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Eli Young Band
Mike Eli
Background information
Origin	Denton, Texas, USA
Genres	Country
Years active	2000-present[1]
Labels	Carnival Universal South
Website	http://www.eliyoung.net
Members
Mike Eli James Young Jon Jones Chris Thompson
Former members
Bryan Taylor Mark Sims

The Eli Young Band is an American country music band based in Denton, Texas. The band is composed of Mike Eli (vocals, guitar), James Young (guitar), Jon Jones (bass guitar), and Chris Thompson (drums). The band released its self-titled debut album in 2002, followed by their Carnival records release Level in 2005. The band's third album, Jet Black & Jealous, was released in 2008 by Universal South Records, and has accounted for three Top 40 singles on the Billboard country singles charts.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Band members 2.1 Current 2.2 Former 2.3 Guest 3 Discography 3.1 Studio albums 3.2 Live albums 3.3 Singles 3.4 Other charted songs 4 Music videos 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Biography

The band was formed by James Young and Mike Eli as an acoustic duo (Eli & Young) when they attended the University of North Texas.^[1] After Chris Thompson and Jon Jones joined the band, they dropped the ampersand and became Eli Young Band.^[2] They released their 2005 debut Level on Carnival Records and opened shows for Miranda Lambert.^[2] National exposure on CMT and GAC helped the Eli Young Band begin to build a following well outside of their touring base. They have sold as many as 2,000 tickets a night in multiple markets. In late 2006 the band released Eli Young Band Live At the Jolly Fox. After signing a booking deal with Monterey Peninsula Artists Paradigm last fall, the band has continued expanding their reach on the road.

Early in 2007, the Eli Young Band signed a management deal with George Couri and C3 Management. Their plans include a rigorous tour schedule and key opening spots with Pat Green, Robert Earl Keen and Jack Ingram, as well as a spot on the 2007 Austin City Limits Music Festival.

While touring, the band were also making songwriting a top priority, and made time for writing trips and retreats at the Young family ranch. Energized with new songs, the band was ready to begin working on a new album late last year. Working with producers Frank Liddell and Mike Wrucke (who have also produced for Lambert), the band took time off from touring to record at Omni Studios in Nashville. Their third album, Jet Black & Jealous, was released in 2008. Its lead-off single, "When It Rains", spent more than thirty weeks on the country charts and peaked at #34. A second chart single, "Always the Love Songs" (co-written by David Lee Murphy and George Ducas), followed later in the same year, reaching a peak of #11.

The band was nominated for an Academy of Country Music award as the Top New Vocal Group or Duo; an award that is based on the number of fan entries on the GAC website. The band lost to Zac Brown Band.

[edit] Band members

[edit] Current

• Mike Eli (lead vocals, guitars)
• James Young (lead guitar, backing vocals)
• Jon Jones (bass guitar, backing vocals)
• Chris Thompson (drums)

[edit] Former

• Mark Sims (guitar)
• Bryan Taylor (guitar)

[edit] Guest

• Blu Sanders (guitars, backing vocals)
• Allen Huff (organ)

[edit] Discography

[edit] Studio albums

Year	Album	Chart Positions
		US Country	US
2002	Eli Young Band Released: 2002 Label: Carnival Records	—	—
2005	Level Released: April 5, 2005 Label: Carnival Records	—	—
2008	Jet Black & Jealous Released: September 16, 2008 Label: Universal South	5	30
"—" denotes the album failed to chart or not released

[edit] Live albums

Year	Album
2006	Live At the Jolly Fox Released: November 14, 2006 Label: Carnival Records

[edit] Singles

Year	Single	Chart Positions		Album
		US Country	US
2007	"When It Rains"	34	—	Jet Black & Jealous
2008	"Always the Love Songs"	11	69
2009	"Radio Waves"	35	—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

[edit] Other charted songs

Songs charted from unsolicited airplay.

Year	Single	US Country	Album
2009	"Guinevere"	60	Jet Black & Jealous

[edit] Music videos

Year	Video	Director
2008	"When It Rains"	The Brads
2009	"Always the Love Songs"	Eli Young Band

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official website