Songoftheday 2/6/23 - Hello my friend we meet again, it's been a while where should we begin?
"My Sacrifice" - Creed
from the album Weathered (2001)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #4 (one week)
Weeks in the Top-40: 25
Today's song comes from the rock band Creed, who had taken their Christian-tinged post grunge rock to the mainstream with their second album Human Clay, which spun off the #1 single "With Arms Wide Open" in the autumn of 2000, preceded by the top ten hit "Higher". However, as great as their momentum was, all was not well. Bassist Brian Marshall, who was having addiction issues of his own, infamously gave an interview where he compares Creed to Pearl Jam, causing a little stir in the rock fan community, and not to their favor. Marshall left and was replaced for the tour by Brett Hestla, though he didn't play on their next record Weathered (lead guitarist Mark Tremonti subbed instead). A year from when they hit #1 on the Hot 100, Creed returned with the lead single "My Sacrifice". Written by Tremonti with lead singer Scott Stapp, the lyrics swim in spiritual generalities as Scott seems as if he's singing to God, with lines like "Within my heart are memories of perfect love that you gave to me", though I don't get what Scott's "sacrifice" may be. Either way he sings it with the passion of a televangelist, and with the competent backing of the band he sold it effectively to the fans, and they found themselves again at the top of the charts as the biggest rock act of that moment in time. Surprising, because the music video is so damn goofy...
"My Sacrifice" became Creed's third top ten hit on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 in February of 2002. On the radio, the song made it to #6 on the Mainstream Top-40 airplay chart, while spending two weeks at #3 on the older-skewing Adult Top-40 format. It also was a massive hit on rock radio, taking nine weeks at #1 on the Mainstream Rock chart and a week at #2 on the Alternative Rock counterpart, as well as getting to #19 on the Adult Album Alternative (or Triple-A) Rock station list. Internationally, the single reached the top-40 in Australia (#11), Ireland (#15), New Zealand (#16), and the United Kingdom (#18). The Weathered album, which came out in November of 2001, spent its first eight weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200 sales tally, and spent a hefty 74 weeks on the list, going on to sell over six million copies. At the Grammy Awards in 2003, "My Sacrifice" was nominated for Best Duo/Group Rock Performance, losing to Coldplay for "In My Place". Both Creed and the album will be back to the series.
(6/10)
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The band performed the song at the Olympics in 2002...
Up next, in concert in 2009...
and finally, from their AOL Sessions that same year...
Up tomorrow: Mulleted countryman seeks female companionship.
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