Biography

In the late '60s they recorded for Date Records and Columbia Records, and in the early '70s for SSS International, Date, Curb and Wooden Nickel. With the help of Cecil Jones of Lemco Sound Studios in Lexington, the Exiles developed and polished their sound. The band changed musical styles throughout the mid-sixties and, in 1976, changed their base of operations to Lexington, KY. They shortened the name to EXILE. Regional hit records such as "Devil’s Bite" and "Church Street Soul Revival" (written and produced by Tommy James) came easily as the band became a Kentucky tradition.

In 1976 Exile met Mike Chapman, an Australian who had established himself as a record producer in England. He had come to the United States to find an experienced group who wrote their own material. Chapman heard a demo and went to Exile's next show. The first Exile/Chapman collaboration contained the "magic ingredient" required for success. This combination produced the Mixed Emotions album on Warner/Curb, the source of "Kiss You All Over," which remained on the pop music charts for 23 weeks, holding the No. 1 spot for a solid month. "Kiss You All Over" broke onto the charts in July 1978, but didn't reach the top until September. It remained America's favorite record for four weeks, and stayed on the best-seller list for nearly six months. Their follow up single, "You Thrill Me," also from this album, went Top 40 as well. The band had finally hit pay dirt with the #1 pop smash, and hit the road touring with Aerosmith, Heart, Dave Mason, Boston, Seals & Crofts and other hot pop acts of the late seventies throughout the U.S., Europe and Africa.

During this time, numerous personnel changes had taken place and the group's membership in 1979 was guitarist/vocalist J.P. Pennington, keyboardist Buzz Cornelison, vocalist/guitarist Les Taylor, keyboardist/vocalist Marlon Hargis, bassist/vocalist Sonny Lemaire and drummer Steve Goetzman. The backdrop changed, but the band never lost sight of its commitment to its audience.

All There Is, the group's second Warner Bros. album, recorded a year later yielded foreign hit, "The Part Of You That Needs Me Most." This single did particularly well in Europe and South Africa. Don't Leave Me This Way, their third Warner Bros. album, produced by Peter Coleman, yielded two more singles, "Take Me Down" and "Smooth Sailing." Again doing well in Europe and South Africa.

Devoting themselves to a killer combination of great music and showmanship, EXILE set standards for other Kentucky acts. A young singer, Les Taylor, watched the progress of the group while building his own fan base in central Kentucky. EXILE watched Les, too. And, when original singer, Jimmy Stokley, left EXILE in 1979, Les Taylor accepted an invitation to join the group and share lead vocal duties with J.P. In the years following, Les and J.P. delivered lead vocal performances on ten #1 hit records, all of them written or co-written by J.P Pennington.

In 1979, Dave and Sugar charted with Exile penned "Stay With Me." In 1980 and 1981, Alabama and Janie Fricke scored hits with EXILE songs: "Take Me Down" and "The Closer You Get" -- Alabama, "It Ain‘t Easy Bein’ Easy" -- Janie Fricke. Kenny Rogers followed the trend and recorded "Take This Heart." EXILE switched musical styles again in 1983 (by which time Cornelison had left). Their first country chart single, "High Cost Of Leaving," recorded at Tree International Studio in Nashville and produced by Buddy Killen, reached number 27. It was followed by four successive number 1 country singles in 1984: "Woke Up In Love," "I Don't Want To Be A Memory," "Give Me One More Chance" and "Crazy For Your Love." There were six more number 1 country singles by 1987: "She's A Miracle," "Hang On To Your Heart," "I Could Get Used To You," "It'll Be Me," "She's Too Good To Be True" and "I Can't Get Close Enough." In 1985, The Forester Sisters went to number one with an Exile song, "Just In Case." Hargis was replaced by Lee Carroll in 1985. Their string of country hits won them an appearance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and eleven nominations for Vocal and/or Instrumental Group Of The Year from the Academy Of Country Music and the Country Music Association.

< Back