In 2019, the Eli Young Band notched their first No. 1 hit at country radio in six years with "Love Ain't." The group has said that the milestone felt like a kind of "rebirth," afters of keeping their heads down and their touring calendars full.

Still, the band's relationship with country radio spans way back, to the very beginning of the their career, when they were a Texas country band paying their dues as a road dog live act. Read on to learn about the first time the Eli Young Band ever heard themselves on the radio, told in the group's own words.

The first time was a song called "Guardian Angel," [and] it was a song from our early, early days. We were an independent band, and we were just kind of throwing our music out there, to see what happened.

It was a local [radio] show in Dallas that played that kind of music on Sunday nights, and they picked up our song. We all sat around the radio in our different homes, with our families, and tuned in. It was really cool to hear. After that, it was a long time before we heard ourselves on the radio again!

[We weren't really nervous about hearing ourselves on the radio]. I think with this one, it was more excitement at being able to have any kind of exposure, because we were just a garage band in Texas, playing our shows.

More From 97.5 KGKL