The band was formed in 1993 by guitarist-songwriter Carl Bell, vocalist Brett Scallions, drummer Jody Abbott, keyboardist Erik Avakian, and bassist Jeff Abercrombie.

This agreement ended in 2020 and Fuel's naming rights reverted back to Bell, who formed a new lineup that featured original drummer Kevin Miller.

Fuel has had multiple music videos in frequent rotation on MTV, performed on numerous live networks in the US, Canada, and Australia, and recorded songs for film soundtracks such as Scream 3, Daredevil, Godzilla, and A Walk to Remember.

After graduating high school, Bell (who was a few years older than Abercrombie) headed to college where he met drummer Jody Abbott.

Bell and Abbott formed a college campus band, Wanted (along with Robert Wagner and Mark Crawford), in Henderson, Tennessee.

After college, Bell and Abercrombie – at the time, attending college at the University of Tennessee at Martin – reunited with Abbott and formed the band Reel Too Real, playing cover songs at local clubs in Tennessee and eventually becoming a national touring club circuit band.

Bass player Jeff Abercrombie saw vocalist-guitarist Brett Scallions performing in a bar in Jackson, Tennessee in 1992 and later recruited him to join the band in early 1993.

That name, for the time being, would be Small the Joy, which produced one self-released EP, a self-titled cassette tape, in 1994.

"Sunburn" was also featured in the movie Scream 3, and the band contributed the non-LP track "Walk the Sky" to the 1998 American Godzilla film.

He reportedly had to relearn how to sing entirely post-surgery, with Miller later alleging that Scallions was lip syncing while on tour to compensate.

Fuel had already laid the instrumental tracks for their fourth album and soon began auditioning singers so the band could move forward.

Abercrombie and Bell took notice of American Idol contestant Chris Daughtry, after he performed "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)" on the show.

On March 3, 2006, American Idol judge Randy Jackson stated in an interview Daughtry had been offered the opportunity to become Fuel's new lead singer.

[13] Still, they officially entered the studio in mid-August with producer Scott Humphrey to start recording their fourth album.

On June 19, 2007, Fuel's first single from their new album, "Wasted Time", was released into rock radio and internet download, peaking at No.

Just the opposite, it is to give our fans a live destination and to keep the Fuel name alive for a new generation to discover.

Maybe someday we'll all get on the same page and play together again, but life happens, and the next thing you know you just can't jump on a bus and take off for a month, let alone a year."

It was later announced on June 25, 2010, former Shinedown guitarist Jasin Todd had joined the band to replace Yogi Lonich on lead guitar.

[18] The group was a writing team of Brett Scallions, Eddie Wohl, and Smile Empty Soul's Sean Danielsen.

Guest guitar solos were contributed by Rob Caggiano of Volbeat, Andy Andersson who played with Scallions in Fuel during the Puppet Strings era, and Mike McCready of Pearl Jam.

Scallions also hinted there to be new music in the works and also introduced the band's new lead guitarist, Andy Andersson.

In late September, the band re-entered the studio to complete the guitar and bass tracks for the record.

On April 30, 2013, drummer Ken Schalk announced his departure from the band to spend more time with his family.

[20] On April 30, 2013, Brett Scallions announced a new Fuel single was targeted for a mid-summer release via download once the "details have been worked out and handshakes have been made".

On June 26, 2013, Scallions announced that Bryan Keeling was going out on tour with Eric Sardinas in Europe and that Shannon Boone (current drummer for Puddle of Mudd) had joined the band.

"[citation needed] Scallions confirmed the new album was mixed by Ben Grosse who also collaborated with Fuel on Something Like Human.

[citation needed] It was announced through Guitar World on December 5, 2013, the album indeed titled, Puppet Strings, would be released on March 4, 2014.

And once this whole pandemic is over, I plan to be touring and performing not only the new solo material, but also the songs I've made famous over the years as well as many favorites from other great artists.

"Since his departure from Fuel, Scallions has made several posts on Facebook regarding his new project called RadioBot, formerly Melody Brothers.

[25] In 2020, founding member and primary songwriter Carl Bell decided to return to the band, forming a new version of the group.