Kings of Leon
Encyclopedia
Kings of Leon is an American rock
band that originated in Albion, Oklahoma
but formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 1999. The band is composed of brothers Anthony Caleb Followill (b. January 14, 1982, lead vocals, rhythm guitar
), Ivan Nathan Followill (b. June 26, 1979, drums
, percussion, backing vocals) and Michael Jared Followill (b. November 20, 1986, bass guitar
, backing vocals), with their cousin Cameron Matthew Followill (b. September 10, 1984, lead guitar
, backing vocals). The group is named for their grandfather Leon from Talihina, Oklahoma
.
The band's early music was an upbeat blend of Southern rock
and blues
influences, but it has gradually expanded over the years to include a variety of genres and a more alternative
, arena rock
sound. Kings of Leon achieved initial success in the United Kingdom
with a total of nine Top 40 singles
, two BRIT Awards
in 2008, and all three of the band's albums at the time peaking in the top five of the UK Albums Chart
. Their third album, Because of the Times
, also reached the No. 1 spot. After the release of Only by the Night
in September 2008 the band achieved chart success in the United States. The singles "Sex on Fire
", "Use Somebody
", and "Notion
" all peaked at No. 1 on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart. The album itself was their first ever Platinum-selling album in the United States, and was also the best-selling album of 2008 in Australia
, being certified Platinum nine times. The band's fifth album, Come Around Sundown
, was released on October 18, 2010.
with their father, Ivan Leon Followill, a United Pentecostal Church
preacher, and their mother, Betty-Ann. Caleb and Jared were both born in Mt. Juliet
, Tennessee and attended Mount Juliet High School, while Nathan and Matthew were born and raised in Oklahoma City
, Oklahoma
. According to Rolling Stone
magazine, "While Ivan preached at churches and tent revivals throughout Oklahoma and the Deep South, the boys attended services and were occasionally enlisted to bang on some drums". They were either home-schooled
by their mother, or enrolled in small parochial school
s at this time. Except for a five-year period when they settled in Jackson
, Tennessee, the Followills' childhoods were spent driving through the southern United States in a purple 1988 Oldsmobile
, camping for a week or two wherever Ivan was scheduled to preach.
When the boys' father resigned from the Church and their parents divorced in 1997, Nathan and Caleb relocated to Nashville
and embraced the rock music and lifestyle they had previously been denied, attempting to break into the music industry in the process. While there, they met songwriter Angelo Petraglia who helped the siblings hone their songwriting skills and introduced them to the musical influences of Thin Lizzy
, The Rolling Stones
and The Clash
in particular. Their youngest brother, Jared, who had briefly attended public school, was more influenced by the music of the Pixies and The Velvet Underground
. When he and their cousin Matthew also moved to Nashville in 1999, Kings of Leon was formed.
, who at first insisted on putting a band together for the two of them. In an interview with Billboard
, however, Nathan outlined how they told RCA, "We don't want to be Evan and Jaron
. We're going to buy our little brother a bass, he's a freshman in high school. Caleb will teach himself the guitar, Matthew played guitar when he was 10 and I'll play the drums. They said, 'All right, we'll come down in one month and see you guys.'" Later in the interview Caleb admitted to the brothers "kidnapping" their cousin Matthew from his hometown in Mississippi
in order for him to join the band. They told his mother that he was only going to be staying for a week but never allowed him to return home. "We locked ourselves in the basement with an ounce of marijuana and literally spent a month down there. My mom would bring us food down", added Nathan. "And at the end of that month the label people came and we had "Molly's Chambers", "California Waiting", "Wicker Chair", and "Holy Roller Novocaine".
The band's first record, titled the Holy Roller Novocaine EP
, was released on February 18, 2003. At this stage, Jared was only 16 years old and had not learned to play the bass. The release of Holy Roller Novocaine gave the Kings of Leon a significant amount of exposure, receiving a 4/5 star rating from Rolling Stone
magazine. All of the songs released on the EP were co-written by Angelo Petraglia, who also produced the record, and 4 of the 5 songs would later be released on Youth and Young Manhood
. The versions of "Wasted Time
" and "California Waiting
" on the EP differ from their album versions, however, with the 1st having a more tense riff and different vocal style than the same track off Youth and Young Manhood, the 2nd being recorded in a rush to finish the EP. The EP also contains the song "Wicker Chair", while a track called "Andrea" was discarded before its release.
. According to Rolling Stone
magazine, the band's retro-chic
look and blend of Southern boogie and gritty garage rock inspired comparisons to both Lynyrd Skynyrd
and The Strokes
. The album became a sensation in the UK and Ireland, where NME
declared it "one of the best debut albums of the last 10 years" and The Guardian
described the band as "the kind of authentic, hairy rebels The Rolling Stones
longed to be". The album still failed to make any significant impact domestically, where reviews were generally lukewarm and the modern rock audience generally disinterested. In the United States Youth and Young Manhood sold only 100,000 copies, compared with the 750,000 copies it moved abroad.
The band's second album, Aha Shake Heartbreak
, was released in the UK in October 2004 and in the United States in February 2005. Building on the southern-infused garage rock
of their first album, the album broadened the band's domestic and international audience. The album was again produced by Angelo Petraglia and Ethan Johns. "The Bucket
", "Four Kicks
", and "King of the Rodeo
" were all released as singles, with "The Bucket" rising into the Top 20 in Britain. "Taper Jean Girl
" was also used in the 2007 movie Disturbia
and the movie Cloverfield in 2008. The band garnered accolades from several of their rock peers, including Elvis Costello
, and also toured with Bob Dylan
and Pearl Jam
during 2005 and 2006.
and was released on April 2, 2007, in the UK, and a day later in the United States, preceded by the single "On Call
", which became a hit in the UK and Ireland. It debuted at number one in the UK and Ireland and entered the European charts at No. 25, selling approximately 70,000 copies in its first week of release. Although it was louded by some critics other found the album inferior to their previous efforts.
In 2008, Kings of Leon released its fourth studio album, Only by the Night
, on September 19, which subsequently entered the UK Albums Chart
at No. 1 and remained there for one more week. The third and fourth singles were "Revelry
" and "Notion". Only by the Night also had two single-week stints as the UK No. 1 album in 2009, one directly after the BRIT Awards
. In the United States, the album reached No. 4 on the Billboard Charts. Reception to the album was the most polarized yet, with the British press granting the album glowing reviews, while in the United States, reactions to the album were more mixed. The album was officially named as the UK's third-biggest-selling album of 2008 and the biggest-selling album of 2008 in Australia. "Sex on Fire
" was the first single released for download in the UK on September 8. The song became the band's most successful as it peaked at No. 1 in the UK and in Ireland. They won Best International Band and Best International Album at the Brit Awards
in 2009, where they also performed "Use Somebody" live. Kings of Leon also performed on March 14, 2009, at Sound Relief
, a benefit concert, for the Victorian Bushfire Crisis. The song "Crawl" from this album was released as a free download on the band's website on July 28. The third and fourth singles were "Revelry", which peaked at No. 19 in New Zealand, and "Notion", which peaked at No. 24 in Belgian charts. Only By The Night was certified Platinum in the United States by the RIAA for selling one million copies in less than a year after its release. In 2008, Kings of Leon headlined the Glastonbury Music Festival, and in 2009, the band headlined a number of music festivals, including Reading & Leeds
, Rock Werchter
, Oxegen
, T in the Park
, Gurtenfestival
and Open'er Festival
in Europe, along with Sasquatch
, Lollapalooza
, and Austin City Limits
in the United States.
The band released its first DVD, Live at the O2 London, England
, on November 10, 2009. It was later released on Blu-Ray disc
on November 24, 2009. The footage was filmed in London's O2 Arena on June 30, 2009, when the band performed a 22-song set
in front of a sold-out crowd of over 18,000 fans. In an interview with Billboard.com
, drummer Nathan stated, "England is really the first place we broke (...) We figured what better place to make a live DVD than where the fans have been the craziest for the longest." The show featured songs from all four of the band's albums, and Nathan continued by saying, "We just put the cameras in the back of our minds and acted like they weren't even there."
On January 31, 2010, Kings of Leon took home the Grammy Award for Record of the Year, Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
and Best Rock Song for "Use Somebody
" at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards.
, was released on October 18, 2010 in the UK, and October 19, 2010 in the U.S. It was recorded in Nashville and New York between February and June 2010 with Angelo Petraglia and Jacquire King once more at the helm. Following the release of Come Around Sundown in Australia, the band released all the tracks from the new album on their website.
In June 2010, the band embarked on a tour visiting over 50 cities in North America and Europe. The tour dates ran from June 5 to September 23.
On July 27, 2011, singer Caleb Followill walked off stage during a concert in Dallas, Texas
, claiming he was going to leave the stage, vomit, drink a beer and return to play three more songs. He never returned, causing the rest of the band to apologize to the crowd and end the concert abruptly. On August 1, 2011, the band announced through their website that the remainder of their U.S. tour would be canceled with no reschedules due to dates they already have scheduled.
On October 31, 2011, the band announced that after the conclusion of their Australian tour in November that they would be going on a half year hiatus. Nathan stated that the bands hiatus should not take any longer than 6 months.
in New York, called Talihina Sky, the name of an early Kings of Leon track. The Tribeca premiere was followed by scheduling a "hometown" premiere at the deadCENTER Film Festival
in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
, on June 8, 2011.
The European premiere was hosted at the Edinburgh International Film Festival
on June 25 and was followed by a interview session with the band. UK distributor Revolver Entertainment
streamed the movie and interview session to 150 UK cinemas for a "One Night Only" live screening event. RCA Records
has since announced that the film will be released on Blu-ray Disc and DVD on November 1, 2011.
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band that originated in Albion, Oklahoma
Albion, Oklahoma
Albion is a town in Pushmataha County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 143 at the 2000 census.- History :A United States Post Office opened at Albion, Indian Territory on December 6, 1887 and is still in operation....
but formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 1999. The band is composed of brothers Anthony Caleb Followill (b. January 14, 1982, lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
), Ivan Nathan Followill (b. June 26, 1979, drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussion, backing vocals) and Michael Jared Followill (b. November 20, 1986, bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, backing vocals), with their cousin Cameron Matthew Followill (b. September 10, 1984, lead guitar
Lead guitar
Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
, backing vocals). The group is named for their grandfather Leon from Talihina, Oklahoma
Talihina, Oklahoma
Talihina is a town in Le Flore County, Oklahoma, United States, its name originating from two Choctaw words, tully and hena, meaning iron road. Iron road is reference to the railroad that the town was built around. It is part of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area...
.
The band's early music was an upbeat blend of Southern rock
Southern rock
Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music, and genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues, and is focused generally on electric guitar and vocals...
and blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
influences, but it has gradually expanded over the years to include a variety of genres and a more alternative
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
, arena rock
Arena rock
Arena rock is a term used to describe rock music that utilised large arena venues, particularly sports venues, for concerts or series of concerts linked in tours...
sound. Kings of Leon achieved initial success in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
with a total of nine Top 40 singles
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, two BRIT Awards
Brit Awards
The Brit Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain" or "Britannia", but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trust...
in 2008, and all three of the band's albums at the time peaking in the top five of the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
. Their third album, Because of the Times
Because of the Times
-Charts:-Certifications:...
, also reached the No. 1 spot. After the release of Only by the Night
Only by the Night
-Critics:The album was met with mixed reviews. Metacritic's average rating settled on a 63/100, counting a drastic range of ratings between North America and UK press. The U.S. online publications Pitchfork Media, PopMatters and JustPressPlay gave the album a 3.8/10, 2/10 and 4/10 respectively,...
in September 2008 the band achieved chart success in the United States. The singles "Sex on Fire
Sex on Fire
"Sex on Fire" is the first single to be taken from Kings of Leon's fourth studio album Only by the Night and as of September 2009, the second most-downloaded digital single ever in the United Kingdom...
", "Use Somebody
Use Somebody
"Use Somebody" is a song by the American alternative rock group Kings of Leon. It was the second single from the band's fourth studio album Only by the Night , released on December 8, 2008....
", and "Notion
Notion (song)
"Notion" is a song by American rock band Kings of Leon. The song was released as the fourth single from their album, Only by the Night, on June 29, 2009. The song reached number one on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart for one week in of September 2009.-Music video:A music video was shot as a...
" all peaked at No. 1 on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart. The album itself was their first ever Platinum-selling album in the United States, and was also the best-selling album of 2008 in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, being certified Platinum nine times. The band's fifth album, Come Around Sundown
Come Around Sundown
Come Around Sundown is the fifth studio album by American rock band Kings of Leon, released in Ireland, Australia and Germany on October 15, 2010, followed by releases in the UK on October 18 and North America on October 19. The official album covers and tracklist were revealed on 3 September...
, was released on October 18, 2010.
Early years: 1999–2002
The three Followill brothers grew up in OklahomaOklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
with their father, Ivan Leon Followill, a United Pentecostal Church
United Pentecostal Church International
The United Pentecostal Church International is a Pentecostal Christian denomination, headquartered in the St. Louis suburb of Hazelwood, Missouri. It is a part of the Oneness or "Apostolic" portion of the Pentecostal Movement, and was formed in 1945 by a merger of the former Pentecostal Church,...
preacher, and their mother, Betty-Ann. Caleb and Jared were both born in Mt. Juliet
Mt. Juliet, Tennessee
Mt. Juliet is a city located in the western portion of Wilson County, Tennessee, U.S.A. It is a suburb of Nashville, and is approximately east of downtown. It is located roughly between two major national east-west routes, Interstate 40 and U.S. Route 70. As of the 2010 census, the city had a...
, Tennessee and attended Mount Juliet High School, while Nathan and Matthew were born and raised in Oklahoma City
Oklahoma city
Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma City may also refer to:*Oklahoma City metropolitan area*Downtown Oklahoma City*Uptown Oklahoma City*Oklahoma City bombing*Oklahoma City National Memorial...
, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
. According to Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine, "While Ivan preached at churches and tent revivals throughout Oklahoma and the Deep South, the boys attended services and were occasionally enlisted to bang on some drums". They were either home-schooled
Homeschooling
Homeschooling or homeschool is the education of children at home, typically by parents but sometimes by tutors, rather than in other formal settings of public or private school...
by their mother, or enrolled in small parochial school
Parochial school
A parochial school is a school that provides religious education in addition to conventional education. In a narrower sense, a parochial school is a Christian grammar school or high school which is part of, and run by, a parish.-United Kingdom:...
s at this time. Except for a five-year period when they settled in Jackson
Jackson, Tennessee
Jackson is a city in Madison County, Tennessee, United States. The total population was 65,211 at the 2010 census. Jackson is the primary city of the Jackson, Tennessee metropolitan area, which is included in the Jackson-Humboldt, Tennessee Combined Statistical Area...
, Tennessee, the Followills' childhoods were spent driving through the southern United States in a purple 1988 Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile was a brand of American automobile produced for most of its existence by General Motors. It was founded by Ransom E. Olds in 1897. In its 107-year history, it produced 35.2 million cars, including at least 14 million built at its Lansing, Michigan factory...
, camping for a week or two wherever Ivan was scheduled to preach.
When the boys' father resigned from the Church and their parents divorced in 1997, Nathan and Caleb relocated to Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
and embraced the rock music and lifestyle they had previously been denied, attempting to break into the music industry in the process. While there, they met songwriter Angelo Petraglia who helped the siblings hone their songwriting skills and introduced them to the musical influences of Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Two of the founding members, drummer Brian Downey and bass guitarist/vocalist Phil Lynott met while still in school. Lynott assumed the role of frontman and led them throughout their recording career of thirteen studio albums...
, The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
and The Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
in particular. Their youngest brother, Jared, who had briefly attended public school, was more influenced by the music of the Pixies and The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...
. When he and their cousin Matthew also moved to Nashville in 1999, Kings of Leon was formed.
Signing in and first EP: 2002-2003
By 2002, Nathan and Caleb had received interest from a number of music labels and eventually signed with RCA RecordsRCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
, who at first insisted on putting a band together for the two of them. In an interview with Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
, however, Nathan outlined how they told RCA, "We don't want to be Evan and Jaron
Evan and Jaron
Evan Mitchell Lowenstein and Jaron David Lowenstein are American musicians and identical twin brothers who performed as Evan and Jaron. Evan and Jaron have recorded three studio albums and charted three singles on the Pop Songs charts...
. We're going to buy our little brother a bass, he's a freshman in high school. Caleb will teach himself the guitar, Matthew played guitar when he was 10 and I'll play the drums. They said, 'All right, we'll come down in one month and see you guys.'" Later in the interview Caleb admitted to the brothers "kidnapping" their cousin Matthew from his hometown in Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
in order for him to join the band. They told his mother that he was only going to be staying for a week but never allowed him to return home. "We locked ourselves in the basement with an ounce of marijuana and literally spent a month down there. My mom would bring us food down", added Nathan. "And at the end of that month the label people came and we had "Molly's Chambers", "California Waiting", "Wicker Chair", and "Holy Roller Novocaine".
The band's first record, titled the Holy Roller Novocaine EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
, was released on February 18, 2003. At this stage, Jared was only 16 years old and had not learned to play the bass. The release of Holy Roller Novocaine gave the Kings of Leon a significant amount of exposure, receiving a 4/5 star rating from Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine. All of the songs released on the EP were co-written by Angelo Petraglia, who also produced the record, and 4 of the 5 songs would later be released on Youth and Young Manhood
Youth and Young Manhood
-Personnel:* Caleb Followill – vocals, rhythm guitar* Matthew Followill – lead guitar, piano on "Talihina Sky"* Jared Followill – bass guitar, piano on "Trani"* Nathan Followill – drums, percussion, vocals-Singles:*"Red Morning Light"...
. The versions of "Wasted Time
Wasted Time (Kings of Leon song)
"Wasted Time" is the third single taken from the Youth and Young Manhood album by the American rock band Kings of Leon. The song reached number 51 on the UK Singles Chart.-External links:* information – Discogs.com reference page....
" and "California Waiting
California Waiting
"California Waiting" is the fourth single taken from the Youth and Young Manhood album by the American rock band Kings of Leon. An alternate version of the song appears on their debut release, the EP Holy Roller Novocaine. This version was recorded in a rush to finish the record...
" on the EP differ from their album versions, however, with the 1st having a more tense riff and different vocal style than the same track off Youth and Young Manhood, the 2nd being recorded in a rush to finish the EP. The EP also contains the song "Wicker Chair", while a track called "Andrea" was discarded before its release.
First albums and critical recognition: 2003-2006
The Followills' debut album, Youth and Young Manhood, was released in the UK in July 2003 and in the United States later that August. The album was recorded between Sound City Studios in Los Angeles and Shangri-La Studios in Malibu, California. It was produced by Angelo Petraglia and Ethan JohnsEthan Johns
Ethan Johns is a record producer, engineer, mixer, musician, and songwriter who has worked with such artists such as Ryan Adams, Kings of Leon, Ray LaMontagne, Kevin Prosch, Rufus Wainwright, Howard Eliott Payne, Emmylou Harris, Crowded House, Laura Marling, Luthea Salom, and Crosby, Stills and...
. According to Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine, the band's retro-chic
Chic (style)
Chic , meaning 'stylish' or 'smart', is an element of fashion.-Etymology:Chic is a French word, established in English since at least the 1870s...
look and blend of Southern boogie and gritty garage rock inspired comparisons to both Lynyrd Skynyrd
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Lynyrd Skynyrd is an American rock band prominent in spreading Southern Rock during the 1970s.Originally formed as the "Noble Five" in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1964, the band rose to worldwide recognition on the basis of its driving live performances and signature tune, Freebird...
and The Strokes
The Strokes
The Strokes are an American indie rock band formed in 1999 in New York City. Consisting of Julian Casablancas , Nick Valensi , Albert Hammond, Jr. , Nikolai Fraiture and Fabrizio Moretti ....
. The album became a sensation in the UK and Ireland, where NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
declared it "one of the best debut albums of the last 10 years" and The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
described the band as "the kind of authentic, hairy rebels The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
longed to be". The album still failed to make any significant impact domestically, where reviews were generally lukewarm and the modern rock audience generally disinterested. In the United States Youth and Young Manhood sold only 100,000 copies, compared with the 750,000 copies it moved abroad.
The band's second album, Aha Shake Heartbreak
Aha Shake Heartbreak
Aha Shake Heartbreak is the second studio album by American rock band Kings of Leon. It was released in November 2004 in the UK and February 2005 in the United States...
, was released in the UK in October 2004 and in the United States in February 2005. Building on the southern-infused garage rock
Garage rock
Garage rock is a raw form of rock and roll that was first popular in the United States and Canada from about 1963 to 1967. During the 1960s, it was not recognized as a separate music genre and had no specific name...
of their first album, the album broadened the band's domestic and international audience. The album was again produced by Angelo Petraglia and Ethan Johns. "The Bucket
The Bucket
"The Bucket" is the first single taken from the Aha Shake Heartbreak album by the American rock band Kings of Leon. It is one of the band's most successful singles, reaching number 16 in the UK Singles Chart and number 23 in the U.S...
", "Four Kicks
Four Kicks
"Four Kicks" is the second single taken from Aha Shake Heartbreak which is the second album by the American rock band Kings of Leon. It peaked at number 24 in the UK singles chart and number 32 in the Irish singles chart.-Music video:...
", and "King of the Rodeo
King of the Rodeo
"King of the Rodeo" is the third single taken from Kings of Leon's second album, Aha Shake Heartbreak. It was released in 2005 and charted at number 41 in the UK Singles Chart...
" were all released as singles, with "The Bucket" rising into the Top 20 in Britain. "Taper Jean Girl
Taper Jean Girl
"Taper Jean Girl" is a song by American rock band Kings of Leon. It is the third track on their 2005 album Aha Shake Heartbreak. A fan favorite, the song is known for its tight spiraling guitar, barely discernible, unmistakably dirty chorus, and as Rolling Stone calls it, "a final double-time...
" was also used in the 2007 movie Disturbia
Disturbia (film)
Disturbia is a 2007 American thriller film directed by D. J. Caruso and executive produced by Ivan Reitman. It is an updated version of Alfred Hitchcock's classic film Rear Window...
and the movie Cloverfield in 2008. The band garnered accolades from several of their rock peers, including Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
, and also toured with Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
and Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included Eddie Vedder , Jeff Ament , Stone Gossard , and Mike McCready...
during 2005 and 2006.
Commercial peak: 2006–2010
The band's third album was titled Because of the TimesBecause of the Times
-Charts:-Certifications:...
and was released on April 2, 2007, in the UK, and a day later in the United States, preceded by the single "On Call
On Call
"On Call" is a song by rock band Kings of Leon and is the third track on their 2007 album Because Of The Times. The song was also released as the first single from that album on March 26, 2007, in the United Kingdom...
", which became a hit in the UK and Ireland. It debuted at number one in the UK and Ireland and entered the European charts at No. 25, selling approximately 70,000 copies in its first week of release. Although it was louded by some critics other found the album inferior to their previous efforts.
In 2008, Kings of Leon released its fourth studio album, Only by the Night
Only by the Night
-Critics:The album was met with mixed reviews. Metacritic's average rating settled on a 63/100, counting a drastic range of ratings between North America and UK press. The U.S. online publications Pitchfork Media, PopMatters and JustPressPlay gave the album a 3.8/10, 2/10 and 4/10 respectively,...
, on September 19, which subsequently entered the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
at No. 1 and remained there for one more week. The third and fourth singles were "Revelry
Revelry (song)
"Revelry" is the third single from Kings of Leon's fourth studio album Only by the Night, released on March 2, 2009. The single debuted in the UK Singles Chart at #55 via download sales alone on March 1, 2009, and peaked at #29 the following week. It dropped only two places to #31 during its second...
" and "Notion". Only by the Night also had two single-week stints as the UK No. 1 album in 2009, one directly after the BRIT Awards
Brit Awards
The Brit Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain" or "Britannia", but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trust...
. In the United States, the album reached No. 4 on the Billboard Charts. Reception to the album was the most polarized yet, with the British press granting the album glowing reviews, while in the United States, reactions to the album were more mixed. The album was officially named as the UK's third-biggest-selling album of 2008 and the biggest-selling album of 2008 in Australia. "Sex on Fire
Sex on Fire
"Sex on Fire" is the first single to be taken from Kings of Leon's fourth studio album Only by the Night and as of September 2009, the second most-downloaded digital single ever in the United Kingdom...
" was the first single released for download in the UK on September 8. The song became the band's most successful as it peaked at No. 1 in the UK and in Ireland. They won Best International Band and Best International Album at the Brit Awards
Brit Awards
The Brit Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain" or "Britannia", but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trust...
in 2009, where they also performed "Use Somebody" live. Kings of Leon also performed on March 14, 2009, at Sound Relief
Sound Relief
Sound Relief was a multi-venue rock music concert held on 14 March 2009, which was announced by the Premier of Victoria, John Brumby on 24 February 2009...
, a benefit concert, for the Victorian Bushfire Crisis. The song "Crawl" from this album was released as a free download on the band's website on July 28. The third and fourth singles were "Revelry", which peaked at No. 19 in New Zealand, and "Notion", which peaked at No. 24 in Belgian charts. Only By The Night was certified Platinum in the United States by the RIAA for selling one million copies in less than a year after its release. In 2008, Kings of Leon headlined the Glastonbury Music Festival, and in 2009, the band headlined a number of music festivals, including Reading & Leeds
Reading and Leeds Festivals
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend, sharing the same bill. The Reading Festival is held at Little John's Farm...
, Rock Werchter
Rock Werchter
Rock Werchter is a Belgian annual music festival held in the village of Werchter, near Leuven, since 1974. It is one of the five biggest annual rock music festivals in Europe...
, Oxegen
Oxegen
Oxegen is an annual music festival in Ireland held since 2004, sponsored by Heineken. As of 2007, 2008, 2009, the festival has been cited as Ireland's biggest music festival. And by 2009, the festival is cited as the greenest festival, being a 100% carbon neutral event in Ireland. It was previously...
, T in the Park
T in the Park
T in the Park is a major British music festival that has been held annually since 1994. It is named after its main sponsor, the brewing company Tennents. It was originally held at Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire but since 1997 has been held at a disused airfield in Balado, Kinross-shire...
, Gurtenfestival
Gurtenfestival
The Gurtenfestival is a music festival in Switzerland. It is held annually in middle of July on top of Bern's local mountain, the Gurten.-1991:Nazareth, Donovan, Ralph McTell, Flying Pickets, Konstantin Wecker-1992:...
and Open'er Festival
Open'er Festival
The Heineken Open'er Festival is a music festival which takes place on the North coast of Poland, in Gdynia. The first edition of the festival was organized in Warsaw in 2002 as Open Air Festival. The main organizer of the festival is the concert agency Alter Art, but the performance took its name...
in Europe, along with Sasquatch
Sasquatch! Music Festival
Sasquatch! Music Festival is a music festival held annually at the Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Washington. It is presented by the House of Blues. There is an emphasis on indie rock bands and singer-songwriters, although there are also alternative rock, hip hop and comedy acts...
, Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza is an annual music festival featuring popular alternative rock, heavy metal, punk rock and hip hop bands, dance and comedy performances, and craft booths. It has also provided a platform for non-profit and political groups. The music festival hosts more than 160,000 people over a...
, and Austin City Limits
Austin City Limits
Austin City Limits is an American public television music program recorded live in Austin, Texas by Public Broadcasting Service Public television member station KLRU, and broadcast on many PBS stations around the United States...
in the United States.
The band released its first DVD, Live at the O2 London, England
Live at the O2 London, England
Live at the O2 London, England is a DVD by Kings of Leon released on November 10, 2009. It features the band's show on June 30, 2009, at the O2 Arena in London, England...
, on November 10, 2009. It was later released on Blu-Ray disc
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
on November 24, 2009. The footage was filmed in London's O2 Arena on June 30, 2009, when the band performed a 22-song set
Set list
A set list, or setlist, is a document that lists the songs that a band or musical artist intends to play, or has played, during a specific concert performance...
in front of a sold-out crowd of over 18,000 fans. In an interview with Billboard.com
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
, drummer Nathan stated, "England is really the first place we broke (...) We figured what better place to make a live DVD than where the fans have been the craziest for the longest." The show featured songs from all four of the band's albums, and Nathan continued by saying, "We just put the cameras in the back of our minds and acted like they weren't even there."
On January 31, 2010, Kings of Leon took home the Grammy Award for Record of the Year, Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
The Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal was awarded between 1980 and 2011.The award was discontinued after the 2011 award season in a major overhaul of Grammy categories...
and Best Rock Song for "Use Somebody
Use Somebody
"Use Somebody" is a song by the American alternative rock group Kings of Leon. It was the second single from the band's fourth studio album Only by the Night , released on December 8, 2008....
" at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards.
Come Around Sundown and hiatus: 2010–present
The band's fifth album, called Come Around SundownCome Around Sundown
Come Around Sundown is the fifth studio album by American rock band Kings of Leon, released in Ireland, Australia and Germany on October 15, 2010, followed by releases in the UK on October 18 and North America on October 19. The official album covers and tracklist were revealed on 3 September...
, was released on October 18, 2010 in the UK, and October 19, 2010 in the U.S. It was recorded in Nashville and New York between February and June 2010 with Angelo Petraglia and Jacquire King once more at the helm. Following the release of Come Around Sundown in Australia, the band released all the tracks from the new album on their website.
In June 2010, the band embarked on a tour visiting over 50 cities in North America and Europe. The tour dates ran from June 5 to September 23.
On July 27, 2011, singer Caleb Followill walked off stage during a concert in Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, claiming he was going to leave the stage, vomit, drink a beer and return to play three more songs. He never returned, causing the rest of the band to apologize to the crowd and end the concert abruptly. On August 1, 2011, the band announced through their website that the remainder of their U.S. tour would be canceled with no reschedules due to dates they already have scheduled.
On October 31, 2011, the band announced that after the conclusion of their Australian tour in November that they would be going on a half year hiatus. Nathan stated that the bands hiatus should not take any longer than 6 months.
Band members
- Caleb Followill – lead vocalsLead vocalistThe lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
, rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together... - Matthew Followill – lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
, backing vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists... - Jared Followill – bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, backing vocals - Nathan Followill – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
and percussion, backing vocals
Discography
- Youth and Young ManhoodYouth and Young Manhood-Personnel:* Caleb Followill – vocals, rhythm guitar* Matthew Followill – lead guitar, piano on "Talihina Sky"* Jared Followill – bass guitar, piano on "Trani"* Nathan Followill – drums, percussion, vocals-Singles:*"Red Morning Light"...
(2003) - Aha Shake HeartbreakAha Shake HeartbreakAha Shake Heartbreak is the second studio album by American rock band Kings of Leon. It was released in November 2004 in the UK and February 2005 in the United States...
(2004) - Because of the TimesBecause of the Times-Charts:-Certifications:...
(2007) - Only by the NightOnly by the Night-Critics:The album was met with mixed reviews. Metacritic's average rating settled on a 63/100, counting a drastic range of ratings between North America and UK press. The U.S. online publications Pitchfork Media, PopMatters and JustPressPlay gave the album a 3.8/10, 2/10 and 4/10 respectively,...
(2008) - Come Around SundownCome Around SundownCome Around Sundown is the fifth studio album by American rock band Kings of Leon, released in Ireland, Australia and Germany on October 15, 2010, followed by releases in the UK on October 18 and North America on October 19. The official album covers and tracklist were revealed on 3 September...
(2010)
In other media
In early April 2011, an 87 minute film directed by Stephen C. Mitchell documenting the band's lives was shown at the 2011 Tribeca Film FestivalTribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Film Festival is a film festival founded in 2002 by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff in a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the consequent loss of vitality in the TriBeCa neighborhood in Lower Manhattan.The mission of the festival...
in New York, called Talihina Sky, the name of an early Kings of Leon track. The Tribeca premiere was followed by scheduling a "hometown" premiere at the deadCENTER Film Festival
DeadCENTER Film Festival
The deadCENTER Film Festival was founded in 2001 in Oklahoma City. The festival was named "deadCENTER" because it is located in the exact center of the United States...
in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City is the capital and the largest city in the state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, the city ranks 31st among United States cities in population. The city's population, from the 2010 census, was 579,999, with a metro-area population of 1,252,987 . In 2010, the Oklahoma...
, on June 8, 2011.
The European premiere was hosted at the Edinburgh International Film Festival
Edinburgh International Film Festival
The Edinburgh International Film Festival is an annual fortnight of cinema screenings and related events taking place each June. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival...
on June 25 and was followed by a interview session with the band. UK distributor Revolver Entertainment
Revolver Entertainment
Revolver Entertainment is a marketing-lead, all rights film distribution company. Founded in 1997, the company has operations in both London and Los Angeles....
streamed the movie and interview session to 150 UK cinemas for a "One Night Only" live screening event. RCA Records
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
has since announced that the film will be released on Blu-ray Disc and DVD on November 1, 2011.