How to Save a Life (song)
Encyclopedia
"How to Save a Life" is a song by American rock
band The Fray
. It is the title track from their debut album
and was released as the second single from it. The song is one of their most popular airplay songs and peaked in the top 3 of the Billboard Hot 100
chart in the United States. It became the joint seventh longest charting single on the Billboard Hot 100, tying with Santana
's "Smooth
" (1999), at 58 consecutive weeks. The song has sold over 3,703,000 downloads, and has been certified 3x Platinum
by the RIAA
.
It is the band's highest-charting song to date, topping the Adult Top 40 chart for 15 consecutive weeks and topping the Canadian Airplay Chart. It was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
in 2007. It lost to "Dani California
" by Red Hot Chili Peppers
.
and songwriter
Isaac Slade
, the song was composed and influenced by his experience while working as a mentor at a camp for troubled teens:
Slade claims that the song is about all of the people that tried to reach out to the boy but were unsuccessful. As Slade says in an interview, the boy's friends and family approached him by saying, "Quit taking drugs or I won't talk to you again," but all he needed was some support. The verses of the song describe an attempt by an adult to confront a troubled teen. In the chorus, the singer laments that he himself was unable to save a friend because he did not know how.
While this was the original intent of the song, the band has opened the song to interpretation. They created a website where fans were welcome to submit music videos they had made for the song. This arose from the response that Slade got from the song:
From an interview with Slade by Bob Wilson in Sauce, Slade was asked, "'How to Save a Life', was apparently inspired by an experience you had as a mentor to a boy who had a drug problem. What's the story behind that?" Slade answered:
, Canada
, Ireland
, Italy
, Spain
, Sweden
and the United Kingdom
. Due to an early leak by BBC Radio 1
in the United Kingdom, where it was the band's debut single, the song was released in that country five weeks earlier than planned. It debuted in the UK Singles Chart
at #29 on January 21, 2007 via downloads alone. Instead of its planned release date which was to be 26 March 2007, the single was physically released in the UK on 29 February 2007and gradually rose up the charts, reaching #5 on February 25 where it stayed for four weeks. It eventually peaked at #4 on 8 April and ended 2007 as the year's 11th biggest-selling single in the country.
The song was ranked #24 on Billboard
s Best Adult Pop Songs of the Decade, and #47 on Billboard's Top 100 Digital Tracks of the Decade. It was also ranked #58 on Billboard's Hot 100 Songs of the Decade and #56 on Rhapsody
's list of the Top 100 Tracks of the Decade. The song is the 25th most downloaded song of all time on iTunes
.
, after Alexandra Patsavas
, the music supervisor for the show, saw the band perform in Los Angeles
. She was impressed with their performance, particularly with the song "How to Save a Life". Alexandra then incorporated the song into "Superstition"
, an episode of the show's second season (first aired on March 19, 2006). After its usage in the episode, the song became a minor Hot 100 hit. The song became an "unofficial theme" for the other members of the Grey's Anatomy production after the episode aired, leading to the decision that the song would be used in the main promotion for the third season in the show.
The song was then featured on NBC
's comedy medical series Scrubs
, towards the end of the popular episode "My Lunch
" on April 25, 2006, when three patients die from rabies contracted through organ transplants. Dr. Cox
(John C. McGinley
) feels that it is through his oversight that the deaths occur, and subsequently, he emotionally collapses, and walks out of the hospital mid-shift. The episode became one of the highest rated episodes of the series.
One week after the promotion for Grey's Anatomys third season began to air, "How to Save a Life" advanced from position #51 to position #29 on the Hot 100. As the promotion played, the song continued to climb on the charts, reaching a peak position of #3 in the Billboard issue marked 7 October 2006. On 21 September 2006, a Grey's Anatomy version of the music video (similar to the one made for Snow Patrol
's "Chasing Cars
") was shown prior to the third season premiere of the show. The song was also released as one of the tracks on the Grey's Anatomy, Vol. 2
soundtrack
album, and would later be used in the trailer for the Australian release of the show. The all time platinum hit lyrically originated as an ASCAP productional advantage in 2005.
In addition to Grey's Anatomy and Scrubs, the song has been aired in episodes of One Tree Hill
, Ghost Whisperer
, The Hills, NCIS (tv series)
, 8th & Ocean
, Cold Case and in the United Kingdom
for the final episode of Big Brother 2007
, Waterloo Road
, the encore episode of Echo Beach and in promos for series 22 of the BBC
's Casualty
. HBO used the song for its "Summer Image" television campaign, and it was also used in the trailer for the film Reign Over Me.
During the season preview for the new Tila Tequila show A Shot at Love
, "How to Save a Life" plays as the backdrop music.
During Season 8 of American Idol
2009, "How To Save A Life" was played when finalist Danny Gokey
exited the auditioning room and celebrated the passing of his first audition with his family and friends, in reference to Gokey's wife passing away of complications from congenital heart disease.
A piano cover version by Piano Tribute Players was played in the premiere episode of Season 2 of The Vampire Diaries
during a scene at the Lockwood mansion.
Grey's Anatomy revisited the iconic song in its seventh season's music event episode, aired March 31, 2011. The song is sung by the cast and incorporated into the storyline. The lyrics to "How to Save a Life" are made relevant by overlaying the song to a stressful OR room scene in which the fate of Callie Torres and her baby are decided.
played the piano. The video juxtaposed images and video of radical Islamic leaders speaking and clips from terrorist training videos and camps.
Australian musical comedy trio, The Axis of Awesome
, perform a number of short parodies of the song: "How to Bake a Scone", "How to Catch a Duck" and "How to Kill a Hooker".
The popular Gaming website Sarcasticgamer.com made a parody song and video making fun of the PlayStation 3's slow initial success called "How To Kill A Brand" that was met with much controversy from the PlayStation 3 supporters around the world. The song focuses on criticizing online play and the lack of a good game lineup. It was written and sung by the site's founder Doc Adams and the video was created by podcast community member MFreakinJ. Adams once said he had writer's block when writing the song.
on 12 September 2006, featured the recurring themes of light and stopped time. This music video shows the scene of a car crash and all of its presumed victims in pause. There is a recurring light throughout the video shining brightly in the dark woods that the video takes place in. Scenes of the band playing in a dark warehouse are intercut with the story going on outside. This version of the video was placed at #21 of the year by VH1's "Top 40 Videos of 2006".
Another version of the music video juxtaposes scenes from Grey's Anatomy
to scenes of the original music video. However, all the scenes of the presumed car crash victims are excluded and only scenes of The Fray playing in a warehouse are shown.
A third music video, directed by Mark Pellington
, was released for the song on 6 December 2006. The video features various kids, most of which seem to be between 12-18 in age, all who appear to be depressed and suicidal, or possibly mourning the loss of a loved one. All of these children have lost a significant loved one prior to the video. Many of the kids cry and scream in the video, all against a white background. Scenes of the band playing the song against this same white background are also shown throughout the video. Many numbered steps are shown alongside the kids, such as "Remember", "Cry", or "Let It Go". The video ends with each child finding a catharsis
and making peace with themselves or others. This version of the video debuted on MTV
's Total Request Live
at #9, and has since gone on to top the countdown at #1 on 21 December 2006, becoming the band's first TRL #1, and also becoming the last #1 video on TRL for 2006.
UK CDS 2
Production
Produced by Aaron Johnson
, Mike Flynn
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band The Fray
The Fray
-Literature:*Fray, a phenomenon in Terry Pratchett's The Carpet People*Fray , a comic book series by Joss Whedon**Melaka Fray, titular character of the comic book series-Music:*"Fray", a song from the album 14 Shades of Grey by Staind...
. It is the title track from their debut album
How to Save a Life
How to Save a Life is the debut album by The Fray. Released on September 13, 2005 through Epic Records, the record charted in the top 15 on the Billboard 200 and was a top ten hit in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the UK...
and was released as the second single from it. The song is one of their most popular airplay songs and peaked in the top 3 of the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart in the United States. It became the joint seventh longest charting single on the Billboard Hot 100, tying with Santana
Santana (band)
Santana is a rock band based around guitarist Carlos Santana and founded in the late 1960s. It first came to public attention after their performing the song "Soul Sacrifice" at the Woodstock Festival in 1969, when their Latin rock provided a contrast to other acts on the bill...
's "Smooth
Smooth (song)
"Smooth" is a collaboration between latin rock band Santana and Rob Thomas of the rock group Matchbox Twenty. The song was written by Thomas and Itaal Shur, sung by Thomas, and won three Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.-Concept...
" (1999), at 58 consecutive weeks. The song has sold over 3,703,000 downloads, and has been certified 3x Platinum
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
by the RIAA
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
.
It is the band's highest-charting song to date, topping the Adult Top 40 chart for 15 consecutive weeks and topping the Canadian Airplay Chart. It was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
The Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal was awarded between 1980 and 2011.The award was discontinued after the 2011 award season in a major overhaul of Grammy categories...
in 2007. It lost to "Dani California
Dani California
"Dani California" is a single from the American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers's ninth studio album, Stadium Arcadium. The single was first made available at the iTunes Music Store and then was officially released on May 2, 2006...
" by Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...
.
Song meaning
According to lead singer, pianistPianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
Isaac Slade
Isaac Slade
Isaac Edward Slade is the lead vocalist, main songwriter, pianist, and co-founder of Denver-based piano rock band The Fray.-Early years:...
, the song was composed and influenced by his experience while working as a mentor at a camp for troubled teens:
Slade claims that the song is about all of the people that tried to reach out to the boy but were unsuccessful. As Slade says in an interview, the boy's friends and family approached him by saying, "Quit taking drugs or I won't talk to you again," but all he needed was some support. The verses of the song describe an attempt by an adult to confront a troubled teen. In the chorus, the singer laments that he himself was unable to save a friend because he did not know how.
While this was the original intent of the song, the band has opened the song to interpretation. They created a website where fans were welcome to submit music videos they had made for the song. This arose from the response that Slade got from the song:
From an interview with Slade by Bob Wilson in Sauce, Slade was asked, "'How to Save a Life', was apparently inspired by an experience you had as a mentor to a boy who had a drug problem. What's the story behind that?" Slade answered:
Commercial success
The song is the band's first to achieve significant popularity outside of the United States. "How to Save a Life" was a top five hit in AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Due to an early leak by BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
in the United Kingdom, where it was the band's debut single, the song was released in that country five weeks earlier than planned. It debuted in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
at #29 on January 21, 2007 via downloads alone. Instead of its planned release date which was to be 26 March 2007, the single was physically released in the UK on 29 February 2007and gradually rose up the charts, reaching #5 on February 25 where it stayed for four weeks. It eventually peaked at #4 on 8 April and ended 2007 as the year's 11th biggest-selling single in the country.
The song was ranked #24 on Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
s Best Adult Pop Songs of the Decade, and #47 on Billboard's Top 100 Digital Tracks of the Decade. It was also ranked #58 on Billboard's Hot 100 Songs of the Decade and #56 on Rhapsody
Rhapsody (online music service)
Rhapsody is an online music store subscription service, launched in December 2001, and available in the United States only. On April 6, 2010, Rhapsody officially declared its independence from RealNetworks. Downloaded files come with restrictions on their use, enforced by Helix, Rhapsody's version...
's list of the Top 100 Tracks of the Decade. The song is the 25th most downloaded song of all time on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
.
Popularity in TV series
The song was first featured on ABC's Grey's AnatomyGrey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...
, after Alexandra Patsavas
Alexandra Patsavas
Alexandra Patsavas is an American music supervisor who has worked on over sixty films and television series, most notably The O.C., Grey's Anatomy and Gossip Girl.-Early life:Patsavas was born in Chicago, Illinois...
, the music supervisor for the show, saw the band perform in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. She was impressed with their performance, particularly with the song "How to Save a Life". Alexandra then incorporated the song into "Superstition"
Superstition (Grey's Anatomy)
"Superstition" is the 21st episode of the second season of the ABC series, Grey's Anatomy. The episode was written by James D. Parriott and was directed by Tricia Brock. It originally aired on March 19, 2006, running for 43:04 min.-Starring:...
, an episode of the show's second season (first aired on March 19, 2006). After its usage in the episode, the song became a minor Hot 100 hit. The song became an "unofficial theme" for the other members of the Grey's Anatomy production after the episode aired, leading to the decision that the song would be used in the main promotion for the third season in the show.
The song was then featured on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's comedy medical series Scrubs
Scrubs (TV series)
Scrubs is an American medical comedy-drama television series created in 2001 by Bill Lawrence and produced by ABC Studios. The show follows the lives of several employees of the fictional Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital. It features fast-paced screenplay, slapstick, and surreal vignettes...
, towards the end of the popular episode "My Lunch
My Lunch
"My Lunch" is the 20th episode of season five and the 113th episode overall of the American comedy-drama Scrubs. It originally aired on April 25, 2006 on NBC....
" on April 25, 2006, when three patients die from rabies contracted through organ transplants. Dr. Cox
Dr. Cox
Percival "Perry" Ulysses Cox, M.D. , is a fictional character played by John C. McGinley on the American television comedy-drama Scrubs....
(John C. McGinley
John C. McGinley
John Christopher McGinley is an American actor, most notable for his roles as Perry Cox in Scrubs, Bob Slydell in Office Space, Sergeant Red O'Neill in Oliver Stone's Platoon and Marv in Stone's Wall Street. He has also written and produced for television and film...
) feels that it is through his oversight that the deaths occur, and subsequently, he emotionally collapses, and walks out of the hospital mid-shift. The episode became one of the highest rated episodes of the series.
One week after the promotion for Grey's Anatomys third season began to air, "How to Save a Life" advanced from position #51 to position #29 on the Hot 100. As the promotion played, the song continued to climb on the charts, reaching a peak position of #3 in the Billboard issue marked 7 October 2006. On 21 September 2006, a Grey's Anatomy version of the music video (similar to the one made for Snow Patrol
Snow Patrol
Snow Patrol are an alternative rock band from Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland. Formed at the University of Dundee in 1994 as an indie rock band, the band is now based in Glasgow...
's "Chasing Cars
Chasing Cars
"Chasing Cars" is the second single from Snow Patrol's fourth album, Eyes Open. It was recorded in 2005 and released on 6 June 2006 in the US and 24 July 2006 in the UK as the album's second single....
") was shown prior to the third season premiere of the show. The song was also released as one of the tracks on the Grey's Anatomy, Vol. 2
Grey's Anatomy (soundtrack)
Grey's Anatomy Original Soundtrack is the soundtrack album series for the television series Grey's Anatomy, with three volumes released in the series...
soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
album, and would later be used in the trailer for the Australian release of the show. The all time platinum hit lyrically originated as an ASCAP productional advantage in 2005.
In addition to Grey's Anatomy and Scrubs, the song has been aired in episodes of One Tree Hill
One Tree Hill (TV series)
One Tree Hill is an American television drama created by Mark Schwahn, which premiered on September 23, 2003, on The WB Television Network. After its third season, The WB merged with UPN to form The CW Television Network, and, since September 27, 2006, the network has been the official broadcaster...
, Ghost Whisperer
Ghost Whisperer
Ghost Whisperer is an American television supernatural drama, which ran on CBS from September 23, 2005 to May 21, 2010.The series follows the life of Melinda Gordon , who has the ability to see and communicate with ghosts...
, The Hills, NCIS (tv series)
NCIS (TV series)
NCIS, formerly known as NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service, is an American police procedural drama television series revolving around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which conducts criminal investigations involving the U.S...
, 8th & Ocean
8th & Ocean
8th & Ocean is an American reality series about a group of models living in Miami, Florida that premiered on MTV on March 7, 2006. The series aired for ten episodes, ending its run on May 9, 2006. The creators of 8th & Ocean are also responsible for Laguna Beach, a show also airing on MTV...
, Cold Case and in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
for the final episode of Big Brother 2007
Big Brother 2007 (UK)
Big Brother 2007 was the eighth series of the United Kingdom reality television programme Big Brother, airing on Channel 4, with a number of closely associated programmes also airing on E4....
, Waterloo Road
Waterloo Road (TV series)
Waterloo Road is an award-winning British television drama series, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 9 March 2006. Set in a troubled comprehensive school in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, the series focuses on the lives of the school's teacher and students, and confronts social...
, the encore episode of Echo Beach and in promos for series 22 of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's Casualty
Casualty (TV series)
Casualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The...
. HBO used the song for its "Summer Image" television campaign, and it was also used in the trailer for the film Reign Over Me.
During the season preview for the new Tila Tequila show A Shot at Love
A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila
A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila is an American reality television dating game show similar to the TV show The Bachelor. It premiered on October 9, 2007 on MTV starring Tila Tequila. The series is a bisexual-themed reality dating show where 16 straight males and 16 lesbian-identified female...
, "How to Save a Life" plays as the backdrop music.
During Season 8 of American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
2009, "How To Save A Life" was played when finalist Danny Gokey
Danny Gokey
Daniel Jay "Danny" Gokey is an American country music singer and church music director from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was the third place finalist on the eighth season of American Idol...
exited the auditioning room and celebrated the passing of his first audition with his family and friends, in reference to Gokey's wife passing away of complications from congenital heart disease.
A piano cover version by Piano Tribute Players was played in the premiere episode of Season 2 of The Vampire Diaries
The Vampire Diaries
The Vampire Diaries is a young adult vampire horror series of novels written by L. J. Smith. The story centers around Elena Gilbert, a high school girl torn between two vampire brothers. The series was originally a trilogy published in 1991, but pressure from readers led Smith to write a fourth...
during a scene at the Lockwood mansion.
Grey's Anatomy revisited the iconic song in its seventh season's music event episode, aired March 31, 2011. The song is sung by the cast and incorporated into the storyline. The lyrics to "How to Save a Life" are made relevant by overlaying the song to a stressful OR room scene in which the fate of Callie Torres and her baby are decided.
Other variations
Bryan Preston, a former lead blogger at conservative website HotAir.com, reworked the lyrics to address terrorism carried out by Islamic radicals. Retitled "How to Take a Life", Preston made a video of the song, himself singing the lyrics while noted conservative pundit Michelle MalkinMichelle Malkin
Michelle Malkin is an American conservative blogger, political commentator, and author. Her weekly syndicated column appears in a number of newspapers and websites. She is a Fox News Channel contributor and has been a guest on MSNBC, C-SPAN, and national radio programs...
played the piano. The video juxtaposed images and video of radical Islamic leaders speaking and clips from terrorist training videos and camps.
Australian musical comedy trio, The Axis of Awesome
The Axis of Awesome
The Axis of Awesome is an Australian musical comedy act. The band's members are Jordan Raskopoulos, Lee Naimo and Benny Davis. The trio cover a wide variety of performance styles, and perform a combination of original material and pop parodies.-History:...
, perform a number of short parodies of the song: "How to Bake a Scone", "How to Catch a Duck" and "How to Kill a Hooker".
The popular Gaming website Sarcasticgamer.com made a parody song and video making fun of the PlayStation 3's slow initial success called "How To Kill A Brand" that was met with much controversy from the PlayStation 3 supporters around the world. The song focuses on criticizing online play and the lack of a good game lineup. It was written and sung by the site's founder Doc Adams and the video was created by podcast community member MFreakinJ. Adams once said he had writer's block when writing the song.
Music videos
The original music video, which premiered on VH1VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
on 12 September 2006, featured the recurring themes of light and stopped time. This music video shows the scene of a car crash and all of its presumed victims in pause. There is a recurring light throughout the video shining brightly in the dark woods that the video takes place in. Scenes of the band playing in a dark warehouse are intercut with the story going on outside. This version of the video was placed at #21 of the year by VH1's "Top 40 Videos of 2006".
Another version of the music video juxtaposes scenes from Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...
to scenes of the original music video. However, all the scenes of the presumed car crash victims are excluded and only scenes of The Fray playing in a warehouse are shown.
A third music video, directed by Mark Pellington
Mark Pellington
-Life and career:Pellington was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He directed The Mothman Prophecies, a 2002 film starring Richard Gere dealing with mysterious deaths foretold by a strange red-eyed flying creature, Mothman, as well as Arlington Road in 1999 starring Tim Robbins and Jeff Bridges....
, was released for the song on 6 December 2006. The video features various kids, most of which seem to be between 12-18 in age, all who appear to be depressed and suicidal, or possibly mourning the loss of a loved one. All of these children have lost a significant loved one prior to the video. Many of the kids cry and scream in the video, all against a white background. Scenes of the band playing the song against this same white background are also shown throughout the video. Many numbered steps are shown alongside the kids, such as "Remember", "Cry", or "Let It Go". The video ends with each child finding a catharsis
Catharsis
Catharsis or katharsis is a Greek word meaning "cleansing" or "purging". It is derived from the verb καθαίρειν, kathairein, "to purify, purge," and it is related to the adjective καθαρός, katharos, "pure or clean."-Dramatic uses:...
and making peace with themselves or others. This version of the video debuted on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's Total Request Live
Total Request Live
Total Request Live is a television series on MTV that featured popular music videos. TRL was MTV's prime outlet for music videos as the network continues to concentrate on reality-based programming. In addition to music videos, TRL featured daily guests...
at #9, and has since gone on to top the countdown at #1 on 21 December 2006, becoming the band's first TRL #1, and also becoming the last #1 video on TRL for 2006.
Track listings
UK CDS 1- "How to Save a Life"
- "She Is" - Acoustic from Stripped Raw + Real
UK CDS 2
- "How to Save a Life"
- "How to Save a Life" - Acoustic from Stripped Raw + Real
- "She Is" - Acoustic from Stripped Raw + Real
- "How to Save a Life" - CD-Rom Video
Personnel
The Fray- Joe KingJoe King (guitarist)Joe King is the guitarist, backing vocalist, songwriter and co-founder of Denver-based piano rock band The Fray.-Early life:Joe King was born on May 25, 1980 in Colorado, and is of Spanish descent...
- guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
(2003–present) - Isaac SladeIsaac SladeIsaac Edward Slade is the lead vocalist, main songwriter, pianist, and co-founder of Denver-based piano rock band The Fray.-Early years:...
- vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
(founding member) - Dave WelshDave WelshDavid "Dave" Welsh is the lead guitarist for the Denver-based piano rock band The Fray.-Early life:Welsh was born in Tucson, Arizona and attended D'Evelyn High School in Denver, Colorado but later transferred to Ralston Valley High School in Arvada, Colorado...
- guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
(2004–present) - Ben WysockiBen WysockiBenjamin Wysocki is the drummer for Denver-based piano rock band The Fray.-Early life:Wysocki was born in Denver, Colorado, in a conservative household. After struggling with piano lessons , he began to learn how to play drums in the sixth grade...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
(2003–present)
Production
Produced by Aaron Johnson
Aaron Johnson (musician)
Aaron Howard Johnson is an American music producer. Aaron has produced and mixed many artists including Secondhand Serenade, Katie Herzig, and Eve6, but he is best known for being the producer of the Denver-based piano rock band The Fray....
, Mike Flynn
Charts
| Chart (2006–07) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956... |
2 |
| Belgian Singles Chart Ultratop 50 Ultratop 50 singles, often just Ultratop 50, is the weekly chart of fifty best-selling singles in Flanders, Belgium, and is produced and published by the Ultratop organization. The chart has existed since March 31, 1995... |
7 |
| Canadian Hot 100 Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007... |
17 |
| Dutch Singles Chart | 20 |
| European Singles Chart | 14 |
| French Singles Chart | 35 |
| German Singles Chart | 45 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
1 |
| Italian Download Chart | 5 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 7 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 10 |
| Chart (2006–07) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Swedish Singles Chart | 5 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 30 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
4 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
3 |
| US Billboard Adult Contemporary | 1 |
| US Billboard Adult Pop Songs Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks Adult Top 40 is a variation on the United States Billboard charts... |
1 |
| US Billboard Christian Songs Hot Christian Songs Christian Songs is a Billboard chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.... |
4 |
| US Billboard Alternative Songs | 31 |
| US Billboard Pop 100 Pop 100 The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009... |
3 |
See also
- List of number-one singles of 2007 (Ireland)
- List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 2007 (U.S.)