Stapp's influences include Otis Redding, Donny Hathaway, Def Leppard, U2, The Doors, and Led Zeppelin.[87][88] Guitarist Mark Tremonti's influences include thrash metal bands like Slayer, Metallica, Exodus, and Forbidden.[89]
According to a 1999 piece in The Washington Post:
The biblical imagery of singer Scott Stapp's lyrics got Creed typed as Christian rock by early listeners, and the band's denial of any religious objective has unsettled some of its more fervent fans. "We are not a Christian band," Stapp insists on the band's website. "A Christian band has an agenda to lead others to believe in their specific religious beliefs. We have no agenda!"[90]
In 2022, Stapp said in an interview, "Creed was not a Christian band."[91] Bassist Brian Marshall, who named the band, has noted that Stapp uses spiritual imagery as a metaphor in his lyrics.[92]
Legacy and reception
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Creed was one of the most commercially successful rock bands of the late 1990s and early 2000s.[93] 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.[94][95] 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.[96] In 2013, readers of Rolling Stone magazine voted Creed the worst band of the 1990s.[97] Jonah Weiner of Slate has tried to make the case that the band was "seriously underrated";[98] Joe Coscarelli of Mediaite countered that "most people hate Creed's combination of overwrought power-balladry and Christian-infused testosterone."[99] In 2011, Billboard ranked Creed as the 18th-best artist of the 2000s.[100]
Band members
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Current members
Scott Stapp – lead vocals (1994–2004, 2009–2012, 2023–present)
Mark Tremonti – lead guitar, backing and occasional lead vocals (1994–2004, 2009–2012, 2023–present), bass (2001)
Scott Phillips – drums, percussion (1994–2004; 2009–2012; 2023–present), keyboards (2001)
Brian Marshall – bass (1994–2000; 2009–2012; 2023–present)
Former members
Brian Brasher – rhythm guitar (1994–1995)
Touring members
Brett Hestla – bass, backing vocals (2000–2004)
Eric Friedman – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2009–2012, 2024–present)
Timeline
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Discography
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Main article: Creed discography
Studio albums
My Own Prison (1997)
Human Clay (1999)
Weathered (2001)
Full Circle (2009)
Awards and nominations
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Grammy Awards
The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States. Creed has won one award out of three nominations.[101][102]
Year Nominated work Award Result 2001 "With Arms Wide Open" Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal Nominated Best Rock Song[b] Won 2003 "My Sacrifice" Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal Nominated
American Music Awards
Created by Dick Clark in 1973, the American Music Awards is an annual music awards ceremony and one of several major annual American music awards shows. Creed has received four American Music Award from seven nominations.[103]
Year Nominated work Award Result 2001 Creed Artist of the Year Nominated Favorite Alternative Artist Won Favorite Pop/Rock Band/Duo/Group Nominated Human Clay Favorite Pop/Rock Album Won 2003 Creed Favorite Alternative Artist Won Favorite Pop/Rock Band/Duo/Group Won Fan Choice Award Nominated
MTV Video Music Awards
The MTV Video Music Awards are presented annually by MTV and honor accomplishments in the music video medium. Creed has received two nominations.
Year Nominated work Award Result 2000 "Higher" Best Rock Video Nominated 2002 "My Sacrifice" Nominated
MTV Video Music Brazil
Established in 1995, the MTV Video Music Brazil awards, commonly known as VMB, are MTV Brasil's annual award ceremony. Many award winners are chosen by MTV viewers.
Year Nominated work Award Result Ref. 2002 "My Sacrifice" Best International Video Nominated [104] 2003 "Don't Stop Dancing" Nominated [105]
Notes
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References
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