Kings of Leon - Biography

Kings of Leon is an American band which came into existence in the year 2000 from Tennessee.
It is made up of four talented men including the three Followill brothers namely Jared (on the bass), Caleb (playing the rhythm guitar and the lead vocals as well), and Nathan (on drums). The 4th band member playing the lead guitar is Matthew Followill , the cousin of the three brothers.

Their grandfather as well as their grandfather has the name Leon that’s why they used it in honor of the two men that they respect the most.

Since they were teenagers, the three brothers have been traveling around United States particularly in the southern states of the country. They were always with their parents, especially their father who was a preacher of the United Pentecostal Church. And because they do not have time to be enrolled in typical schools, their mother serves as their teacher whenever they are at home or while on the road.

It was only in 1998 when the Followill family moved to Nashville. Two years after, the invited Matthew to become part of the group called Kings of Leon. Their first few performances were focused mainly on country songs. But eventually, Caleb and Nathan progressed to other music genres including blues.

After a few years of hard work, the Kings of Leon signed a deal with the RCA Records. From there, they met Angelo Petraglia who used to work with other artists such as Martina McBride and Trisha Yearwood. Thanks to Angelo Petraglia that the band learn to play different kinds of rock ‘n’ roll as well such as hard rock, southern rock, and even garage rock. They started listening to the likes of The Rolling Stones who became one of their major musical influences. They loved what genre that they have today. They said in one of their interviews that their upbringing veiled them from the popular music, thus, making them oblivious of the different genres at the same time.

Their first EP album entitled Holly Roller Novocaine was released in February 2003. There were only five songs that were included in the EP album. Aside from the band, Angelo Petraglia also shared his talent by co-writing the songs.

Four songs from the EP album were included in the debut album of the band which was released the same year. The album called Youth and Young Manhood was released just a couple of months after the EP album was out in the market. The band remade two songs namely the Wasted Time and the California Waiting.

The Youth and Young Manhood became very popular in different countries especially in United Kingdom. The European press even noted that the said album and the band were the driving forces that lead to a new revolution in rock. Because of this, other major bands took notice of their success. The Strokes as well as U2 even invited the band to tour with them and perform on their concerts as well. This move made the Kings of Leon even more popular in the music industry.

There were several hit singles that were released from the Youth and Young Manhood album including the Red Morning Light and the Molly’s Chambers’.

In October 2004, the Kings of Leon released their second album called Aha Shake Heartbreak . However, it was only available in United Kingdom during that time. A year after the album became available in the markets of United States. They have released several singles which became a hit since more people were able to cope up with their music. Some of the released singles include King of Rodeo, Four Kicks, and the Bucket. The latter song took a spot in the Top 20 hit chart in United Kingdom.
The Taper Jean Girl, one of the singles of the Aha Shake Heartbreak album, was used in a thriller movie called Disturbia.

The same year, many music artists honored the Kings of Leons such as Ryan Adams, Modest House’s Isaac Brock, Noel Gallagher from Oasis, Bob Dylan, Pearl Jam’s Eddie Veder, Radiohead, and Kelly Jones from Stereophonics.

Bob Dylan as well as the Pearl Jam toured with the Kings of Leon from the year 2005 until 2006.

In 2007, the band released their third album which they call Because of the Times . According to Entertainment Weekly, the Because of the Times album is considered as the band’s “crowning achievement.” Many also recognized the changes that the band made since they released their debut album. Without a doubt, the third album was a huge success not only in United States but in other countries as well. In New York alone, the album was sold out just a few days after it was released in the market. Moreover, not all fans from Hollywood got the chance to buy the album because it was sold out as well.

Recently, the Kings of Leon released their fourth album entitled Only by the Night . It was first released in Belgium, Australia, Germany, and Ireland. Later on, United Kingdom and United States got a copy of the Only by the Night album as well.