Kings of Leon

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Kings of Leon are a rock band made up of three brothers and one cousin, based in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee. Kings of Leon influences range from Southern rock, Indie rock, to blues styles. Kings of Leon's three critically acclaimed albums have given them a devoted following, especially in Europe.

Kings of Leon's name is derived from Nathan, Caleb, and Jared's father and grandfather, both named Leon. 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. 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. Kings of Leon 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.

Before trying their hand at rock and roll, brothers Nathan and Caleb sang country music. They worked for a brief period of time with label/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

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