Editing Creed (band) (section)

===''My Own Prison'' and rise to fame (1997–1998)===
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.<ref name="hitquarters">{{cite interview |url=http://www.hitquarters.com/index.php3?page=intrview/opar/intrview_Joel_Mark_Interview.html |title= Interview With Joel Mark |publisher= | work= [[HitQuarters]] |first= Joel| last= Mark| date=October 9, 2000| interviewer=  Luci Vazquez |access-date= October 19, 2011 |archive-date= September 27, 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130927154404/http://www.hitquarters.com/index.php3?page=intrview/opar/intrview_Joel_Mark_Interview.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Owner and manager [[Jeff Hanson (music executive)|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.<ref name="hitquarters.com">{{cite interview| first= Jeff | last=Hanson | interviewer= Jan Blumentrath | url=http://www.hitquarters.com/index.php3?page=intrview/opar/intrview_Jeff_Hanson_Interview.html |title=Interview With Jeff Hanson |publisher= | website= HitQuarters |date= September 13, 2010 |access-date= October 5, 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170904051946/http://www.hitquarters.com/index.php3?page=intrview%2Fopar%2Fintrview_Jeff_Hanson_Interview.html |archive-date= September 4, 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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.<ref name="hitquarters.com" /> The album, titled ''[[My Own Prison]]'', was initially self-released on their own label, Blue Collar Records in April 1997, 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|Wind-Up Records]] heard the album and decided almost immediately that she wanted to sign them to the label,<ref name= "hitquarters3">{{cite interview |url=http://www.hitquarters.com/index.php3?page=intrview/opar/intrview_Diana_Meltzer_int.html |title= Interview With Diana Meltzer | first= Diana | last= Meltzer | interviewer= Stefan Sörin |publisher= | website= HitQuarters |date= July 7, 2003 |access-date=October 19, 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110908185725/http://www.hitquarters.com/index.php3?page=intrview%2Fopar%2Fintrview_Diana_Meltzer_int.html |archive-date= September 8, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> which had creative issues with [[Baboon (band)|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".<ref name="hitquarters3" /> Within the same week, Meltzer, together with Wind-up president Steve Lerner, CEO [[Alan Meltzer]], and [[artists and repertoire|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.<ref name="hitquarters3" /> 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.<ref name="p883">{{cite web | last=Schaffner | first=Lauryn | title=Creed Play 'Wikipedia: Fact or Fiction?' | website=Loudwire | date=2024-04-18 | url=https://loudwire.com/creed-wikipedia-fact-fiction/ | access-date=2024-06-21}}</ref> The band signed with Wind-up Records in 1997.
[[file:Brian Marshall from Creed.jpg|thumb|upright|Bassist [[Brian Marshall]]]]
''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 (song)|My Own Prison]]", "Torn", "[[What's This Life For]]", and "[[One (Creed song)|One]]". Each of these songs reached No.&nbsp;1 on the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' [[Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks]] chart, making Creed the first band to accomplish such a feat with a debut album.<ref name="allmusic.com" /> With little [[MTV]] exposure, media coverage, or label support, ''My Own Prison'' sold extremely well, moving over six million copies and going six times [[RIAA certification|platinum]]. Creed continued to top year-end charts and was recognized as the Rock Artist of the Year at the 1998 [[Billboard Music Award]]s. ''My Own Prison'' was also the highest-selling heavy music record of 1998 on [[Nielsen SoundScan]]'s Hard Music chart.<ref name="creedfeed">{{cite web |url=http://www.creedfeed.com/band/ |title=Creed Bio |publisher=| website= CreedFeed.com |access-date=February 28, 2013 |archive-date=March 3, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130303211439/http://creedfeed.com/band/ |url-status= live }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.artistdirect.com/artist/songs/creed/646500 |title=Creed |publisher=[[Artistdirect]] |access-date= February 4, 2011 |archive-date= January 28, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110128044344/http://www.artistdirect.com/artist/songs/creed/646500 |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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 boundaries" despite "basically [falling] into the category of post-Seattle bands who temper their grunge with a dose of [[Live (band)|Live]] earnestness."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/my-own-prison-r307727 |title=My Own Prison&nbsp;– Creed |website=[[AllMusic]] |first=Stephen Thomas | last= Erlewine |access-date= February 28, 2013 |archive-date=March 14, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110314091112/http://www.allmusic.com/album/my-own-prison-r307727 |url-status=live }}</ref> The album lyrically deals with themes of questioning and struggling with faith and [[spirituality]].