Book Cover for SINNER’S CREED, by Scott Stapp
It’s a battle between life and death. Heaven and hell. Good and evil. It’s feeling like a sinner when you’re quite pure and honest. Thus the obstacles Scott Stapp, lead singer of Creed, has and is overcoming.
The Grammy award winning and platinum selling rock-star is releasing his tell-all, behind the scenes memoir of his life on October 2nd. Sinner’s Creed (Tyndale House Publishers Inc.) was co-written with Rolling Stone Magazine’s David Ritz, who is no stranger in helping with memoirs. The auto-bio chronicles his life as Anthony Scott Flippen, the son of a patriarch Marine and a matriarch retail associate. His early life consisted of hardly seeing his mother due to her job, and his father up and left his mother and two sisters.
Starting from his youth, Stapp, then Flippen, was deeply rooted in his faith and God. His religion would stay close to his heart to this day but, his second “god” would destroy his will and make him into the man he is today. His eventual step-father, Steven Stapp, wooed his mother and even made little Anthony fall in love with him; he finally had a father figure that showed an interest in him and cared about his above average athletic abilities and education. After the wedding, Steven asked if Anthony would take his last name. To please him, he not only dropped Flippen, he also dropped Anthony. Long live Anthony Flippen. Welcome to Scott Stapp, a boy who was “born again.”
Scott eventually saw his new dad as God, but his God would then fail him in every way. Scott would be physically abused by his dad for bad grades- a 3.5 GPA, being late on a Sunday morning, and anything else Steven could beat him for.
This physical and mental abuse would affect Stapp throughout his whole life. He would eventually dive deep into drugs and alcohol; both of these would be his pitfalls.
Scott Stapp of Creed performing Live at the Beacon Theater in NYC 2012 (photo by Scott Vollweiler)
Scott’s eventual savior was heading to Florida State University and getting his education. There he met his musical soul-mate, Mark Tremonti. The birth of the band Creed reinvigorated Stapp’s life and positivity. Ultimately the band’s highs were evenly matched with Stapp’s personal lows. The bottom of the bottle would eventually be his crutch.
Death was near for Stapp many times throughout his life and is openly detailed in the book. He was moments away from taking his life by bullet, face first onto concrete, etc. Even his ex-wife had a near suicide attempt after his first child Jagger was born.
I remember years ago, as a Creed fan, knowing about his addictions but had no idea it was that critical. All the times I’ve seen Creed live, Stapp was most likely drunk, recently out of rehab or on tons of drugs courtesy of the “rock docs.” Doctors nearly killed him with prescription drugs ordered by his then label owner.
I remember Creed’s VH1 “Behind The Music” and the Rolling Stone cover; both of which I truly loved. Apparently there was a lot of drama surrounding both.
The average Creed fan may not care much about the life of a successful rock singer with millions of dollars but a real Creed fan will not be able to put this book down. Stapp lived in his own prison, alcohol greeted him with arms wide open but his children, his second wife and love for music and God let him overcome.
As a real Creed fan, I recommend this memoir to anyone that wants to read about a rock-star, family man, addict, and music lover that came full circle.
About the author
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