“Find Me” by Kings of Leon, Sunday, June 27, 2021

In 2008, rock music still could be played on pop radio. Kings of Leon was one of the biggest bands when their fourth album, Only By the Night spawned three singles. “Sex on Fire” and “Use Somebody” were unavoidable back then. The southern US band first saw success in the UK, but after Only by the Night, the band were internationally known rock stars, complete with the money, alcohol, drugs, and of course, fiery sex. But before the rock star hedonism, lies a story of three preachers’ sons and their cousin, all grandkids of Leon. According to a Rolling Stone article, the band’s early collaborator, songwriter Angelo Petraglia, suggested the religious band name "Kings of Zion" for the band; however, lead singer Caleb Followill thought Kings of Leon suited the band better. While the mother of brothers Caleb, Nathan, and Jared remains religious, Kings of Leon is far from a Christian Rock band. But the ghosts of their religious past haunts the band’s albums.

I CAN’T ESCAPE FROM THE GREY. Growing up in Oklahoma and traveling for tent revivals in other Southern states, the Followill brothers lives a strict religious life: no TV, no movies in theaters, no swimming with the opposite sex. Preachers’ kids were to live a life beyond reproach. The boys were not allowed to listen to secular music, but they could play their instruments in church. However, the strict lifestyle was hard on the patriarch, Ivan Leon Followill, who turned to drinking and quit preaching. Similarly, Caleb started to burn out from his fame in KoL. In 2011, touring with their follow-up to Only by the Night, Caleb was too drunk to perform their show in Dallas. He threw up on stage and left, not returning for the rest of the night. The band went on hiatus for about two years.

I REALLY WANT TO KNOW YOUR NAME, SEE YOUR FACE. In January 2014 Leon Followill, the grandfather of KOL, passed away. Kings of Leon is one of the last bands “Kings of Leon’s Faith Journey” Relevant Magazine. dad resonated with this band. My grandfather was also named Leon. My dad also grew up with religious parents and crazy stories of rebellion, alcohol, religious fanaticism, and marijuana in the hillocks of upstate New York. My dad came from a large family of eight children, so I think strictness took a different form as opposed to my upbringing of two siblings with a stay-at-home mom until I went to eighth grade. Smaller family keep guarded. Still, for all of the inconsistencies and dysfunctions in the large family my grandfather was the glue of the family. When my grandfather died suddenly in 2015 the family lost its cohesion. I never heard my father question the meaning of life as much as after the death of his father. For all of the Potpourri Baptist theology at my father’s side of the family had learned Way to their own ideas about what after life or lack of afterlife might be. My aunts and uncles and cousins were the kings of Leon, living out the legacy of a beloved member of an obscure village in upstate New York. And post-2015 we’re all left with a question, what does that legacy mean?




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