Songs are credited to the full band, but the core partnership is frontman Matt Shultz writing lyrics and his older brother Brad Shultz writing music, a habit the two picked up writing songs together as kids in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Other members, including longtime bassist Daniel Tichenor and drummer Jared Champion, regularly share writing credit as well.
By the Numbers
6
Studio Albums
68
Tracks Credited
100%
Self-Written
Reported 3+ million albums sold worldwide, including about 3 million in the US (BestSellingAlbums.org tally, not an RIAA-certified career total).
Records Sold
20
Years Active
22
Collaborators
Authorship Breakdown 68 / 68 self-written
Who wrote the songs?
Across all 68 tracks: how many Cage the Elephant wrote alone, how many they co-wrote, and how many were written by others. The bracket marks every track they hold any writing credit on.
Cage the Elephant has a writing credit100%
84%
16%
Sole author57tracks84%
Co-written11tracks16%
Outside writers0tracks0%
Role Fingerprint how they contribute
Cage the Elephant's roles across the catalogue
Share of all 68 tracks where they are personally credited, by role.
Lyricist (words)100%
Composer (music)100%
Producer0%
Performer100%
Member Credit Breakdown share of tracks each member is credited on
Percentage of all 68 tracks, across every album, where each member holds a credit - split by role.
Member
Period
Lyrics
Music
Production
Performance
Matt Shultz
2006-present
100%
100%
0%
100%
Brad Shultz
2006-present
85%
100%
0%
100%
Daniel Tichenor
2006-present
85%
100%
0%
100%
Jared Champion
2006-present
85%
100%
0%
100%
Nick Bockrath
2017-present
37%
37%
0%
51%
Matthan Minster
2017-present
37%
37%
0%
51%
Lincoln Parish Former
2006-2013
34%
49%
0%
49%
Authorship Over Time writing credit per album
Cage the Elephant's writing credit per album, in release order. Hover any bar for the album.
avg 100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
2008Cage the Elephant
2011Thank You, Happy Birthday
2013Melophobia
2015Tell Me I'm Pretty
2019Social Cues
2024Neon Pill
Early · 100% written
Mid · 100% written
Late · 100% written
Authorship by Decade track-weighted
100%
2000s
Cage the Elephant
100%
2010s
Thank You, Happy Birthday, Melophobia +2 more
100%
2020s
Neon Pill
Authorship Spectrum pure performer to complete author
Where Cage the Elephant sits on the scale from a pure performer (0%, sings songs written by others) to a complete author (100%, writes everything). The bright marker is their catalogue authorship score, plotted against other artists on the site.
Cage the Elephant
Other artists on the site
Reference artists spread across the scale, closest by genre and era.
Written by Matt Shultz, Brad Shultz, Lincoln Parish, Daniel Tichenor, Jared Champion, Matthew Ray Shultz, Donald Bradley Shultz Jr., Jared Lloyd Champion
Wrote it
Ain't No Rest for the Wicked
Cage the Elephant
Written by Matt Shultz, Brad Shultz, Lincoln Parish, Daniel Tichenor, Jared Champion, Matthew Ray Shultz, Donald Bradley Shultz Jr., Jared Lloyd Champion
Wrote it
Back Against the Wall
Cage the Elephant
Written by Matt Shultz, Brad Shultz, Lincoln Parish, Daniel Tichenor, Jared Champion, Matthew Ray Shultz, Donald Bradley Shultz Jr., Jared Lloyd Champion
Wrote it
Shake Me Down
Thank You, Happy Birthday
Written by Matt Shultz, Brad Shultz, Lincoln Parish, Daniel Tichenor, Jared Champion, Matthew Ray Shultz, Donald Bradley Shultz Jr., Jared Lloyd Champion
Wrote it
Around My Head
Thank You, Happy Birthday
Written by Matt Shultz, Brad Shultz, Lincoln Parish, Daniel Tichenor, Jared Champion, Matthew Ray Shultz, Donald Bradley Shultz Jr., Jared Lloyd Champion
Wrote it
Aberdeen
Thank You, Happy Birthday
Written by Matt Shultz, Brad Shultz, Lincoln Parish, Daniel Tichenor, Jared Champion, Matthew Ray Shultz, Donald Bradley Shultz Jr., Jared Lloyd Champion
Wrote it
Come a Little Closer
Melophobia
Written by Matt Shultz, Matthew Ray Shultz, Donald Bradley Shultz Jr., Lincoln Parish, Daniel Tichenor, Jared Lloyd Champion
Wrote it
Take It or Leave It
Melophobia
Written by Matt Shultz, Matthew Ray Shultz, Donald Bradley Shultz Jr., Lincoln Parish, Daniel Tichenor, Jared Lloyd Champion
Wrote it
Cigarette Daydreams
Melophobia
Written by Matt Shultz, Matthew Ray Shultz, Donald Bradley Shultz Jr., Lincoln Parish, Daniel Tichenor, Jared Lloyd Champion
Wrote it
Mess Around
Tell Me I'm Pretty
Written by Matt Shultz, Brad Shultz, Daniel Tichenor, Jared Champion, Matthew Ray Shultz, Donald Bradley Shultz Jr., Jared Lloyd Champion
Wrote it
Trouble
Tell Me I'm Pretty
Written by Matt Shultz, Brad Shultz, Daniel Tichenor, Jared Champion, Dan Auerbach, Matthew Ray Shultz, Donald Bradley Shultz Jr., Jared Lloyd Champion, Daniel Auerbach
Co-wrote
Cold Cold Cold
Tell Me I'm Pretty
Written by Matt Shultz, Brad Shultz, Daniel Tichenor, Jared Champion, Dan Auerbach, Matthew Ray Shultz, Donald Bradley Shultz Jr., Jared Lloyd Champion, Daniel Auerbach
Co-wrote
Ready to Let Go
Social Cues
Written by Brad Shultz, Daniel Tichenor, Jared Champion, Matt Shultz, Matthan Minster, Nick Bockrath, Donald Bradley Shultz Jr., Jared Lloyd Champion, Matthew Ray Shultz
Wrote it
Social Cues
Social Cues
Written by Brad Shultz, Daniel Tichenor, Jared Champion, Matt Shultz, Matthan Minster, Nick Bockrath, John Hill, Donald Bradley Shultz Jr., Jared Lloyd Champion, Matthew Ray Shultz, John Graham Hill
Co-wrote
Neon Pill
Neon Pill
Written by Matt Shultz, Brad Shultz, Nick Bockrath, Matthan Minster, Daniel Tichenor, Jared Champion, Vlad Holiday, Matthew Ray Shultz, Donald Bradley Shultz Jr., Jared Lloyd Champion, Vlad Luca Gheorghiu
Co-wrote
Rainbow
Neon Pill
Written by Matt Shultz, Brad Shultz, Nick Bockrath, Matthan Minster, Daniel Tichenor, Jared Champion, Matthew Ray Shultz, Donald Bradley Shultz Jr., Jared Lloyd Champion
Wrote it
Metaverse
Neon Pill
Written by Matt Shultz, Brad Shultz, Nick Bockrath, Matthan Minster, Daniel Tichenor, Jared Champion, Vlad Holiday, Jermaine Armstead, Matthew Ray Shultz, Donald Bradley Shultz Jr., Jared Lloyd Champion, Vlad Luca Gheorghiu
Co-wrote
None of the signature songs above fall in this category.
Discography 6 albums
Covers all six Cage the Elephant studio albums, from the 2008 self-titled debut through Neon Pill (2024). Live albums and compilations are outside this studio-album scope.
Bubble size = tracks worked on together. JH John Hill · TW The W. Crimm Singers · RA Roy Agee
The Authorship Story
Data Insight
Cage the Elephant's songwriting credit is a band credit more often than not: nearly every track lists the same core group, with Matt Shultz's lyrics and Brad Shultz's music at the center and the rest of the lineup sharing the writing line. The composer column carries their legal names where the sources distinguish them, Matthew Ray Shultz and Donald Bradley Shultz Jr., alongside bandmates Daniel Tichenor and Jared Lloyd Champion and a rotating cast of guitarists. Outside collaborators show up rarely and mostly on production: Jay Joyce shaped the first two records, Dan Auerbach brought a leaner sound to Tell Me I'm Pretty, and John Hill produced the band's more recent albums, including guest co-writes from Vlad Holiday and Caitlyn Smith on Neon Pill. The writing itself stays inside the band, which keeps the authorship map remarkably steady from the 2008 debut through 2024.
Quick Facts
Two Grammys for Best Rock AlbumCage the Elephant won Best Rock Album at the 59th Grammy Awards (Feb 2017) for Tell Me I'm Pretty and again at the 62nd Grammy Awards (Jan 2020) for Social Cues.
Second-most Alternative Airplay No. 1sThe band has notched 13 No. 1s on Billboard's Alternative Airplay chart, tying Green Day and Linkin Park for second-most all time behind Red Hot Chili Peppers' 15.
Matt and Brad Shultz are brothersFrontman Matt Shultz and rhythm guitarist Brad Shultz are brothers who started writing songs together as kids in Bowling Green, Kentucky, after their parents divorced.
Formed in Bowling Green, KentuckyThe band formed in 2006 in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and relocated to London before releasing its self-titled 2008 debut.
8x Platinum breakout single"Ain't No Rest for the Wicked," from the 2008 debut, is RIAA-certified 8x Platinum and remains the band's best-selling US song.
Longest No. 1 streak in 2024"Metaverse" gave the band its fourth consecutive Alternative Airplay No. 1 in 2024, its longest streak yet, after two earlier runs of three straight.
Creative Fingerprint
Cage the Elephant songs are credited to the full band, but the core is Matt Shultz's lyrics paired with brother Brad Shultz's music, a writing partnership the two started as kids in Bowling Green.
The Story
Cage the Elephant are an American rock band formed in Bowling Green, Kentucky in 2006, built around brothers Matt Shultz and Brad Shultz. Their self-titled 2008 debut, powered by 'Ain't No Rest for the Wicked,' introduced a raw garage-rock sound that grew more melodic and psychedelic across records like Melophobia (2013) and Tell Me I'm Pretty (2015), the latter produced by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys and winner of the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album. The band's songs are credited collectively, with Matt Shultz supplying the lyrics and Brad Shultz driving the music, though writing credit is usually shared across the full lineup. They have placed more number-one singles on Billboard's Alternative Songs chart than almost any other act of their era, from 'In One Ear' through 'Ready to Let Go' and 'Social Cues.' Their sixth album, Neon Pill, followed in 2024.
Awards & Recognition
Grammy Award for Best Rock Album - Tell Me I'm Pretty (59th Annual Grammy Awards, February 2017)
Grammy Award for Best Rock Album - Social Cues (62nd Annual Grammy Awards, January 2020)
Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Music Album - Melophobia (57th Annual Grammy Awards, 2015)
Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Music Performance - "Neon Pill" (67th Annual Grammy Awards, 2025)
Frequently Asked Questions Cage the Elephant
Who writes Cage the Elephant's songs?
Songs are credited to the full band, but the core partnership is frontman Matt Shultz writing lyrics and his older brother Brad Shultz writing music, a habit the two picked up writing songs together as kids in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Other members, including longtime bassist Daniel Tichenor and drummer Jared Champion, regularly share writing credit as well.
Who wrote "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked"?
The song is credited to the full 2008 lineup: Matt Shultz, Brad Shultz, Daniel Tichenor, Jared Champion, and then-guitarist Lincoln Parish. Matt Shultz has said he wrote the lyrics on drywall while working as a plumber, after a co-worker who dealt drugs on the side told him "there's no rest for the wicked."
Are Matt and Brad Shultz brothers?
Yes. Brad Shultz is Matt Shultz's older brother. They began writing music together in childhood after their parents divorced, and that sibling partnership - Matt on lyrics, Brad on music - anchors the band's songwriting to this day.
Did Cage the Elephant win a Grammy?
Yes, twice. Tell Me I'm Pretty won Best Rock Album at the 59th Grammy Awards in February 2017, and Social Cues won the same category at the 62nd Grammy Awards in January 2020. Melophobia was also nominated for Best Alternative Music Album in 2015, and "Neon Pill" was nominated for Best Alternative Music Performance in 2025.
Matt Shultz (vocals), Brad Shultz (rhythm guitar, keyboards), Daniel Tichenor (bass), and Jared Champion (drums) are founding members from 2006. Nick Bockrath (lead guitar, keyboards) and Matthan Minster (keyboards, rhythm guitar) joined in 2017.
Who replaced Lincoln Parish as Cage the Elephant's guitarist?
Lincoln Parish, the band's founding lead guitarist, left in 2013 to pursue a production career. Nick Bockrath, formerly of Morning Teleportation, stepped in and became a full member by the time of Social Cues (2019).
Is Cage the Elephant's songwriting shared across the whole band?
Yes. Wikipedia's writing credits for albums like Tell Me I'm Pretty list all tracks as written by "Cage the Elephant" collectively, though Matt Shultz's lyrics and Brad Shultz's music are widely described as the band's creative backbone.
What is Cage the Elephant's best-selling song?
"Ain't No Rest for the Wicked," from their self-titled 2008 debut, is their best-selling US single, certified 8x Platinum by the RIAA.
Has Cage the Elephant set any Billboard chart records?
The band has scored 13 No. 1 hits on Billboard's Alternative Airplay chart, tying Green Day and Linkin Park for second-most all time behind Red Hot Chili Peppers. "Metaverse" gave them a fourth straight No. 1 in 2024, their longest streak.
Cage the Elephant
