Higher (Creed song)

"Higher"
Single by Creed
from the album Human Clay
Released	August 24, 1999
Format	CD
Recorded	1999
Genre	Post-grunge
Length	5:16 (album version) 4:44 (radio edit)
Label	Wind-up
Writer(s)	Scott Stapp, Steven Harang, Mark Tremonti
Producer(s)	John Kurzweg
Creed singles chronology
"One" (1999) "Higher" (1999) "What If" (2000)

"Higher" is a song by the American rock band Creed. It was released in August 1999 as the lead single from their second studio album, Human Clay. Vocalist Scott Stapp and long-time friend Steven Harang wrote the song about the power of lucid dreaming.^[1] "Higher" was Creed's major breakthrough hit which helped to place them firmly in the American mainstream music scene. It peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 on the issue dated July 22, 2000, and spent 57 weeks upon the survey, which is the longest stay for any Creed song on the Hot 100. Furthermore, it topped both the Modern Rock and Mainstream Rock tallies in the process, setting a then-record of 17 weeks for longest stay at the top of the Mainstream Rock chart. It also charted in the top five on the Adult Top 40 chart.

Background

The song was written after Stapp used Lucid Dreaming to stop a recurring nightmare he had been experiencing in which he was pursued and killed by a gunman. In the dream, he would turn left at the end of a highway and hide under a bridge, only to be found by his assailant and shot. When he had studied Lucid Dreaming and tried the technique, he was able to turn right and escape the gunman. Stapp stated that after he wrote the lyrics, he never had the dream again.

Legacy

"Higher" placed at #95 on VH1's "100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs" in 2009.^[2]

In popular culture

• "Higher" appeared in the films The Skulls and 22 Jump Street in addition to the official trailers for Titan A.E..
• The book The Ishbane Conspiracy mentions the song.
• The song was released as downloadable content for the musical video game, Rock Band 2.
• In the film Neighbors, the fraternity boys of Delta Psi sang the first line from the chorus during their meeting after they recite Sigma Nu's creed.

Chart performance

Peak positions

Chart (1999-2000)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)[3]	36
Canada Rock/Alternative Chart (RPM)	2
Germany (Official German Charts)[4]	91
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[5]	62
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)	47
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	7
U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks	1
U.S. Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks	1
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks	5
U.S. Billboard Pop Songs	4

Year-end charts

Chart (2000)	Position
US Billboard Hot 100[6]	11

See also

• List of Billboard Mainstream Rock number-one songs of the 1990s
• List of Billboard number-one alternative singles of the 1990s

References

1. Edwards, Gavin (September 2000), "Sea of Fire", Spin (magazine)
2. "spreadit.org". Retrieved February 4, 2009.
3. "Australian-charts.com – Creed – Higher". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
4. "Musicline.de – Creed Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
5. "Dutchcharts.nl – Creed – Higher" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
6. "Billboard Top 100 - 2000". Retrieved 2010-08-31.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics