Shinedown

Shinedown is a Southern hard rock band that originated in Jacksonville, Florida.

Shinedown was formed in early 2002 by Brent Smith, Jasin Todd, Brad Stewart, and Barry Kerch. They were signed by Atlantic Records. On July 13, 2003, the band released their debut album Leave a Whisper. The album sold the popular singles “Fly From the Inside” and “45”.

Leave A Whisper was re-released on June 15, 2004, to capitalize on the strength of a new single: A cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Simple Man”. This song is often dedicated to their friend Dimebag Darrell who died in 2004. The re-release also featured an acoustic version of “45”, and a new mix of “Burning Bright”, which was to be the fourth single from the album.

During 2004, the band notably opened for Van Halen. On September 21, 2005, Leave A Whisper was certified as gold. On August 23, 2005, the band released a live DVD called Live From The Inside that contained a full-length Shinedown concert held at the House Of Blues in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. On October 4, 2005, the band released their second album called Us And Them, backed by the single “Save Me”.

Save Me maintained a #1 position on active rock charts for twelve weeks. The song became the theme song for WWE No Mercy 2005. The follow-up single, “I Dare You”, also did respectably, and became one of the theme songs of WWE’s WrestleMania 22 and was also performed on American Idol by Chris Daughtry.