The Fray was formed in the spring of 2002 when former schoolmates Isaac Slade and Joe King reconnected and began jamming together that led to writing songs. Later Zach Johnson on drums and Slade's brother Caleb on bass were added to the band. Caleb was the band's first (and only official) bass player but was eventually asked to leave which caused a rift in his relationship with Isaac. There was a bright side to this as the rift later became the inspiration for “Over My Head (Cable Car)”, which is about the brothers' waning relationship and is one of the band's most popular songs. Johnson also eventually left the band to attend an art school in New York. Then Ben Wysocki, a former band mate of Isaac Slade, became the drummer for The Fray. Later, Dave Welsh, who was another former band mate of Slade and Wysocki, was added to the band.

Thus, the band currently consists of Isaac Slade (vocals and piano), Joe King (guitar and vocals), Dave Welsh (guitar) and Ben Wysocki (drums and percussion). As the band has no official bass guitarist, Jimmy Stofer, a member of the band Hello Kavita, was employed as the band's touring bassist from 2005 through February 2007 and Dan Lavery of Tonic has been the touring bassist since March 2007.

The unusual name of the band came from a suggestion bowl that was placed at a graduation party for Caleb Slade. The Fray initially claimed that they found the name suitable because they often argued over the composition of the lyrics in their songs but later ammended the statement saying that they are usually on good terms while composing music, and acknowledging contributions from all of its members.

The first release after the formation of this Grammy Award-nominated four-piece piano rock American band from Denver, Colorado in 2002 was Movement EP, a collection of four songs. Very few copies were pressed, and it is currently unavailable for purchase. They found some success the next year with the release of Reason EP. Denver's Westword alternative newsweekly printed favourable reviews but despite that the band struggled to launch a single. Eight of their songs were rejected by Denver's radio station KTCL before the band decided to submit “Over My Head”. The song was an instant hit and the radio station received many requests for it.

This led to the band being voted “Best New Band” by Denver readers of Westword in 2004. Epic records found out about the band through Westword's original article and officially signed them on December 17, 2004, releasing their debut album, How to Save a Life, in September 2005. The album was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and was also certified platinum in Australia and New Zealand. The band is best known for the title song  which charted in the top three of the Billboard Hot 100 and was also a top five single in Canada, Australia, Ireland, Sweden, and the UK.

The Fray also found national success with the song “Over My Head”, which became a top 10 hit in the US and Canada, and by the end of 2005, KTCL's most played song of the year. The song was also included on the soundtrack for the film Stealth and entered the Billboard Hot 100 charts on the issue marked February 25, 2006. Fourteen weeks later it reached its peak position at #8 on the chart. On the Billboard Adult Top 40 chart, the single reached the #2 position.

Meanwhile, the song “How to Save a Life” was first featured during a second season episode of Grey's Anatomy, and then on a fifth season episode of Scrubs. It has also been featured on the teen drama show One Tree Hill along with “Look After You”, and was also played at the end of Cold Case. Despite not having been originally released as a single, “How to Save a Life” entered the Hot 100 chart on the issue marked April 15, 2006 reaching the top three, surpassing the peak position of “Over My Head”. The song was released as the band's second single. On August 18, 2006, ABC announced that the song would be used for the main advertising promotion for the season premiere of Grey's Anatomy. Only weeks after this promotion started, the song became The Fray's second Top 40 hit in the US and has sold over one million downloads.

As of January 2007, The Fray's debut album has sold over 2,000,000 copies in the US. “Over My Head” has sold 1.3 million digital tracks, and “How to Save a Life” has sold over 1.2. The band won all three awards in the digital category at the 2006 Billboard Music Awards, including digital album and digital songs artist of the year. On December 7, 2006, the band was nominated for two Grammy Awards Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal (“Over My Head”) and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal (“How to Save a Life”).
As their debut album continued to enjoy worldwide chart success, the live album Live at the Electric Factory was released digitally and in selected independent stores in July 2006. The Fray re-released Reason EP the following year while continuing to tour, occasionally playing new material at their high profile shows.

The band finished recording their self-titled second album at the end of July 2008 which is due to be released on February 3, 2009. They filmed a music video for their first single, “You Found Me” which debuted on November 20, during a commercial break of the show Grey's Anatomy. A documentary, titled Fair Fight, will be sold with the first 300,000 copies of the second album. The Fray is also scheduled to be performing on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Good Morning America, as well as a small-venue tour to preview the new album starting around the middle of December. Recently, they were signed on for the 2008/2009 year as ambassador for VH1's Save The Music Foundation.