Kings of Leon
Heard of the phrase, ‘keep
it in the family’? Being a band formed of three brothers and one cousin from Tennessee, the Kings of
Leon surely have. Each known by their middle names as opposed to their first
names, the Kings consist of Followill brothers Anthony Caleb on vocals and
rhythm guitar, Ivan Nathan on drums, Michael Jared on bass, and their cousin
Cameron Matthew on lead guitar. Although the band began their career playing a
friendly blend of blues and southern rock, they are now more of an alternative
rock band, their sound having widened in scope over the years. Arguably more
popular in Britain than their homeland, in the last decade the Kings have
racked up nine UK Top 40 singles, two Brit Awards, and three albums that have
all made the top five in the UK Albums Chart.
Full of new material as they are, it’s unlikely that the Kings will ever take to recording cover songs. However, if they ever do, along with ‘We Are Family’ they should have a look at Dusty Springfield’s ‘Son of a Preacher Man’, for that’s exactly what Caleb, Nathan and Jared are. The three brothers were born to United Pentecostal Church preacher Ivan Leon Followill and spent the majority of their early childhood travelling the southern US in their father’s purple Oldsmobile. Had their father not resigned from the church in 1997, the Kings would probably never have seen the light of day. After this change in their father’s direction, the boys sought a change of their own, and jumped headlong into the rock music lifestyle. In their new home of Nashville, the brothers embarked on an intensive 6 month introduction to rock at the hands of songwriter Angelo Petraglia, taking in the likes of the Rolling Stones and Thin Lizzy along the way. Along with their cousin Matthew, the boys signed a deal with RCA Records in 2002, and decided on a name that honoured both their father and grandfather. The Kings of Leon were born.
Although hailed for their material by many within the rock world, the Kings’ first two albums, ‘Youth and Young Manhood’ and ‘Aha Shake Heartbreak’ brought them success but not super-stardom. With a raw and dirty sound, the band needed to evolve in order to break into the mainstream, and evolve they did. Having honed their new style on the road, the third album ‘Because of the Times’ dive-bombed into the UK charts at number one in April 2007, ably assisted by the preceding hit single, ‘On Call’. The Kings had arrived, and they were here to stay. A year and a half later, they released their fourth album, ‘Only by the Night’, which entered the UK charts at number one, and spawned their greatest hit to date, ‘Sex on Fire’. With a new album and a host of festival appearances due in 2010, it seems that the reign of the Kings of Leon is set to continue for quite some time to come.
