Artist · chart history

Sparta

Band El Paso United States Formed 2001 American rock band

Sparta formed in 2001 in El Paso, United States. Sparta has 21 chart appearances on 18 radio countdowns from 7 stations on RockLists, spanning 2002–2014. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Taking Back Control”, which appears on 10 lists with a best position of #53. The station that charted Sparta most often is CD101 (Columbus, OH), with 9 appearances. The artist’s biggest year on year-end countdowns was 2002.

21appearances

18countdowns

6songs charted

7stations

0#1 finishes

2002–2014years

Sparta rose out of the wreckage of At the Drive-In. When that band blew apart, guitarist and singer Jim Ward, guitarist Paul Hinojos and drummer Tony Hajjar stayed together and formed a new group in El Paso in 2001, with Matt Miller on bass. Where their old outfit had been all spasms and shrapnel, this one built its songs taller and steadier: big, anxious guitar anthems with Ward's cracked, earnest voice pushing hard against the walls.

Wiretap Scars, in 2002, came in swinging with "Cut Your Ribbon" and "Air", all taut riffs and sudden bursts of melody. By Threes in 2006 the lineup had shifted, with Keeley Davis on guitar after Hinojos moved on, and the band leaned harder into the chorus; "Taking Back Control" is the payoff, a surging, fist-up rocker that became their most durable song on the countdowns, with "Erase It Again" riding along behind.

In 2008 they went on hiatus while Ward chased solo work and side projects. They came back for shows between 2011 and 2013 and returned for keeps in 2017, finally ending a 14-year wait between records with Trust the River in 2020. Their sixth album, Cut a Silhouette, arrived in May 2026.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

Songs by Sparta on radio countdowns

#	Song	Strength	Lists	Best	#1s	Peak year
1	Taking Back Control	180	10	#53	–	2006
2	Cut Your Ribbon	167	6	#34	–	2002
3	Air	102	2	#60	–	2002
4	Mye	61	1	#78	–	2003
5	Sans Cosm	56	1	#87	–	2003
6	Erase it Again	25	1	#81	–	2007

Albums with charting songs

Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.

Year-end chart timeline

Combined year-end countdown points per year. Taller bars mean more songs placing higher across more stations.

02 03 06 07

Every countdown appearance

Year	#	Song	Countdown
2014	1915	Taking Back Control	CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014)
2013	1846	Taking Back Control	CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013)
2011	1792	Taking Back Control	CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011)
2010	1719	Taking Back Control	CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010)
2009	1678	Taking Back Control	CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009)
2008	1659	Taking Back Control	CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008)
2007	81	Erase it Again	The End Top 107 Songs of 2007
2007	1404	Taking Back Control	CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007)
2006	53	Taking Back Control	The End Top 107 Songs of 2006
2006	91	Taking Back Control	CD101 Top 101 Songs of 2006
2006	91	Taking Back Control	WCCC Top 106 Songs of 2006
2003	78 (tie)	Mye	WBER Listener Countdown 2003
2003	87 (tie)	Sans Cosm	WBER Listener Countdown 2003
2002	96	Cut Your Ribbon	Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 2002
2002	95	Cut Your Ribbon	WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 2002
2002	78	Air	The End Top 107 Songs of 2002
2002	94	Cut Your Ribbon	The End Top 107 Songs of 2002
2002	100	Cut Your Ribbon	CD101 Top 101 Songs of 2002
2002	34	Cut Your Ribbon	WBER Listener Countdown 2002
2002	53	Cut Your Ribbon	WMRQ Top 104 Songs of 2002
2002	60 (tie)	Air	WBER Listener Countdown 2002

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