 The Fray is a four-piece piano rock band from Denver, Colorado. Formed in 2002 by schoolmates Isaac Slade and Joe King, the band released their debut album How to Save a Life in 2005. The band is best known for the song "How to Save a Life", which charted in the top three of the Billboard Hot 100 and was also a top 5 single in Canada, Australia, Ireland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The Fray also found national success with the song "Over My Head (Cable Car)", which became a top ten hit in the United States. How to Save a Life was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and was also certified platinum in New Zealand and Australia. The Fray was formed in 2002, and currently consists of Isaac Slade the lead vocalist and pianist, Joe King on guitar and vocals, Dave Welsh on guitar, and Ben Wysocki on drums and percussion. They have no official bassist, but recently have been touring with bassist Jimmy Stofer, also a member of the bands Dualistics and The Commentary. He has made the decision to leave The Fray shortly to concentrate on his other work. While many critics compare the band to Coldplay, the band lists its main influences as U2, Better Than Ezra and Counting Crows. Although the band draws comparisons to Christian rock groups, they state that they "don't call [themselves] a Christian band".
 "Over My Head (Cable Car)" became a top 40 hit on the Modern Rock Tracks chart in late 2005. It lasted three weeks on the chart and peaked at position #37. The single gained airplay nationally, entering the Billboard Hot 100 charts on the issue marked February 25, 2006. Fourteen weeks later it reached its peak position at #8 on the Hot 100 chart. The song found success on the Billboard Adult Top 40 chart, where it reached the #2 position. The single also saw airplay on some Christian radio stations and spent several weeks on the R&R Christian charts, where it peaked at #27.
While "Cable Car" was rising on the charts the song "How to Save a Life" was featured on a second season episode of Grey's Anatomy and during a fifth season episode of Scrubs. Both "How to Save a Life" and "Look After You" have been featured on the teen drama show One Tree Hill. Despite not having been originally released as a single, "How to Save a Life" entered the Hot 100 chart on the issue marked April 15, 2006. The song was promptly released as the band's second single. On August 18, 2006, ABC announced that the song would be used for the main advertising promotion for the season premiere of Grey's Anatomy. Only weeks after this promotion started, the song became The Fray's second top forty hit in the United States. The song reached the top three of the Hot 100 chart, surpassing the peak position of "Over My Head (Cable Car)", and has sold over one million downloads.
To promote the album, The Fray have performed on several popular TV shows including The Tonight Show, The Late Show with David Letterman and Rove Live in Australia. They also released a live album, Live at the Electric Factory, on July 18, 2006. The concert was recorded on May 21, 2006 at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The digital download of the album is available on iTunes, Napster, and orders for a CD version of the album are available through the band's official website as well as select indie stores. On September 19, they re-released How to Save a Life as a CD/DVD set with exclusive content including a documentary on the making of the album.
As of January 8, 2007, their debut album has sold over 2,000,000 copies in the United States, and has been certified Double Platinum by the RIAA. The single "Over My Head (Cable Car)" has sold 1.3 million digital tracks, and the single "How to Save a Life" has sold over 1,225,502. The Fray won all three awards in the digital category at the 2006 Billboard Music Awards, including digital album and digital songs artist of the year. They also performed "How to Save a Life" at the event. On December 7, 2006, the band was nominated for two Grammy Awards: Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal ("Over My Head (Cable Car)") and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal ("How to Save a Life").
The band released a live cover of John Lennon and Yoko Ono's Happy Xmas (War Is Over) to iTunes as a 2006 Christmas single. The song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at #50, due to a large number of digital downloads. This marks the first time this song has charted on the Hot 100.
 Links:
Official band website
UK Official band website
Official Spanish Fan Site
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Band Introductions 
