Creed Bratton

Creed Bratton
Bratton in March 2009
Born	William Charles Schneider (1943-02-08) February 8, 1943 (age 73) Los Angeles, California, United States
Occupation	Actor, musician
Years active	1965–present
Awards	Best Ensemble - Comedy Series 2006 The Office 2007 The Office

Creed Bratton (born William Charles Schneider; February 8, 1943) is an American actor and musician. He was a former member of the band The Grass Roots. He is more recently known for playing a fictional version of himself on The Office on NBC.

He was born William Charles Schneider in Los Angeles, and he grew up in Coarsegold, California, a small town near Yosemite National Park. His father died when he was two years old after an airplane he was working on exploded while he was stationed in Hawaii. His grandparents, mother, and father were musicians, and he took a liking to music at a very early age. At 13, he received his first guitar from a Sears mail order catalog. He became a professional musician during his high school and college years.

He decided to try life as a traveling musician and made his way on a global excursion, during which he changed his name to Creed Bratton. He traveled through Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. He played guitar at a large folk festival in Israel, appearing with his group the Young Californians. Fellow American and guitarist Warren Entner witnessed Bratton's performance and asked him to give him a call when he got back to the United States. In 1966, they formed a partnership and recruited the remaining members needed for their group, the 13th Floor. Bratton played lead guitar, Rick Coonce played drums, Entner played rhythm guitar, and Kenny Fukomoto played bass. They recorded a demo and sent it to Dunhill, a new record company 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 that they had created in 1965. The 13th Floor lost its bass player to the draft during this time, and quickly recruited Rob Grill, changing its name to The Grass Roots for prior name recognition. The group went straight to the top 10 with their first recording, "Let's Live for Today" in 1967. The group continued in its hit-making vein and toured the United States. Iconic hit songs such as "Midnight Confessions" cemented the group's standing as major contributors to the rock music scene.