This September marks the 20th anniversary of The Fray‘s album How to Save a Life, and the band will kick off a 20th anniversary tour Friday in Dallas. The Fray says it’s been an honor hearing from fans over the years about how the songs on the album saved their lives.
“I think pretty early on, with the success of ‘How to Save a Life,’ we were surprised at how the song took on a whole life of its own and kind of was out of our hands,” drummer Ben Wysocki tells ABC Audio.
“It just felt like an honor to be told these stories,” Ben adds. “They come up to [us] … like, ‘Here’s my life story,’ and they just barf it at us. It’s like, that takes a lot of guts and a lot of strength, so it feels like an honor to be on the receiving end of that.”
And Fray co-founder Joe King, who took over vocal duties following the departure of original singer Isaac Slade, says he doesn’t take it lightly.
“It’s the most powerful thing to hear these stories,” he says. “In a music industry that’s based on numbers and charts, hearing a real person’s real story, it just hits you to your core, you know? All the other stuff is like, forgettable.”
“How to Save a Life,” which became a hit after it was featured in a 2006 episode of Grey’s Anatomy, went on to peak at #3 on the Hot 100, sell more than 5 million copies and remain on the charts for more than a year. The album itself, which also featured the hit “Over My Head (Cable Car),” topped the chart and earned four Grammy nominations.
The Fray also has new music: They just released a new single called “My Heart’s a Crowded Room.”
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