by wildwoman1313
As the sons of a traveling minister, Nathan, Caleb and Jared Followill spent their youth barnstorming the deep South in a purple Oldsmobile. They sang and banged on drums in the family band while their father, a consummate showman, preached in churches and tent revivals. They adhered to a strict religious mandate that forbid television, competitive sports, and all music but church music, and generously professed their love to a host of girls at the annual church conference where preachers’ sons were regarded with the same élan as rock stars.
The brothers Followill were church-going boys who rode their bikes to a three-room schoolhouse, swam in creeks and shot at rabbits with their BB guns. They seemed destined to follow their father into the religious life, that is, until the man went a little nuts.
Kings of Leon, as they called themselves, taking their name from both their father and grandfather, could barely play their instruments when they first arrived in Nashville, a move precipitated by the divorce of their parents and defrocking of their father, who suffered something akin to a nervous breakdown under the pressure of leading his devoted flock.
The unraveling of their family left an adolescent Caleb utterly disillusioned and heartbroken when, for the first time in his young life, he was forced to confront his father’s humanness and acknowledge his considerable flaws.
Caleb dropped out of high school in his junior year and shelved any dreams he’d had to become a minister and entertainer. He took a job with a construction outfit instead.
Fearing his brother was squandering his potential by settling for the life of a laborer, Nathan wrote a country song which he presented to his younger brother. That simple offering fired up both boys and resulted in a flurry of songwriting. Caleb bought a notebook, drew a heart on the cover, and began writing songs about religion, alcohol, women, and love, themes that continue to inspire him. Nashville was next on their horizon. The Followill boys had found music.
With Nathan on drums, Caleb on vocals and rhythm guitar, Jared on bass, and their cousin Matthew on lead guitar and piano, Kings of Leon teamed up with producer Ethan Johns (who had worked with The Rolling Stones and the Eagles) and songwriter/producer Angelo Petraglia to release the Holy Roller Novocaine EP in 2003 before exploding onto the UK music scene that same year with the release of their debut album on RCA, Youth and Young Manhood. As the youngest member of the band, Jared Followill was a mere 16 years old at the time.
Although embraced by the UK from day one, Kings of Leon have had a harder time winning over an audience on their home turf. The band’s second album, Aha Shake Heartbreak, which reached number one in the UK in 2004, failed to connect in the States despite earning accolades from several rock heavyweights including Elvis Costello and Pearl Jam frontman, Eddie Vedder, who claims to have traveled to the Pacific Islands listening only to Heartbreak.
The Kings scored an opening slot that year with Pearl Jam as well as Bob Dylan and U2. Supporting U2 inspired the group to write more ambitious songs that up until that point had remained beyond their creative reach.
Because of the Times, the band’s third album released in 2007, fared only slightly better in the States despite showing a notable evolution from their dirty Southern swagger to a more polished sound, but it was Only by the Night, the band’s follow-up effort in 2008, that made US audiences finally sit up and take notice.
The first single off the album was “Sex on Fire”, a song inspired by, of all things, a knock-down, drag-out brawl between Nathan and Caleb which resulted in shoulder surgery for the younger sib. The single gained significant popularity in the States, reaching the number one slot on the Alternative Songs chart. The song also earned the band their first Grammy nominations and a win for Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group. In addition, Only by the Night earned a nomination for Best Rock Album. "Use Somebody”, the second single off the album, has become the band’s second consecutive single to top the chart and is their highest charting single to date in the States.
Kings of Leon headlined a number of music festivals in 2009 including Gurtenfestival and Oxegen in Europe, and Sasquatch and Lollapalooza in the States. Within six short years, they have gone from four unknown backwoods boys to a life of traveling in private planes and performing in sold-out arenas, including Madison Square Garden.
In the interest of staying grounded, Nathan, Caleb, Jared, and Matthew have all moved back home to Nashville, preferring the simple life to that of the bustle of New York City and the rigor of the road. Considering the staggering number of bands vying for the success Kings of Leon are now enjoying, the Followill brothers feel blessed indeed. According to Caleb, “…someone is smiling down on us." Seems a fair enough trade for all the missed I Love Lucy marathons.
