It is a long way from a dorm room at the University of North Texas to the top of the country charts.
But it has paid off for members of the Eli Young Band, opening the Mississippi Valley Fair grandstand entertainment Tuesday night.
"Always is like a joke overnight success 13 years," said guitarist James Young from his home in Nashville.
Note that there is one called "Eli Young" in Eli Young Band. The group began with Young and Mike Eli while they were freshmen in college in Denton, Texas, during the 2000s.
"In the old days, we might have thought it would go a little faster than this," Young said. "But no complaints here."
With bassist Jon Jones and drummer Chris Thompson, they released a self-titled debut album in 2002 they signed with a new label in 2005, and their 2008 single "Always the Love Songs," was what he called a young "quasi-top- 10 "hit in 2008.
Two more barely cracked the top-40 country singles.
"We were dead in the water as far as the radio," Young recalled, "but we were floating around for a while."
The fate of the group return with the release of "Crazy Girl" in 2011, which reached number 1 on the charts and they won song of the year at the Academy of Country Music in 2012 was given.
"'Crazy Girl' really kicked the door open for us as far as getting noticed nationally," said Young Song, co-written by country singer Lee Brice. "This catapulted us from a small regional group in Texas begin to go play throughout the USA
"That really got our name out there to the fans of country music," he said of the album, which topped the country charts in year-end 2011.
Another No. 1, "Even if it breaks your heart," followed. The next single, "Say Goodnight", peaked on the charts in the 30s.
But the release of the album "10000 Towns" gave the group a rebound, with the song "Drunk Last Night" topped the country charts.
His latest single, "Dust" is No. 17 this week. The band played Tuesday night on "The Late Show with David Letterman".
Young said it takes more than talent to be a success in country music.
"It really is all about timing," he said. "Timing is everything, and only has the one right at the right time and the right people."
Interviewed earlier this month, Young said the band knew "Dust" would succeed just the response he got at concerts.
"There's one thing when you're on tour and play these shows and you're playing a song," he said. "In the early stages of a single radio, people can know if they have heard off the record or whatever. But it is fun to see the correlation between hearing people on the radio and singing again in the live show.
"That's what's happening now, so it's exciting," he said.
Young said he expects more singles coming out of "10,000 people."
"Every record we do, we make sure they are proud of it from the first song to the last song," he said. "God willing, there are a couple more songs on this album."
Summer band has included serving as opening acts Darius Rucker and Jake Owen. (Although the EYB is touring with Owen, who is not on the bill for tonight's show at the iWireless Center in Moline.)
Young said that this is the life you dreamed of when he and Eli were freshmen guitar-plucking in a dorm of North Texas U...
"We've always just wanted to have a career in music doing this," he said. "It's the best job ever. Count our blessings every day."
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