Exile

Exile, one of the longest-running bands in popular music, successfully making the switch from pop to country. Formed in 1963 in Lexington, Ky. MEMBER-SHIP: The band has had over 25 members over the last 35 years, but the core band is J.P. (James Preston) Pennington, gtr., voc. (b. Berea, Ky, Jan. 22, 1949); Les Taylor, gtr., voc. (b. Oneida, Ky, Dec. 27, 1948); Buzz Cornelison, kybd; Jimmy Stokely, voc. (b. c. 1944, d. Aug. 12, 1985); Steve Goetzman, drm. (b. Louisville, Ky, Sept. 1, 1950); Sonny Lemaire, bs. (b. Fort Lee, Va., Sept. 16, 1946).

Formed while Stokely, Pennington, and Cornelison were in high school, by 1965, the Exiles (as they were then known) were touring with Dick Clark’s Caravan of Stars, backing artists such as Tommy Roe. They lost the “s” in their name, and cut several records in the 1960s and early 1970s, although nothing caught fire. In the late 1970s, one of their demos fell into the hands of producer Mike Chapman, who had a string of successful English hits with Suzy Quatro and Gary Glitter. He produced two albums with the band, the second of which, Mixed Emotions, produced the monster hit “Kiss You All Over,” The middle-of-the-road song with light funk underpinnings and a borderline dirty lyric stormed to #1, going gold in the U.S. and selling over five million copies worldwide. When they couldn’t follow it up with anything nearly as successful from either Mixed Emotions (which hit #14 and went gold as well) or the follow-up albums, the group went back to Ky. to regroup.

Although Chapman and his partner Nicky Chirm wrote the hit, several of the band’s own compositions were covered by country stars Alabama, Jane Fricke, Dave and Sugar, and Kenny Rogers. With that in mind, the band started playing every night in the lounge at a bowling alley near their homes in Lexington, taking home $200 a week each. Stokely couldn’t handle this and left the band. After about a year of perfecting their country sound, they came back as a country band in the mold of Alabama. Over the course of the next decade, the band put together a string of 10 country charttoppers. By 1989, Pennington decided that 26 years on the road was enough and left the group. Taylor followed in favor of a solo career. The band came back again in the early 1990s, earning some country Top Tens, but the thrill was gone and they called it quits in 1994. By 1997, Pennington and Taylor were back on the road using the Exile name, with Goetzman as their manager.

Discography

Mixed Emotions (1978), All There Is (1979), Stage Pass (1979), Don’t Leave Me This Way (1980), Heart & Soul (1981), Kentucky Hearts (1984), Hang On to Your Heart (1985), Shelter from the Night (1987), I Love Country (1988), Keeping It Country (1990), Still Standing (1990), Justice (1991), Latest & Greatest (1995).

—Hank Bordowitz