Song · The Fray
“How to Save a Life” by The Fray
From the album How to Save a Life (2005)
“How to Save a Life” by The Fray appears on 22 radio countdowns from 13 stations between 2006 and 2025. It was first released in 2005 on the album How to Save a Life. Its best result is #10 on the 89X Top 89 Songs of 2006. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #49 alternative song of 2006 and #2,865 alternative song of all time.
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The Fray built their 2005 debut album around "How to Save a Life", the title track and its second single, a slow-building lament from someone watching a troubled friend go under and finding there's nothing they can do to pull them back. Isaac Slade and Joe King wrote it, with Slade supplying the words; Mike Flynn and Aaron Johnson produced, Paul Mahern recorded it and Mark Endert mixed it into something that swells from confessional hush to a big, aching chorus.
It became the band's biggest hit: number three on the Billboard Hot 100, 58 straight weeks on that chart, level with Santana's "Smooth", and 15 weeks on top of the Adult Top 40. It went five times platinum and earned a Grammy nod in 2007, though "Dani California" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers took the prize.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 41 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 2006 | 107 |
| 2006 | 64 | 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana | 91X Top 91 Songs of 2006 | 91 |
| 2006 | 12 | Q101 Chicago, IL | Q101 Top 101 Songs of 2006 | 101 |
| 2006 | 18 | WFNX Boston, MA | WFNX Top 100 Songs of 2006 | 100 |
| 2006 | 87 | 107.7 The End Seattle, WA | The End Top 107 Songs of 2006 | 107 |
| 2006 | 10 | 89X Detroit, MI / Windsor, ON | 89X Top 89 Songs of 2006 | 89 |
| 2006 | 45 | CD101 Columbus, OH | CD101 Top 101 Songs of 2006 | 101 |
| 2006 | 27 | 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) | WEQX Top 102.7 of 2006 | 103 |
| 2007 | 48 | Studio Brussel Flanders, Belgium | Studio Brussel De Eindafrekening 2007 | 60 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 969 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) | 2008 |
| 2007 | 204 | WTMD | WTMD Top 897 Songs of All Time | 897 |
| 2008 | 1252 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) | 2009 |
| 2009 | 1268 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) | 2010 |
| 2010 | 1306 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) | 2011 |
| 2011 | 1357 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) | 2011 |
| 2013 | 1412 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) | 2012 |
| 2013 | 360 | WXPN | WXPN 885 Greatest Songs of the New Millennium (2013) | 885 |
| 2014 | 1477 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) | 2013 |
| 2022 | 721 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 2000s | 907 |
| 2024 | 52 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs of the 21st Century | 1055 |
| 2024 | 362 | WXPN | WXPN The 885 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century (2024) | 885 |
| 2025 | 364 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 21st Century | 909 |
Also listed as: How To Save A Life.
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