Creed Bratton
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Creed Bratton (born William Charles Schneider on February 8, 1943) was a member of the Grass Roots and is now an actor. Born in Los Angeles, he grew up in Coarsegold, Calif., a small town near Yosemite. His grandparents, mother, and father were all musicians and he took a liking to music at a very early age. When he was 13, he received his first guitar from a Sears mail order catalogue. He became a professional musician during his high school and college years. Upon his mother's remarriage, his name was changed to Chuck Ertmoed.
He decided to try life as a traveling musician and made his way on a global excursion. During his travels, he changed his name again to Creed Bratton. He traveled through Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Appearing with his group the Young Californians, he played guitar at a large folk festival in Israel. Fellow American and guitarist Warren Entner witnessed Bratton's performance and asked him to give him a call when he got back to the states. They formed a partnership and recruited the remaining members needed for their group, the 13th Floor. Bratton played lead guitar, Rick Coonce played drums, Warren Entner played rhythm guitar, and Kenny Fukomoto played bass. They recorded a demo and sent it to a new record company, Dunhill, headed by Lou Adler.
Producers/songwriters P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri heard the demo and liked it. They needed new band members for a folk rock group they had formed in 1965. The 13th Floor lost their bass player to the draft during this time and quickly recruited Rob Grill. They changed their name to the Grass Roots for prior name recognition and went straight to the top 10 with their first recording, "Let's Live For Today". The group continued in their hit making vein and toured all over the United States. With the help of their record company and producers, they created a unique sound.
The Grass Roots had top songwriters offering their best songs to them and they wrote many songs themselves. Bratton co-wrote "Beatin' Round The Bush", "No Exit" and "Hot Bright Lights" and he self composed "Dinner For Eight" and "House Of Stone" on their first two albums. Iconic hit songs such as "Midnight Confessions" cemented their standing as major contributors to the rock music scene.
Bratton left the group in 1969 to pursue an acting career and has performed in movies such as Mask and Heart Like a Wheel. Still an active musician, Bratton released three albums of his work since leaving the Grass Roots, in 2001 and 2002. He is a current cast member (playing a fictional version of himself in self parody) on NBC's Emmy & SAG award winning The Office. His character on The Office is referred to as "the creepy guy" and also has mentioned (in deleted scenes) being a part of the Grass Roots.
He has been invited to join The Rolling Stones for their latest tour.
