Creed

Creed formed at Florida State University in Tallahassee, where all four members were students. None were studying music, and bass player Brian Marshall is the only one to graduate - he got a degree in interior design in 1996. Lead singer Scott Stapp was close to graduating but left when the band got a record deal in 1997.

Creed were one of the most popular bands of the late '90s and early '00s. The three albums they released between 1997 and 2002 combined to sell well over 20 million copies in America and did very well internationally. Their hits include "One Last Breath," Higher and "With Arms Wide Open."

Their first album, My Own Prison, was made in producer John Kurzweg's home studio for about $6,000 and released independently on a label they made up called Blue Collar Records, a reference to their day jobs (Mark Tremonti worked at Chili's). They convinced some local record stores to stock it and took it to the Tallahassee radio station X101.5, which put the song "My Own Prison" in rotation after it got a great response on their local music show. The album sold about 5,000 copies and got the attention of the New York City label Wind-Up Records, which signed the band and had them polish it up before giving it a wide release. The songs "My Own Prison" and "One" earned a lot of airplay and helped the album sell over 6 million copies in America.