Eli "Paperboy" Reed & The True Loves is a soul, rhythm and blues, R&B and funk act fronted by Eli Reed, who grows up in Brookline, Massachusetts. Reed teaches himself piano, guitar and harmonica, and busks in Harvard Square while developing his playing and performance skills. After finishing high school he moves to Clarksdale, Mississippi, where he becomes involved in the local music scene, plays regularly in clubs and studies with drummer Sam Carr. He gets the nickname “Paperboy” there, from the newsboy-style hat he wears.

Reed later moves to Chicago to attend the University of Chicago. There he meets soul singer Mitty Collier, who asks him to serve as Minister of Music at her church after hearing him audition on piano in his dormitory. He holds that role for a year before returning to Boston.

Back in Boston, Reed forms the True Loves. In 2005, he self-releases Sings "Walkin' and Talkin' (For My Baby)" and Other Smash Hits, a collection of covers and original songs. The group builds a local following, helped by Reed’s energetic singing, and a performance at SXSW in 2007 draws label attention. The band signs to Boston-based Q Division and releases its second full-length, Roll with You, in 2008. All the songs on that album are written or co-written by Reed.