Scott Anthony Stapp (born Anthony Scott Flippen; August 8, 1973) is an American singer and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Creed. He has also fronted Art of Anarchy and has released four solo albums.
Stapp has received several accolades, including numerous RIAA certifications. Stapp and Creed bandmate Mark Tremonti won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Song in 2001 as the writers of the Creed song "With Arms Wide Open". In 2006, Hit Parader ranked Stapp as the 68th-greatest heavy metal vocalist.
Stapp was born Anthony Scott Flippen on August 8, 1973, in Orlando, Florida. He was raised by his mother, Lynda, and his stepfather, Steven Stapp, a dentist, whose surname he took. Artists that influenced him to pursue a music career includes Elvis Presley, U2, Def Leppard, and the Doors. He was influenced by Elvis Presley due to his mother being a big fan and got into the school choir by singing Elvis songs. His first ever performance was when he was nine years old, singing "Yesterday" by the Beatles at Bear Lake Elementary School in the auditorium. He graduated from Lake Highland Preparatory School.
Stapp stated in his memoir that his maternal grandfather was of Cherokee ancestry.
Stapp was a founding member and the original lead vocalist of American rock band Creed. After meeting his future bandmate Mark Tremonti at Lake Highland Preparatory School in Orlando, Florida, Stapp reunited with Tremonti while both attended Florida State University. The two quickly developed a friendship based on their mutual passion for music. Stapp formed Creed with Tremonti in 1994, with fellow members Brian Marshall and Scott Phillips joining as bassist and drummer, respectively.
The band released its debut album My Own Prison in 1997 to mainstream success, selling over six million copies. Four singles were released from the album: "My Own Prison", "Torn", "What's This Life For", and "One". All four singles reached the Top Three on Billboard's Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The album was followed in 1999 by Human Clay, which was an immediate success and certified diamond and eleven times platinum by the RIAA.
The band released another multi-platinum selling album, Weathered, in 2001. The tour to support this record was overwhelmingly successful but ended with a controversial concert in Chicago. This concert ultimately led to the band's breakup.
In 2004, Creed announced that it had disbanded, citing tension between Stapp and the other members. Creed released its Greatest Hits album in November 2004.
In 2009, it was announced that Creed had reunited. The band's fourth record, Full Circle, was released in October 2009. Creed supported the album by touring throughout North and South America, Europe, and Australia during the summers of 2009 and 2010.
In March 2012, Stapp reconvened with his Creed bandmates 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. It was announced that Stapp and Mark Tremonti would enter the studio to start recording new songs in June, 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 of the reason. Stapp also hinted that the relationship between himself and Tremonti had once again broken down, leaving the future of the band uncertain. Mark Tremonti said that his relationship with Stapp went south during the reunion tour when Stapp indicated that he thought Mark would end Alter Bridge to focus solely on Creed, which Mark was not willing to do under any circumstance.
In 2014, Stapp maintained that the band was still together.
On July 17, 2023, Creed announced they would reunite for their first shows in 12 years in 2024, when they set sail the "Summer of '99" cruise in April 2024 as headliners of the rock voyage.
Solo career and contributions: 2004–present
After Creed announced its breakup in 2004, Stapp recorded the song "Relearn Love" with 7 Aurelius and The Tea Party for the album The Passion of the Christ: Songs, a collection of tracks inspired by the 2004 Mel Gibson film The Passion of the Christ. He then began working on his debut solo album. Titled The Great Divide, the record was released in the U.S. on November 22, 2005, peaking at No. 19 on the Billboard 200. "The Great Divide", "Justify", and "Surround Me" were released as singles. The album was certified platinum on December 14, 2005. The Great Divide has since reached double platinum.
Stapp was ranked as the 68th greatest heavy metal vocalist of all time by Hit Parader in 2006.
On August 18, 2010, Stapp wrote: "I'm stripping down all the Creed hits, as well as my solo material, in a manner fans have never heard before but have long been screaming for." Creed's touring rhythm guitarist Eric Friedman joined Stapp on the acoustic tour. The short solo acoustic tour began September 28, 2010, and concluded November 20, 2010.
In the spring of 2010, Stapp recorded an anthem for the National League baseball team the Florida Marlins entitled "Marlins Will Soar". The song was a rewrite of Stapp's song "You Will Soar," using different lyrics and a slightly different melody in the verses. According to The Huffington Post, "Marlins Will Soar" was met with extremely negative reviews.
Stapp appeared on Carlos Santana's solo album Guitar Heaven: The Greatest Guitar Classics of All Time, a cover album on which Stapp sings on the cover of the Creedence Clearwater Revival song "Fortunate Son". The album was released on September 21, 2010.