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For a list of the monarchs of the Spanish kingdom of León, see List of Leonese monarchs.

Kings of Leon
Kings of Leon performing live at the "Festival Internacional de Benicàssim", on July 22nd, 2007.
Background information
Origin	Tennessee, USA
Genre(s)	Rock Garage Rock Southern Rock
Years active	2000–present
Label(s)	Sony BMG/RCA
Website	Official website
Members
Nathan Followill Caleb Followill Jared Followill Matthew Followill

Kings of Leon are a rock band made up of three brothers and one cousin, based in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee. Their influences include Southern rock, Indie rock, and blues styles.

The group's name is derived from Nathan, Caleb, and Jared's father and grandfather, both named Leon.[1]. Jared and Caleb were born in Tennessee, while Nathan and Matthew were born in Oklahoma. The brothers spent much of their youth travelling around the American South with their father, a traveling United Pentecostal Church preacher and their mother, who taught them when they were not in school. According to Rolling Stone magazine, "While Leon preached at churches and tent revivals throughout the Deep South, the boys attended and were occasionally enlisted to bang on some drums. They were home-schooled or enrolled in small parochial schools. Dean and Pete of Jingo Madness greatly influenced the Followills. Except for a five-year stretch when they settled in Jackson, Tennessee, the Followills spent their childhoods driving through the South in a purple 1988 Oldsmobile, decamping for a week or two wherever Leon was scheduled to preach."

Although it was rumoured their father, Leon, was "defrocked", in an article for Q Magazine in July 2007 Leon himself was quoted as saying "I was not defrocked, I resigned." Leon and his wife divorced in 1997^{[citation needed]} and after various jobs, the brothers moved to Nashville in 1998. They formed a band in 2000 with their cousin Matthew. Their music is influenced by their religious upbringing and their Southern roots and also other musicians, including Matthew R. Hudson who played the drums in a similar fashion to that of Nathan.

Brothers Nathan and Caleb originally sang country music and dance electro and later moved to playing rock and roll. They worked for a brief period of time with label and management group Pistol Creek Productions. They spent their time with this label mainly singing at rodeos. They also were members of the West Tennessee Mass Choir for a short time. [2]

Nathan, the eldest of the brothers, graduated from Christian Life Academy (a private school that is now defunct) in Henderson, TN. Caleb dropped out mid-senior year to pursue country music.

Upon signing with RCA, they were introduced to Nashville-based song-writer/producer Angelo Petraglia, who had previously worked with artists such as Brooks & Dunn, Trisha Yearwood and Martina McBride. Petraglia would prove very important to the band, moving them in a more rock-oriented direction and co-writing many of their songs. "I turned those guys on to the Rolling Stones and a lot of the older raw rock-and-roll stuff," he said.[3] Caleb, whose first name is Anthony, is known as "Tony" to the rest of the band and his closest friends.

Kings of Leon's first release, The Holy Roller Novocaine EP came out in 2003. Four of its five songs would later be released on Youth and Young Manhood, with the songs "California Waiting" and "Wasted Time" being remade. The EP also contained the B-side "Wicker Chair". All the songs were co-written by Petraglia.

Their debut album Youth and Young Manhood propelled them to relative stardom, particularly outside the United States, where they were dubbed one of the driving forces behind the so-called "new rock revolution" by the European press. Their stakes only rose when they were chosen by popular rock bands The Strokes and U2 to tour with them. The title of the album was taken from their father's bible according to Jared. All songs were again co-written by Petraglia, who also contributed guitar and co-produced the album with Ethan Johns. The songs "Molly's Chambers", "Red Morning Light", and "Holy Roller Novocaine" were used in various video games, movies, and TV advertisements. The first single, "Molly's Chambers" became a minor hit overseas.

The band's second album Aha Shake Heartbreak was released in the United Kingdom in October 2004 and in the United States in February 2005. Building on the southern-infused garage rock of their first album, the album was released to widespread acclaim and broadened the band's domestic and international audience. "The Bucket", "Four Kicks", and "King of the Rodeo" were all released as singles, with the "The Bucket" rising into the Top 20 in Britain. The band also garnered accolades from several of their rock peers, including Noel Gallagher of Oasis, Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, and Bob Dylan. The band toured with Pearl Jam and Bob Dylan for much of 2005 and 2006.

In March 2006, it was announced by NME that Kings of Leon were back in the studio, working on their third album. Drummer Nathan Followill told NME.COM: "Man, we're sitting on a bunch of songs right now that we wish we could let the world hear!". The band's third album was titled Because of the Times, which may be a reference to a large UPC ministers conference of the same name held in Alexandria, Louisiana that the brothers often attended.

The album was released on April 2, 2007 in the UK, and a day later in the US to virtually universal praise. NME said that the album "cemented Kings of Leon as one of the great American bands of our time" and Entertainment Weekly called Because of the Times "an epic wide-screen movie of a CD and the band's best to date." [4]. Another reviewer described Because of the Times as, "an accomplished album of unbelievable beauty and familiar, loveable grit. Kings of Leon is maturing wonderfully and with patience, not forcing anything musically or lyrically that doesn’t sound natural." [5]. After this album was released, Ed O'Brien of Radiohead admitted he was a fan, adding them to a list of Radiohead's favorite acts. He said, "I don't get jealous when I see other bands, but when I see them I think, 'Man, I'd love to be in that band'. They're young...they remind me of... the Bunnymen or something like that. They're growing, they're evolving... They're amazing players, the drummer, he's amazing. They're all great but he's really special." [6] It entered the charts at #25 in the US and debuted at #1 in the UK selling approximately 70,000 copies in its first week of release. The album was preceded by the single "On Call", which became a hit in Britain. For many fans of the group's earlier work, the album was slightly disappointing upon release, as the band abandoned much of its fun, dirty, southern-fried swagger for a more mature, polished sound. This, however, did not stop the album from becoming arguably the band's most successful commercial and critical release. Other singles from the album include the song "Fans" and Charmer."

Caleb recently confirmed to UK magazine NME that the band is already working on tracks for the fourth album even though the third album was only just released. One of the reasons for this is that the third album was finished almost a year before it was released so he felt it was time to write songs again. Furthermore, in an interview Jared suggested the next album will "rock harder", suggesting more tracks like McFearless, Charmer, and Black Thumbnail. "We've broaden our musical tastes in the past couple of years and feel we're ready to tackle our southern roots...again" says Jared Followil, the band's bass player. Recording is set to begin in February, when the band completes its current tour.

• Caleb Followill (born Anthony Caleb Followill, January 14, 1982, in Memphis, Tennessee) — (rhythm guitar/lead vocals)
• Jared Followill (born Michael Jared Followill, November 20, 1986, in Memphis, Tennessee) — (bass guitar)
• Nathan Followill (born Ivan Nathaniel Followill, June 26, 1979 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) — (drums/percussion/backup vocals)
• Matthew Followill (born Cameron Matthew Followill, September 10, 1984, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) — (lead guitar)

See also: Kings of Leon discography

• Youth and Young Manhood (2003)
• Aha Shake Heartbreak (2004/2005)
• Because of the Times (2007)

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• Kings of Leon's music can be found in various soundtracks to popular movies and television series', including HBO's Entourage, the Farrelly brothers' film Stuck on You and Disturbia, as well as Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.
• Kings of Leon's song "Molly's Chambers was used in a V.W. Jetta commercial.
• The band Red Light Knights includes Tyson Followill (lead vocals and lead guitar), who is another cousin of the brothers. The two bands played at a show together with The Features in September 2006. The musical influence is easily appreciable.
• European releases of both albums are marked as property of "HandMeDown Records".
• In an episode of The Mighty Boosh, The Nightmare of Milky Joe (Series 2, Episode 6), Noel Fielding's character, Vince Noir, uses a copy of Kings of Leon's UK version of Aha Shake Heartbreak as a mirror to signal a rescue ship. Vince describes it as "a blinding album; better than their first" and adds that they "came up with it really quickly".
• All four band members go by their middle names; Anthony (Caleb) Followill, Michael (Jared) Followill, Cameron (Matthew) Followill, and Ivan (Nathan) Followill.
• A track from Youth and Young Manhood, 'Spiral Staircase', is featured on the Playstation 3 game 'Motorstorm', and of the same album track, Red Morning Light, featured in the Playstation 2 and PC sport game, FIFA Football 2004.

• Kings of Leon Official website
• NME Artist page featuring news, reviews, videos, and photo galleries
• Interview with Jared Followill from Real Detroit Weekly
• JamBase: Getting With The Times - Interview
• TracksMusic.com 2005 Interview
• Rolling Stone article
• ASCAP Interview
• Kings of Leon fotolog
• Kings of Leon Los Angeles Concert Review with Photos
• Caleb Followill interview by Rob Townsend