3 Doors Down

3 Doors Down

3 Doors Down is an American rock band from Escatawpa, Mississippi, that formed in 1996. The band originally consisted of Brad Arnold (lead vocals, drums), Todd Harrell (bass guitar), Matt Roberts (lead guitar), and Chris Henderson (rhythm guitar). The band rose to international fame with their first single, "Kryptonite", which placed in the top three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The band then signed with Republic Records and released their debut album, The Better Life, in 2000. The album was the 11th-best-selling album of the year and was certified 6x platinum in the United States. The group was later joined by drummer Richard Liles, who played during the tour for their first album.

The band's second album, Away from the Sun (2002), continued the band's success; it debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 chart, went multi-platinum in the U.S. like its predecessor, and spawned the hits "When I'm Gone" and "Here Without You". The band toured extensively for two years. Daniel Adair played drums on tour from 2002 to 2006. This configuration played nearly 1,000 shows across the world following the release of Away from the Sun. In 2005, Greg Upchurch (Puddle of Mudd) joined to play drums to replace Adair. 3 Doors Down released their third album, Seventeen Days in 2005. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and was certified platinum within one month of release. Their fourth album, 3 Doors Down (2008), also debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. The band's fifth studio album, Time of My Life (2011) debuted at No. 3 on the charts.

Original guitarist Matt Roberts departed in 2012, owing to health issues. He was replaced by Chet Roberts, who was formerly Henderson's guitar tech. Harrell was fired from the band in 2013 after being charged with vehicular homicide, and was replaced by bassist Justin Biltonen. Worldwide, 3 Doors Down has sold more than 30 million albums.


The band originally consisted of Brad Arnold (vocals/drums), Todd Harrell (bass), and Matt Roberts (guitar). The band began to tour outside Escatawpa, and it was during a trip to Foley, Alabama that they came up with their official name. When the three men were walking through the town, they saw a building where some letters had fallen off its sign, and it read "Doors Down". Since at the time they consisted of three people, they added the "3" to create "3 Doors Down".

3 Doors Down's first studio album, The Better Life, was released on February 8, 2000 and went on to become the 11th best-selling album of the year, selling over three million copies. It has since been certified 6x platinum, thanks in large part to the international hit singles, "Kryptonite", "Loser", and "Duck and Run". A fourth single, "Be Like That" was re-recorded for the 2001 film American Pie 2, with alternate lyrics for the first 3 lines. This version is known as "The American Pie 2 Edit". Whilst recording the album, Brad Arnold recorded both the vocal and drum parts. However, the band hired drummer Richard Liles for the tour in support of The Better Life so that Arnold could perform at the front of the stage. Liles left in late 2001.

Greg Upchurch, formerly of Puddle of Mudd, replaced Daniel Adair in 2005, when Adair left to become drummer and contributing member of Nickelback

On May 23, guitarist Chris Henderson announced on Twitter that his old guitar tech Chet Roberts would be taking over from Matt Roberts on lead guitar.

On April 20, 2013, bassist Todd Harrell was charged with vehicular homicide for his actions the night before in Nashville, Tennessee. He was reportedly driving on I-40 at a high speed while under the influence of prescription medication when he caused an accident that killed 47-year-old Paul Howard Shoulders, Jr. The judge in the trial granted the request by Harrell's lawyers to have Harrell placed on house arrest while awaiting trial. The judge granted the defense request, but harshly criticized the musician's doctor in the courtroom, accusing the physician of prescribing Harrell far too many pain pills. The judge stated that Harrell "got 360 Oxycodone and 60 Oxycontin pills from his doctor in less than 30 days, which is well outside the amount that is usually prescribed in the due course of medical treatment." Harrell was also charged with bringing a controlled substance into a correctional detention facility, after it was discovered during the booking process at Nashville's Metro Jail that Harrell had a plastic bag hidden in his sock that contained eight Xanax pills, twenty four Oxycodone pills, and four Oxymorphone pills. Harrell's court and trial dates have been repeatedly postponed by Harrell's attorneys for various reasons. Harrell's original court dates of May 28 and 29, 2014 for the vehicular homicide charge were postponed and the court date for his previous DUI from 2012 was postponed since Harrell had voluntarily gone into rehab at an undisclosed location and remained there on the date set for the charge to go to court. In May 2014 the trial was moved to July 23, 2014. The trial was again postponed by the judge at the request of Harrell's attorneys, pending a status hearing in September 2014. A status hearing took place on September 19, 2014 for Harrell's vehicular homicide charge, in which the judge agreed to postpone the trial again and allow Harrell to remain on house arrest pending his trial. As of January 2015, no trial date for the vehicular homicide charge had been set due to the multiple postponement requests by Harrell's attorneys, reportedly due to the fact that Harrell has been in rehab for treatment for addictions to alcohol and prescription pain medication. In December 2015, Harrell was sentenced to two years imprisonment followed by six years of probation.

On May 24, a week before the start on the European tour, Justin Biltonen, formerly of The Campaign 1984, was announced as the band's new bassist.

In February 2014, Todd Harrell was arrested in Mississippi once again for a DUI. Afterward, the band released a statement that Harrell was permanently out of the band, and that they would continue with Justin Biltonen as his replacement.

Former guitarist Matt Roberts died on August 20, 2016 at the age of 38 from a prescription drug overdose.

3 Doors Down started The Better Life Foundation (TBLF) in 2003, with a goal in mind to give as many children as possible a better life. Since its inception TBLF has supported numerous charities across the USA, including the Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse, and the Habitat for Humanity, as well as providing aid and assistance to the Gulf Coast region of Mississippi during Hurricane Katrina.


Studio albums

>The Better Life (2000)
Away from the Sun (2002)
Seventeen Days (2005)
3 Doors Down target="_blank" (2008)
Time of My Life (2011)
Us and the Night (2016)


Band members
Current members
Brad Arnold – lead vocals (1996–present) drums (1996–2000)
Chet Roberts – lead guitar, backing vocals (2012–present)
Chris Henderson – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1998–present)
Justin Biltonen – bass (2013–present)
Greg Upchurch – drums (2005–present)
Former members
Matt Roberts – lead guitar, backing vocals (1996–2012; died 2016)
Todd Harrell – bass (1996–2013)
Richard Liles – drums (2000–2002)
Daniel Adair – drums, backing vocals (2002–2005)