Stapp has received several accolades, including a Grammy Award for Creed's song "With Arms Wide Open" and numerous RIAA certifications. In 2006, Hit Parader ranked Stapp as the 68th greatest heavy metal vocalist of all time.Creed: 1993–2004; 2009–2012
Stapp is a founding member and lead vocalist of the American hard rock band Creed. After developing a friendship with an acquaintance, his future band mate Mark Tremonti at Lake Highland Preparatory School in Orlando, Stapp reunited with Tremonti while both attended Florida State University, and they quickly developed a friendship based on their mutual passion for music. Stapp formed Creed with Tremonti in 1993 with fellow members Brian Marshall and Scott Phillips joining as bassist and drummer, respectively. Rhythm guitarist Brian Brasher was also briefly a member from 1993 until 1995. While often criticized and parodied, Creed is recognized by many as one of the major acts of the post-grunge movement of the late 1990s and early 2000s.The band released its debut album My Own Prison in 1997 to mainstream success, selling over six million copies.[5] 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 Billboard'a Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, becoming the first band to do so with a debut album.[5] The album was then followed in 1999 by Human Clay, which was an immediate success and certified diamond and eleven times platinum by the RIAA.[5] Existing tension between Stapp and Marshall began to increase during this time, leading Marshall to ultimately leave the band to pursue other interests. He was temporarily replaced by touring bassist Brett Hestla,[6] with Tremonti handling the bass parts in the studio. After a tour, the band released another multi-platinum selling album, Weathered, in 2001.[7] The tour to support this record was overwhelmingly successful but ended with a considerably controversial concert in Chicago that ultimately led to the band's breakup.[8] The band announced that they had disbanded in 2004, citing tension between Stapp and the other members.[9] Creed released its Greatest Hits in November 2004.
After months of speculation, despite early claims from Tremonti that Creed would never return,[10] it was announced that Creed had reunited with plans for a tour and a new album.[11] The record, Full Circle, was released in October 2009. Creed supported the album by touring throughout North and South America, Canada, Europe, and Australia during the summers of 2009 and 2010.[12] A fifth Creed album was expected in late 2011 or early 2012 according to Tremonti,[13] but never did materialize.
In March 2012, Stapp reconvened with his Creed band mates to rehearse for their "2 Nights" tour, during which the band performed its first two albums, My Own Prison and Human Clay, back to back in their entirety.[14] It was announced that Stapp and Mark Tremonti would enter the studio to start recording new songs in June,[15] but no progress was made.
In October 2013, Stapp noted in an interview that extensive work was done on the new album throughout 2011 and 2012. However, the project was suddenly abandoned, and Stapp stated he was unaware as to why. Stapp also hinted that the relationship between himself and Tremonti had once again broken down, leaving the future of the band uncertain.[16] In December 2013, Stapp elaborated on this, saying Tremonti is dictating to him what he wants the band's creative direction to be, and that Stapp does not want to work with him "under those circumstances".[17] In January 2014, Stapp once again confirmed in an interview the personal and creative differences between him and Tremonti, stating that future material by the band looks unlikely to happen at the moment, and that he is concentrating on his solo career.[18] Despite these differences, Stapp has maintained that the band is still together, if inactive, saying that "There's no real time table, we're still a band."[19][20] He's also said that he's always open to continuing to work on a new album when the time is right and if everyone can agree to continue.[18] However, in October 2014, Mark Tremonti said flatly that the band has "no plans at the moment" to reform for another album or tour.
