13 Things You Wanted To Know About Kings of Leon (But Were Afraid To Ask)

Caleb Followill hearts Chris Farley.

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Regardless of how you feel about their latest musical direction, Rolling Stone’s new cover story on Nashville’s prodigal sons, Kings Of Leon, proves that they are one of the more “rock and roll” rock bands around today.

Do you think the Decemberists or Wilco down shots all day and ride motorcycles? No. But the Kings of Leon do. Sometimes naked.

This companion article lists 13 things you probably didn’t know about the “Sex On Fire” singers.

Our favorites:

– In their teens, the Followill boys threw parties at their dad, Ivan’s house. When Ivan deemed that the party was over, he put jalapeños in the microwave. The fumes burned peoples’ eyes until they vacated the premises.

– When the Kings played Saturday Night Live last September, Caleb walked the backstage halls and took a moment to pause in front of a portrait of Chris Farley. Growing up, he was obsessed with the comic. “I knew I was going to be on Saturday Night Live,” he says. “I didn’t know that I’d be singing.” Nathan remembers the phone call he received on December 18th, 1997. “Caleb was crying his eyes out and he kept saying, ‘He’s dead! He’s dead!’ I was like, ‘What? Dad’s dead?'”

Here’s one more thing you might not have known about Kings of Leon: Caleb Followill did a lengthy interview with us around the time of their second album, the classic Aha Heartbreak. Read our profile here.


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