- Rock band formed in Nashville TN in 1999. Members are brothers Caleb Followill (guitar and vocals), Nathan Followill (drums and vocals), and Jared Followill (bass guitar and vocals), and their cousin Matthew Followill (guitar and vocals).
- The name of the band is in honor of their grandfather Leon.
- Nathan and Caleb, in their early 20s, had enough talent to interest record labels. They insisted on Jared and Matthew to be part of the band, even though they were only 18 and 16 years old respectively, with less experience on their musical instruments. In early 2003, they went to their mother’s basement, and in a month, they had written and produced 4 songs, which were released in an EP called Holy Roller Novocaine. They received positive feedback on the EP – Rolling Stone rated it “Excellent,” even though Jared still didn’t know how to play the bass.
- The band has released 7 studio albums, from 2003 to 2016. 24 singles have been released from these albums. Their biggest hits have been Sex On Fire and Use Somebody, from their 2008 album Only By The Night. These songs earned them 3 Grammy awards, including Record of the Year for Use Somebody. They also have 5 other nominations for Grammy awards.
- Their sound has been labeled alt rock, or southern rock, or garage rock. I’d simply call them a modern rock band – nothing fancy, solid songs sprinkled with hooks to get you to sing along with them. Listen for the vocal hooks in Use Somebody.