KISS YOU ALL OVER - EXILE - (1978)

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• published: 05 Oct 2012
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Exile, originally known as The Exiles, is an American band founded in Richmond, Kentucky by J.P. Pennington. They started by playing local clubs which led to touring with Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars opening shows and providing backup for major rock artists of the period. Their name was shortened to Exile in 1973, consisting of leader/guitarist Pennington, lead singer Jimmy Stokley, keyboardist Buzz Cornelison, bassist Kenny Weir, and drummer Bobby Johns. They hit the peak of their success in 1978 with the rock pop ballad hit "Kiss You All Over." After a couple of minor subsequent pop hits, they re-established in 1983 as a country music group. Between then and the early 1990s, the band had several country chart hits, including the Number Ones "Woke Up in Love", "I Don't Want to Be a Memory", "Give Me One More Chance", "Crazy For Your Love", "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". Although their chart success waned by 1991, they have continued to record ever since. The country music version of the band included J.P. Pennington (guitar, lead vocals), Les Taylor (guitar, vocals), Sonny LeMaire (bass, vocals), Marlon Hargis (keyboards) and Steve Goetzman/Gary Freeman (drums). Their biggest hits, spanning from 1978 through 1987, included "Kiss You All Over", "Woke Up in Love", "She's a Miracle" and "Give Me One More Chance". Pennington wrote many of the group's songs (often with LeMaire) and several were covered by other artists, including "The Closer You Get" and "Take Me Down", both covered by Alabama,"Heart and Soul" by Huey Lewis and the News, "It Ain't Easy Bein' Easy" covered by Janie Fricke and "Just In Case" by the Forester Sisters. "Kiss You All Over" was used in the 1996 Adam Sandler movie Happy Gilmore and in the 2006 film Employee of the Month. J.P. Pennington's songwriting talent led to recognition as BMI Writer of the Year to one of BMI's Top 100 Writers of the Century. His music has been recorded by Alabama, Janie Fricke, Kenny Rogers and other artists. 1970s -- First chart success The band changed musical styles throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s. They shortened their name to Exile in 1973 and released their eponymous debut album through Wooden Nickel Records that same year. Singles released from the album proved unsuccessful, and it would be a good five years before the band released a full-length follow-up album. in 1977, the band released the single "Try it On" on Atco Records, and it became a minor hit. The following year, Mike Chapman, an Australian who had established himself as a record producer in the UK, came to the United States in search of an experienced group who wrote their own material. Chapman heard an Exile demo and went to their next concert. Chapman evidently enjoyed what he saw. He and Exile decided to collaborate and together they produced the Mixed Emotions album on Warner/Curb Records. The first single release from that album was "Kiss You All Over." The single reached Billboard's Top 40 on 5 August 1978. It remained on the chart for seventeen weeks and was No. 1 for four weeks in September. It was a best-seller for six months. Their follow up single, "You Thrill Me," also from the Mixed Emotions LP did not fare as well, although it did reach the Top 40 for one week on 3 February 1979. The band toured with Aerosmith, Heart, Dave Mason, Boston, Seals & Crofts and other hot pop acts of the late seventies throughout the United States, Europe and Africa. There Is, the group's second Warner Bros. Records album, recorded a year later with a distinct disco beat, yielded a foreign hit, "The Part Of Me That Needs You Most." This single did particularly well in Europe and South Africa. Don't Leave Me This Way, their third album, produced by Peter Coleman, yielded two more singles, "Take Me Down" and "Smooth Sailing." Once again, it did well in Europe and South Africa although their popularity in the United States waned. umerous personnel changes took place in 1979. Perhaps most significantly, Stokley would leave the group that year, forcing remaining members guitarist/vocalist J.P. Pennington, keyboardist Buzz Cornelison, keyboardist/vocalist Marlon Hargis, bassist/vocalist Sonny Lemaire and drummers Steve Goetzman and Gary Freeman to search for a new lead singer. A young singer, Les Taylor, accepted an invitation to join the group and shared lead vocal duties with Pennington. By the early 1980s, other lineup changes took place, including the exit of original member Buzz Cornelison, plus keyboardist Mark Gray, who co-wrote "The Closer You Get" & "Take Me Down", both of which became hits for the group Alabama, played a short stint from 1980-82.