Exile
Exile in 2013. L-R: Steve Goetzman, Les Taylor, Marlon Hargis, Sonny LeMaire, and J.P. Pennington.
Background information
Also known as	The Exiles
Origin	Richmond, Kentucky, U.S.
Genres	Country, soft rock[1]
Years active	1963 (1963)–1993, 1995–present
Labels	Date Wooden Nickel Atco Warner Epic Arista Nashville Intersound
Spinoffs	Burnin' Daylight
Members	J.P. Pennington Les Taylor Sonny LeMaire Marlon Hargis Steve Goetzman
Past members	See List of members
Website	https://www.exile.biz/

Exile is an American band founded in Richmond, Kentucky, in 1963. Originally known as the Exiles, the band played cover songs and local events in the state of Kentucky for a number of years before becoming a backing band on the touring revue Caravan of Stars. After a series of failed singles on various labels including Date Records and Atco Records as well as two unsuccessful albums on Wooden Nickel Records, the band achieved mainstream success in 1978 with their hit "Kiss You All Over", a number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100. This incarnation of the band mostly played soft rock and pop music, with Jimmy Stokley as the lead singer.

After a decline in Stokley's health and a series of unsuccessful follow-up singles, Exile began a transition to country music in the beginning of the 1980s. Their first lineup as a country music format consisted of J.P. Pennington and Les Taylor alternating as lead vocalists and guitarists, alongside Sonny LeMaire (bass guitar, harmony vocals), Marlon Hargis (keyboards), and Steve Goetzman (drums). This lineup was featured on their 1983 album Exile, their first as a country band and their first on Epic. Between then and 1987, Exile had ten number-one singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, as well as a number-one country album with Kentucky Hearts' in 1984.

Hargis, Pennington, and Taylor left the band between 1987 and 1989, negatively impacting the band's commercial success. Paul Martin took over as lead vocalist for two albums on Arista Nashville between 1990 and 1991, and Exile disbanded in 1993. During the early 1990s, both Pennington and Taylor recorded as solo artists, while LeMaire founded the band Burnin' Daylight. Individual members held sporadic concerts as Exile beginning in 1995, but the early-1980s lineup of Pennington, LeMaire, Taylor, Hargis, and Goetzman did not re-establish until 2013. Exile has continued to tour under this lineup ever since.

Exile's sound is defined by vocal harmony with rock and pop influences. Many of their songs during their country era were co-written by Pennington and LeMaire, the latter of whom has also written songs for other artists such as Diamond Rio and Clay Walker. Songs of theirs have also been covered by Alabama, Huey Lewis and the News, and the Forester Sisters.

History

Exile was founded in Richmond, Kentucky, in 1963,^[2][3] by a group of students attending Madison High School. Author Randy Westbrook, in the book 50 Years of Exile: The Story of a Band in Transition, describes the band's origins as "murky" due to conflicting accounts between early members.^[4] According to Westbrook, founding drummer Mack Davenport began playing as a teenager in a band called The Kings of Rhythm, which performed at local high school dances. Davenport stated that this band included Paul Smith Jr. on bass guitar, Doug Jones on lead guitar, Ronnie Hall on vocals, Doug Begley on saxophone, and Billy Luxon on trumpet.^[5] The band played jazz, soul, and blues. After an unknown number of performances, this group became The Fascinations, which consisted of Davenport, Smith, Luxon, Jones, and percussionist Eddie Rhodus, with Hall and Jimmy Stokley both providing vocals. Rhodus died in a car accident and Jones departed in 1963, at which point the five remaining members officially began crediting themselves as the Exiles.^[2][6] They entered a contest in Richmond that same year, which featured a recording session as its grand prize. The Exiles lost to a band called the Digits, although after the competition, Jones left for undisclosed reasons and the other members recruited the Digits's guitarist Mike Howard to take his place.^[7] The name was inspired by the Cuban exodus, or exile of Cubans to the United States following the Cuban Revolution, and was suggested by Howard.^[8]

Originally, Stokley and Hall alternated as lead vocalists.^[9] However, the other band members thought that Stokley was "much more dynamic" and fired Hall in 1964.^[10] J.P. Pennington joined soon after, having previously played in a local band called the Le Sabers. This band's lead singer was Leroy Pullins, later known for his 1966 novelty hit "I'm a Nut". The other members of Exile persuaded Pennington to play bass guitar despite his unfamiliarity with the instrument, which allowed Smith to begin playing rhythm guitar instead.^[11] Westbrook refers to the band's lineup in 1964—Howard, Smith, Davenport, Pennington, Luxon, and Stokley—as the "core" of the Exiles.^[12] They held most of their rehearsals in Luxon's mother's basement in Richmond, and performed publicly for the first time in 1964 at Irvine-McDowell Park in Richmond. Most of their other early performances were at sock hops and high school dances.^[13] Early shows included covers of songs by artists such as the Temptations and James Brown.^[14]

Stokley had wanted to incorporate keyboard instruments into the band and recruited keyboardist Buzz Cornelison, who had briefly played with the Kings of Rhythm.^[15] Cornelison initially played an electric organ which Stokley had bought at Sears, but after realizing the instrument's technical limitations, purchased a Farfisa electric organ.^[16] As Cornelison was the only band member with formal music training, he taught the other band members melodies to cover songs using a melodica.^[17] They then spent most of the early-mid 1960s performing in local gigs throughout Kentucky. According to Pennington, the other band members often felt unsafe when staying at hotels, as they were all teenagers at the time and were often ridiculed by other patrons for their long hair.^[18]

One of the band's recurring gigs was at a youth center in Martin, Kentucky, whose owner David Grigsby would accompany them on tenor saxophone in addition to offering advice on their performances. Grigsby encouraged the Exiles to submit a demo to Nashville radio station WLAC's main disc jockey John Richbourg (who used the name John R. Grigsby on air). Richbourg arranged for the band to record their first single in 1965: "The Answer to Her Prayers", a song which Smith wrote. Despite Cornelison criticizing the lyrics as misogynstic, the song received local attention around Kentucky.^[19] One of their recurring venues at this point was Speck's, a nightclub near Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond. They became the venue's house band and their performances there got them featured regularly in The Richmond Register, the city's local newspaper.^[20] As Luxon, Pennington, Cornelison, and Howard all contributed backing vocals, the Exiles began incorporating cover songs with more vocal harmony, such as the Young Rascals and the Beach Boys.^[21] Pennington quit the Exiles in 1965, as he was only sixteen at the time and his parents thought he was too young to be in a band.^[22] Following Pennington's departure, Smith reverted to bassist, creating a six-piece lineup with Howard, Davenport, Luxon, Stokley, and Cornelison. Grigsby encouraged the band to keep recording soul music, as Stokley had a "raspy voice" which Westbrook compared to Wilson Pickett and James Brown.^[23]

1965–1972: Caravan of Stars and early singles

In late 1965, Richbourg took the band to Nashville a second time to record material which he selected and produced. These sessions included the single "Alligator Time". It featured double entendre lyrics as well as spoken-word ad-libs by Stokley, which resulted in him being credited as co-writer.^[24] Shortly after this single's release, they performed a show with Billy Joe Royal at the Lookout House in Covington, Kentucky.^[25] Grigsby was friends with Peggy Rogers, who served as a manager for radio and television host Dick Clark. After seeing the band perform at Speck's, and she encouraged them to travel to Cincinnati Music Hall in Cincinnati, Ohio, where they would be a backing band for Lou Christie at a stop on Clark's Caravan of Stars touring revue. The Exiles rehearsed with female backing vocalists who would also be accompanying Christie on a rendition of his single "Lightnin' Strikes", the number one single on the Billboard Hot 100 charts that week. During this rehearsal, Cornelison noted that the backing vocalists had been singing the wrong notes and taught them the correct melody. As Christie had no time to practice with the band due to travel delays, he did not notice this correction until the performance. Afterward, he noted that other backing bands had been performing the song incorrectly as well, and asked who was responsible for correcting the arrangement; after Cornelison stated that he was responsible, Christie asked him to write down the correct notes, a move which impressed Rogers.^[26]

In 1966, a Caravan of Stars show at Stoll Field in Lexington, Kentucky was impacted when a truck delivering musical instruments broke down, and Rogers asked the Exiles if they would serve as the backing band for that show. Due to their success in this capacity, they continued to do throughout October and November of that year. One act they accompanied in this timespan was the Yardbirds.^[27] John Caldwell, a manager for Carvan of Stars, encouraged the band to travel to New York City in 1967 to record singles for Date Records. These featured the Exiles solely as vocalists, with the instruments played entirely by session musicians. They recorded a cover of the Young Rascals's "What Is the Reason", as well as the originals "Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are" and "I'd Love to Give My Love Away". None of these singles was successful.^[28] Caldwell also invited the band to move to New York City at this point; Cornelison refused, as he had just returned to college and wanted to pursue musical theater instead. He was replaced in late 1966 by Bernie Faulkner, who had played with them at Speck's a number of times before Cornelison's departure allowed him to become a full-time member. In addition to keyboard, Faulkner contributed on guitar and saxophone.^[29] Smith was drafted shortly after the band's move to New York City, leaving Exile without a bass player. He was briefly replaced with Larry Davis, whom the other members met while in New York, but he quickly left due to personality conflicts.^[30] As a result, Howard contacted Pennington and asked him to rejoin. Unlike when Pennington had quit the Exiles, his parents were supportive of him rejoining, and he did so in 1967.^[31] After three months of playing various venues in and around New York, the Exiles returned to Kentuicky in 1967 and resumed performing at Speck's. By this point, the band has begun incorporating unusual costumes into their show, such as oversized headdresses, cricket uniforms, and "mismatched Edwardian suits",^[32] as well as strobe light effects.^[33]

Due to their success as a backing band for Caravan of Stars, they were invited to do so again in 1967 and 1968. Their performances at the time included twelve minutes of cover songs at the beginning of the show, followed by accompanying other performers on the bill. Among the musicians for whom they served as a backing band were Freddy Cannon, Brian Hyland, and Paul Revere and the Raiders.^[34] After the 1968 tour of Caravan of Stars ended, they were contacted by Mark Alan, a talent agent who invited them to come back to New York for another recording session with Date Records. Unlike the previous session, they were allowed to play their own instruments this time. One of their Date Records releases, "Mary on the Beach", was popular among listeners in Kentucky.^[35] However, the band was dissatisfied with their living conditions in New York and left again in early 1969.^[36] Soon afterward, Howard was drafted as well, and he served in Vietnam for eleven months. He declined to rejoin, as he was disappointed by the second trip to New York as well as the lack of original material in the band's repertoire. Howard worked a number of construction jobs, and then served as a post office employee before retiring in 2009.^[37] Following Howard's departure, Cornelison rejoined after being turned down for a job playing piano at a lounge in northern Kentucky.^[38] As a result, Exile did not have a lead guitarist, instead relying on both Cornelison and Faulkner as keyboardists. In addition, Cornelison occasionally played trumpet, while Faulkner also played saxophone and rhythm guitar.^[39]

Alan's involvement as their manager led to them being booked as an opening act for Tommy James and the Shondells at a show in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 1969.^[40] Lead singer Tommy James enjoyed the band's performance and invited them to travel to New York a third time, as he wanted them to record a song he had written titled "Church Street Soul Revival". Pennington alternated with James on lead guitar, in addition to his usual role as bassist.^[41] The song was released in 1969 on Columbia Records and became the band's first chart entry, making number four on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles charts.^[42][43] In 1970, the band was recommended to musician and producer Buddy Buie, who wanted to produce a single for them to record. This song, "Put Your Hands Together", featured the Exiles accompanied by the Atlanta Rhythm Section, of which Buie was a member.^[44] As this song was also unsuccessful, the band began expressing disappointment with Alan's management. In addition, Pennington had begun writing original songs for the band to record, but Stokley and Cornelison were not interested in writing songs, and the original material proved unpopular in concerts. Davenport quit in late 1971 or late 1972, attributing his departure to the band's continued lack of success. He went on to become a bartender, and was replaced on drums by Bobby Johns.^[45] Pennington left a second time in 1972, as he wanted to move to California with his cousin. While the other band members expressed a desire to break up, they remained together at Stokley's insistence, and Johns recruited guitarist Kenny Weir and bassist Bill Kennon. Pennington returned to the Exiles after only a few months, assuming the role of guitarist this time. As a result, Kennon departed and Weir took over on bass.^[46] Westbrook noted that this lineup allowed a more hard rock sound in addition to the existing vocal harmonies, as well as the presence of Faulkner's saxophone and Cornelison and Luxon's trumpets, for a sound "more intricate than what was expected from the average bar band".^[47]

1972–1975: Wooden Nickel Records

In 1972, the band was offered a recording contract by Wooden Nickel Records, a Chicago-based label. As they thought "the Exiles" sounded "dated", the band shortened its name to Exile. Their only Wooden Nickel album, the self-titled Exile, was released in 1973. Bill Traut, the label's co-owner, also served as producer. He allowed the band to perform all of the instruments and vocals by themselves; except for some vocal overdubbing, the entire album was recorded in only one take. Despite this, Traut selected most of the material, which included covers of Seals and Crofts, Van Morrison, and Todd Rundgren, and he wanted the band to perform in a blue-eyed soul style. The album included only two original songs: Pennington wrote "Do What You Think You Should", while he, Stokley, and Traut co-wrote "Hold Tight, Woman".^[48] Wooden Nickel released a second album in late 1973 titled Stage Pass. It included two songs written by Pennington and one by Johns, while the rest was once more composed of cover songs. Among the covers was the Beatles's "We Can Work It Out", which featured Cornelison on lead vocals. Also included was a live recording of Jeff Beck's "New Ways/Train Train", which featured a number of solos from all the members. Both of the Wooden Nickel albums were unsuccessful commercially, and the label dropped the band by year's end.^[49]

Following their departure from Wooden Nickel, the band lost three members in quick succession. Faulkner left in 1973 due to disillusionment over the failure of the Wooden Nickel releases and begam working at Lemco Studios, a recording studio in Lexington, Kentucky.^[50] He also recorded in the early 1980s as a member of the vocal group Hazard.^[51] Weir left at an unknown point prior to late 1974, with neither Cornelison nor Pennington knowing the circumstances behind his departure. Soon after departing Exile, he was also killed in a car accident. Danny Williams replaced Weir on bass guitar in 1974.^[52] Luxon quit soon afterward, citing the lack of horn parts on the Wooden Nickel albums. He later went on to own a nightclub in Lexington until it closed in 1993.^[53] Taking Faulkner's place on keyboards was Marlon Hargis, a native of Somerset, Kentucky. He had become acquainted with Exile through his work as a keyboardist in Lemco Studios, where members of Exile had joined in on recording commercials, demos, and country music albums by local artists.^[54]

1975–1978: "Try It On" and "Kiss You All Over"

By the mid-1970s, the band—at the time composed of Stokley, Pennington, Cornelison, Hargis, Williams, and Johns—had moved to Lexington, Kentucky.^[55] They had been booked to play several spring break shows in Daytona Beach, Florida, in addition to recording demos. One such demo was submitted to Mike Chapman, an Australian record producer who was looking to begin working with American artists as well.^[56] They recorded a disco song called "Try It On" for Atco Records, which charted at number 97 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1977.^[57] As the song was not successful, Johns quit around the time of its release and was replaced by Steve Goetzman, who at the time was Pennington's roommate. Meanwhile, Johns joined the band Roadmaster.^[58] Although Chapman had initially chosen not to work with Exile again following the failure of "Try It On", his wife persuaded him to give the band a second chance, as she liked their music and noted that unlike other bands he had worked with, the members of Exile were polite to him.^[59] Chapman invited the band to the Forum, a recording studio in Covington, Kentucky, where he presented them with a song he had written called "Kiss You All Over".^[60] The band spent nearly an entire day in the studio recording it, owing to Chapman's "demanding" production style.^[61] Hargis played a number of keyboards on the recording, including a Rhodes piano and an ARP String Ensemble which had an effects pedal added.^[62] Chapman found great difficulty with recording Stokley's voice due to his raspy delivery and poor sense of pitch, and asked Pennington to sing the lines on which he could not get a satisfactory vocal from Stokley.^[63]

Through a connection with music journalist Nola Leone, Chapman was able to contact Mike Curb, owner of Curb Records, who signed the band as he thought "Kiss You All Over" had potential to become a hit. Curb partnered with Warner Bros. Records for distribution. The band's contract with the two labels consisted of four albums.^[2][64] The band then began recording more songs written by Chapman and English songwriter Nicky Chinn, along with six songs by Pennington and one by Williams. These songs would become the band's debut album Mixed Emotions.^[65] During these recording sessions, Williams became frustrated with the amount of control Chapman was exercising over the rest of the band, and was fired in late 1977. He was replaced by Sonny LeMaire, who knew Hargis through a number of cover bands the two had worked with in the early 1970s. LeMaire played and sang backing vocals on two tracks on Mixed Emotions: "Never Gonna Stop" and "Stay with Me".^[66] Released in 1978, Mixed Emotions featured elements of disco, funk, and pop rock.^[67] The track "Never Gonna Stop" was later recorded by Linda Clifford, whose version was sampled on Tupac Shakur's "All Eyez on Me".^[67]

Curb released "Kiss You All Over" as the album's lead single in 1978. While the band noted that it was initially unpopular at live shows, it began climbing the Billboard charts due to radio airplay. Westbrook attributes the song's success to its sexually suggestive lyrics.^[68] "Kiss You All Over" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in September 1978.^[69][2] The song was also an international success, reaching number one on the Kent Music Report charts in Australia,^[70] and number six on the UK Singles Chart in the United Kingdom.^[71] Its success led to Exile appearing on variety shows such as The Midnight Special. In addition, the band flew to The Netherlands to record a music video for the song. They also began a touring circuit in the state of Texas alongside Eddie Money and Dave Mason. Rogers made arrangements to help sign Exile to William Morris Agency, a talent agency who assisted in booking the band as an opening act for Aerosmith and Heart.^[72] Warner issued two more singles from Mixed Emotions. "Never Gonna Stop" did not chart,^[73] while "You Thrill Me" reached number 40.^[42]

1978–1981: All There Is, Don't Leave Me This Way, and Heart and Soul

Exile began working on their second Warner album, All There Is, in late 1978. During the sessions, Chapman faced increasing difficulty recording Stokley's voice, as the singer had developed nodules on his vocal cords and was also weakened by hepatitis. As a result, Chapman asked Pennington and LeMaire to sing lead vocals on some tracks instead, with both band members later noting that Chapman would often make them record as many as fifty takes until the vocal track was to his satisfaction.^[74] In addition, Chapman wanted the band to record disco music, as that genre was popular at the time and he thought doing so would help the band become popular again following the failure of "You Thrill Me".^[75] The recording sessions featured a large number of synthesizers and drum machines. The opening and closing tracks "How Could This Go Wrong" and "Too Proud to Cry" were both over eight minutes long, featuring a number of instrumental solos in a disco style, with Westbrook theorizing that this was done to obscure Stokley's weakened singing voice.^[76] The latter was also Hargis's only writing credit.^[77] "Let's Do It Again" served as the lead single, reaching 88 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[42] Neither "The Part of Me That Needs You Most" nor "Too Proud to Cry" charted in the United States,^[77] although the former was a minor chart hit in Australia.^[70] Jay Black covered "The Part of Me That Needs You Most" in 1980, as did B.J. Thomas in 1985.^[78][79]

Due to the difficulties the band had experienced during the All There Is recording sessions, Stokley was fired at Chapman's insistence shortly after the album's release.^[80] He was briefly replaced by vocalist and guitarist Randy Rickman, who only lasted in the group for "a couple of months" due to his style not working with the rest of the band.^[81] After this, the band found two vocalists in Mark Gray and Les Taylor. Chapman had recommended Gray after discovering him in Los Angeles, and as Gray was also a keyboardist, this briefly led to Exile having three keyboardists: him, Cornelison, and Hargis.^[82] Meanwhile, Pennington had chosen Taylor due to his involvement in a number of local bands that had played at Martin Youth Center and Speck's.^[83] Both Gray and Taylor began auditioning with Exile in August 1979.^[84] Both members appeared on the band's third Warner album Don't Leave Me This Way. LeMaire thought that Chpaman had become increasingly focused on more successful bands with whom he collaborated, such as Blondie and the Knack, which jr thought caused Chapman to lose focus on promoting and writing songs for Exile. In addition, due to his involvement with these bands, sound engineer Peter Coleman took over as producer. The band members found recording with Coleman less strenuous, as he was less controlling of the band members than Chapman was.^[85] Taylor, Gray, and Pennington alternated as lead vocalists.^[86] The album's two singles, "You're Good for Me" and "Take Me Down", both made the Bubbling Under Hot 100 singles chart in 1980.^[42] Both the latter and the album track "The Closer You Get" were later recorded by Alabama, whose versions topped the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts in the early 1980s.^[64][87] In 1981, Cornelison left the band as he "became more and more estranged" from the soft rock and country pop influences of the album.^[88] He re-entrolled at Eastern Kentucky University, where he acquired a master's degree in English, in addition to working in local theater productions and running a craft shop owned by his family.^[89]

The band finished their contract with Warner and Curb in 1981 with Heart and Soul. For this album, Chapman once again returned to production duties. According to Taylor, the band members thought that reuniting with Chapman would help them become successful again, as they thought Coleman was not strong at selecting songs with potential as hits.^[90] The album's only single release was its title track "Heart and Soul", which also entered the Bubbling Under Hot 100 singles charts upon release.^[42] LeMaire and Pennington wrote several songs on the album including "Take This Heart", which was later recorded by Kenny Rogers.^[91] "Heart and Soul" would later be covered by Huey Lewis and the News, whose version was a top-ten pop hit in 1983.^[92] Heart and Soul continued to feature elements of soft rock, but Westbrook also noted influences of country music beginning to appear on tracks such as "One More Night for Love".^[91]

1981–1983: Transition to country music

Following the failure of Heart and Soul, Exile was dropped from Warner/Curb in 1981. Westbrook noted that at the time, the band did not have positive critical reception due to their soft rock sound.^[93] As a result of this, their manager Jim Morey suggested in 1982 the band begin recording country music due to that genre's increasing popularity at the time. He also thought the success of Exile songs as recorded by Kenny Rogers, Alabama, and Dave & Sugar indicated that the band had potential in country music. While Pennington was interested in the band pursuing this genre, Hargis and Goetzman were outspoken against such a change.^[94] Despite the latter two's reservations, the band began rehearsing covers of country music artists such as Merle Haggard and George Jones. This led to them playing a country music set at the Rebel Room, a club inside a bowling alley in Lexington, Kentucky, before moving to another club called Breeding's.^[95] The band also played a number of shows in South Africa, where "Kiss You All Over" had become popular in the interim.^[96]

Gray left the band in 1982, as he wanted to stay in Nashville and become a solo singer-songwriter, whereas the rest of the band wanted to stay in Kentucky.^[97] He had success with a number of songs recorded by Janie Fricke, which led to him signing with Columbia Records in 1983.^[98] He had five top-ten singles on the Billboard country charts between 1984 and 1986. Two of these, "Left Side of the Bed" and "Diamond in the Dust", were co-written by LeMaire.^[99] He also recorded his own version of "Smooth Sailing (Rock in the Road)", previously found on Don't Leave Me This Way.^[100]

1984–1986: Exile, Kentucky Hearts, and Hang On to Your Heart

Through Morey, the band arranged a meeting with Nashville-based producer and publisher Buddy Killen, who invited them to play a number of shows at a Nashville-based club called the Stockyard. These shows were intended to aid in the band's transition to country, and were attended by representatives of major Nashville record labels. One such label, Epic Records Nashville, signed the band in 1983.^[101] Their first Epic album, Exile, came out in 1983. Killen served as producer on the project, with Hargis (who served as sound engineer) noting that he was willing to let the band play all of their own instruments, as opposed to most country music bands who relied on session musicians on their albums. The album featured Taylor and Pennington alternating as lead vocalists and songwriters, with Ricky Skaggs being the only outside musician on the entire project. Although Gray had left by this point, he was a co-writer on two tracks.^[102] While their first country release "High Cost of Leaving" only reached number 27 on the Billboard country charts, its follow-ups "Woke Up in Love" and "I Don't Want to Be a Memory" both went to number one between late 1983 and early 1984.^[103] Exile also reached number ten on the Top Country Albums chart upon release.^[104] The success of this album led to Pennington and LeMaire putting increased focus on their collaborative songwriting, while also restarting the band's touring schedule.^[104] Exile was nominated in 1983 for Top Vocal Group by the Academy of Country Music (ACM), a nomination they would receive again in 1984, 1985, and 1987.^[105] They would also be nominated by the Country Music Association (CMA) for Vocal Group of the Year in every year from 1984 to 1987, as well as Instrumental Group of the Year in 1984 and 1985.^[106]

The band's second album, Kentucky Hearts, was released in 1984. It was their only number-one album on the Billboard country albums charts.^[104] As with the previous album, Killen once again served as producer. Pennington and LeMaire wrote the entire album by themselves except for the track "Comin' Apart at the Seams", which Taylor wrote with his friend Jerry Marcum.^[107] All three singles from Kentucky Hearts reached number one on the country music charts. These were "Give Me One More Chance", "Crazy for Your Love", and "She's a Miracle".^[103] In addition, the Forester Sisters covered the album's fifth track "Just in Case", and took their rendition to number one in 1985.^[107] "She's a Miracle" was also made into a music video, which was one of the first to be aired on the television network CMT.^[108] Tom Carter of the Lexington, Kentucky, Herald-Leader wrote that the band was "more mellow and confident" than on previous albums, while also praising the harmony and instrumentation.^[109]

During promotions for this album, the band members were informed of former lead singer Jimmy Stokley's declining health. In repsonse, they held a charity concert in Richmond to raise $18,000 toward Stokley's medical bills, which they succeeded in doing. Other former members such as Davenport, Cornelison, and Howard were in attendance as well. Stokley died at age 41 in August 1985.^[110] Around the time of Stokley's death, Epic released the band's next album Hang On to Your Heart. Pennington and LeMaire wrote the entirety of the album, and it accounted for five singles.^[111] These were "Hang On to Your Heart", "I Could Get Used to You", "Super Love", "It'll Be Me", and "She's Too Good to Be True". Of these, all except "Super Love" went to number one on the Billboard country charts.^[103] Although Taylor had sung lead on a number of album tracks prior to this point, "It'll Be Me" and "She's Too Good to Be True" were the first singles to feature him on lead vocals instead of Pennington. In addition, the track "Music" features Pennington rapping.^[111]

Mid-late 1980s: Departure of Marlon Hargis and Shelter from the Night

Following Hang On to Your Heart, Killen noted that the band's success had caused them to become "restless".^[112] Hargis had also become disillusioned with the band at this point, stating that there was "too much partying" among the other band members, and that the label had obviated his duties as sound engineer. After leaving Exile, Hargis stayed in Nashville to own a music store.^[113] Lee Carroll took Hargis's place on keyboards.^[114][2] Carroll had been serving as a backing musician for the Judds], and had met the members of Exile a number of times in this capacity before Pennington invited him to join.^[115] Their next studio album for Epic, and first to feature Carroll, was 1987's Shelter from the Night. Before this album's release, executive Roy Wunsch had taken over as the head of Epic Records, and told the band members that he thought their sound had "sameness".^[116] Similarly, Goetzman noted that radio disc jockeys had similarly thought that too many of Exile's songs sounded similar to each other, and that perception in the country music scene had become increasingly negative toward Killen's production style. As a result, Wunsch and other Epic executives ordered the band to fire Killen as their producer and begin seeking songs by other writers than Taylor and Pennington.^[117] Elliot Scheiner, a pop producer who had worked with Bruce Hornsby and Steely Dan among others, took over production duties for Shelter from the Night. Pennington thought that employing a pop producer would help the band change their sound, as he had noted the crossover success Restless Heart had with "I'll Still Be Loving You" on pop formats.^[118] Scheiner selected three songs by outside writers: the title track, "Fly on the Wall" (written by Hornsby and Bernie Taupin), and John Farrar's "She's Already Gone", all of which were sung by Taylor.^[119] The album was recorded at Scheiner's studio in Stamford, Connecticut, which required the band to travel constantly between Kentucky and Connecticut during June 1987.^[120] Westbrook describes the album as "uneven" due to Scheiner's involvement and Carroll's use of synthesizers.^[121] While the lead single "I Can't Get Close Enough" accounted for the band's tenth number-one single on Billboard, the later releases were unsuccessful. "Feel Like Foolin' Around" only reached number 60, while "Just One Kiss" and "It's You Again" were minor chart entries as well.^[103] Carroll attributed the single's failures to the success of the Judds and Randy Travis, both of whom were having success with neotraditional country at the time.^[122] Norman Rowe of the Richmond Times-Dispatch thought the album contained influences of Southern rock and rhythm and blues,^[123] while Ken Tucker of The Philadelphia Inquirer thought that it contained "empty, cliche-ridden country-pop music from a group whose members apparently think that turning up the volume on their guitars qualifies as a bold new direction."^[124]

During the promotion for Shelter from the Night, Taylor quit because he wanted to begin a solo career.^[125] He was replaced by guitarist Paul Martin, whose family owned a studio in Kentucky where Pennington had recorded on a number of occasions.^[126] Shortly after his joining, Pennington quit as well, citing exhaustion and personality conflicts with Martin as his reasons.^[127] As a result, Martin was promoted to lead vocalist alongside his role as lead guitarist, and performed his first concert as lead singer on New Year's Eve 1988.^[128]

1989–1991: Move to Arista Nashville

Epic Records dropped Exile in 1989 due to the failure of Shelter from the Night along with Pennington's departure.^[129] Due to Taylor's departure, the other band members sought to hire another band member to take over his role as harmony vocalists. They found guitarist/vocalist Mark Jones, who joined in 1989. Jones had previously been aware of the band when he tried to hire them for his senior prom in 1978, but they were unable to attend due to scheduling conflicts.^[130] Roger Bon Durant also joined their touring band as a backing vocalist and rhythm guitarist, but was not considered an official member.^[131] After Jones joined, the band began seeking a new recording contract. After hearing them perform at a show in Hot Springs, Arkansas, radio host Lon Helton recommended the band to Tim DuBois, a record executive who had just started the Arista Nashville label and was seeking new artists for it. LeMaire was apprehensive at first, as he thought the new lineup should not retain the name Exile due to Pennington's absence, but DuBois thought the name recognition would help the new label.^[132] Exile signed with Arista in 1989 and released their first album for the label, Still Standing, in early 1990. DuBois co-produced with Randy Sharp, a songwriter who had success with Restless Heart and also wrote several songs on the album.^[133] LeMaire told Jack Hurst of the Chicago Tribune that the addition of Martin to the lineup "opened up what we are capable of doing onstage" due to his ability to play other instruments as well, such as the mandolin and Dobro.^[134] In the same article, Hurst thought that Martin's singing voice was very similar to Pennington's.^[134] Still Standing was led off by the single "Keep It in the Middle of the Road", co-written by Pennington and LeMaire and featuring Martin on lead vocals. The song was a top-20 country hit in early 1990.^[133] An uncredited review of the single in Billboard stated of the song, "Hot guitar and piano licks strike like lightning throughout this lively, tightly performed number."^[135] After it were the top-ten hits "Nobody's Talking" and "Yet", which both featured LeMaire on lead vocals. These were his first contributions as lead vocalist since All There Is.^[136] The former two songs were both promoted through music videos as well. Despite the success of "Nobody's Talking" and "Yet", the fourth single "There You Go" under-performed on the charts.^[137]

Their second and final album for Arista Nashville was 1991's Justice. While the lead single "Even Now" (composed by Sharp and Marc Beeson) was a top-20 country hit, the other two singles "Nothing at All" and "Somebody's Telling Her Lies" failed to chart at all. Westbrook noted that the former song was quickly withdrawn from release due to compositional similarities to Reba McEntire's "For My Broken Heart".^[138] DuBois had suggested "Somebody's Telling Her Lies" as a single, but Westbrook thought that the song failed due to it lacking a hook.^[139]

Early-mid 1990s: Solo careers, 30-year anniversary, and hiatus

Both Taylor and Pennington began their solo careers during Exile's tenure on Arista Nashville. Taylor released two albums for Epic as a solo artist: That Old Desire in 1990 and Blue Kentucky Wind a year later.^[140] These albums charted a combined three singles, and the latter included a song written with early Exile member Bernie Faulkner titled "The Porchlight".^[129] Pennington's only solo album, Whatever It Takes, was also released in 1991. Produced by Barry Beckett, the album included two singles in its title track and "You Gotta Get Serious".^[128] Taylor thought that the band members' solo albums were unsuccessful due to radio backlash against Exile in the intervening years.^[129]

The members of Exile attributed the failure of their Arista albums to the lack of founding members, as well as a perception that Arista had begun to focus more heavily on Diamond Rio after that band reached number one in 1991 with their debut single "Meet in the Middle".^[141] Exile ended their contract with Arista and focused on touring while in search of another recording contract. They played an average of 150 shows a year between 1991 and 1993.^[142] They held a 30-year anniversary concert in 1993, which included most of the former members such as Pennington, Cornelison, As a result, Exile ended their contract with Arista and focused on touring while in search of another recording contract. They played an average of 150 shows a year between 1991 and 1993.^[142] They held a 30-year anniversary concert in 1993, which included most of the former members such as Pennington, Cornelison, and Davenport.^[143] Despite this, the band's tour bus was robbed after a concert in 1993, which the band members took as a sign to retire. Jones, Martin, and LeMaire did one show in 1994 at Dollywood, while they, Caroll, and Goetzman recorded Latest and Greatest for Intersound Records that same year. The album, like most other Intersound releases, included a mix of original content and re-recordings of previous hit singles. One of the new tracks, "L-O-V-E Spells Trouble", was Martin's only contribution to the band as a songwriter. Also included was a remix of "Super Love", which included several keyboard and synthesizer parts played by Martin.^[144]

After this album, Exile officially disbanded in 1995.^[145] Both Jones and Goetzman became artist managers, the former working with Pat Green and the latter with Steve Wariner.^[146] LeMaire became a songwriter, having success on this front with Restless Heart's "When She Cries" in 1992. He also joined Beeson and songwriter Kurt Howell in the trio Burnin' Daylight, which recorded one album for Curb Records in 1997.^[147] Martin chose to pursue a solo career, but after proving unsuccessful in this regard, he found work as a backing musician for Kathy Mattea before becoming bassist in Marty Stuart's touring band, the Fabulous Superlatives. He also began touring with his wife and four children as the Martin Family Circus.^[148] Carroll joined his brother in owning a number of Papa John's pizza restaurants in Pennsylvania.^[149]

Following the failures of their solo careers, Pennington and Taylor sought to reform Exile. They played a few local shows with various musicians on keyboards, drums, and bass before establishing a lineup with Steve Richmond on drums, Ray Salyer on bass, and Jason Witt on keyboards. This lineup played a concert at Billy Bob's Texas in Fort Worth, Texas, in 2005, and said concert was issued as an album titled Live at Billy Bob's Texas.^[145] Meanwhile, LeMaire had further success as a songwriter in the first decade of the 21st century, including Diamond Rio's "Beautiful Mess", Andy Griggs's "She Thinks She Needs Me", and Clay Walker's "Fall". He collaborated with Shane Minor and Clay Mills on all three.^[150]

In 2008, Pennington and Taylor rejoined Hargis, LeMaire, and Goetzman for a charity concert in Lexington to benefit one of their former managers, who had been seriously injured in a motorcycle accident. In doing so, they re-established the lineup of the band's early Epic releases.^[151][145] After this concert was sold out, they decided to begin performing officially as Exile once more.^[151] Following their reunion, the Kentucky General Assembly honored the band in 2009 for "extraordinary talent", which led to them performing for members of the state of Kentucky legislature.^[152] This lineup self-released an extended play titled People Get Ready in 2012. The project featured a rendition of Curtis Mayfield's "People Get Ready", as well as a re-recording of "Kiss You All Over" with a guest vocal from Trace Adkins.^[151] Exile has continued to serve primarily as a touring artist ever since. Following their reunion, author Randy Westbrook released a biography of the band titled 50 Years of Exile: The Story of a Band in Transition.^[153] The same year, the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame inducted Exile along with Skeeter Davis and the Kentucky Headhunters.^[154]

The band released multiple projects in the 2010s. First was a Christmas album titled Wrapped Up in Your Arms for Christmas in 2017.^[155] In 2018, they released a new album titled Hits, consisting of re-recordings of their hit singles.^[153] This was followed a year later by The Garage Tapes, which included various demos from their early years.^[156] In 2023, former member Billy Luxon released a memoir of the band's early years, titled Exiled: The Climax and Surrender of Jimmy Stokley.^[157]

Musical styles

Exile is noted for their successful transition from pop music to country music.^[3] Writing for AllMusic, Steve Huey stated that "Among rock listeners, Exile is remembered as the one-hit wonder responsible for 1978's number one smash "Kiss You All Over." However, in the early '80s, the Kentucky-bred band reinvented itself as a country outfit—and a hugely successful one at that."^[2] Author Randy Westbrook, in 50 Years of Exile: The Story of a Band in Transition, found hard rock influences in the band's Warner albums, particularly in the gruffness of original lead singer Jimmy Stokley's voice as well as the guitars, drums, and synthesizers present on tracks from All There Is.^[77] Huey stated that Taylor "spearheaded" the band's transition to country music,^[2] Westbrook noted that the success of "The Closer You Get" and "Take Me Down" in their subsequent covers by Alabama was also integral in the shift of Exile's sound,^[64] and wrote that Taylor and Pennington both had Southern accents conducive to singing country.^[158] Hargis told Cashbox in 1984, "It originally started as a rhythm and blues group. When I joined it had developed into a rock 'n' roll band. I suppose because it was the thing to do at the time, even though we all grew up with country music; it wasn’t the thing to do, to be in a country band."^[159]

Westbrook also noted Pennington's sense of melody, such as the use of Lydian mode on the title track of All There Is, as well as the southern gospel chord progressions of "Woke Up in Love" and the Hang On to Your Heart album track "Promises, Promises".^[160] He also found influences of Western swing and boogie-woogie on tracks such as "I've Never Seen Anything", "Proud to Be Her Man", and "Keep It in the Middle of the Road".^[161] Also present on the albums with Epic were three-part vocal harmonies among Pennington, Taylor, and LeMaire.^[104] Pennington usually handled lead vocal duties on the Epic albums, although Taylor sang "It'll Be Me" and "She's Too Good to Be True". Of these songs, Westbrook wrote that their success "started a new streak" and "proved that Les' voice could prove as popular on country radio as J.P.'s."^[162] Most of the early Epic albums were dominated by collaborative songwriting between Pennington and LeMaire. Of their songwriting relationship, they both said they usually wrote together at the piano, and would start coming up with lyrics after one of them provided a title.^[104] Tom Carter of the Lexington Herald-Leader thought that the band's vocal harmonies and "often contrasting rhythms playing against the tone of the song" were notable elements of the band's overall sound.^[109] Hargis noted that Exile was one of the first country bands to play all the instruments on their own albums instead of using session musicians,^[156] an observation also made by Pennington.^[163] Ellen Creager of the Detroit Free Press wrote in a review of Kentucky Hearts that both Pennington and and Taylor "have husky voices any girl could fall in love with." She also noted that the album, unlike most other country albums at the time, largely consisted of up-tempo material.^[164]

List of members

Current

• Steve Goetzman - drums
• Marlon Hargis - keyboards
• Sonny LeMaire - bass guitar, vocals
• J.P. Pennington - guitar, vocals
• Les Taylor - guitar, vocals

Former

• Lee Carroll - keyboards (1986-1995)
• Buzz Cornelison - keyboards, saxophone, trumpet (1964-1966, 1969-1981)
• Mack Davenport - drums (1963-ca. 1971)
• Bernie Faulkner - keyboards, guitar, saxophone (1966-1973)
• Mark Gray - lead vocals (1979-82)
• Ronnie Hall - vocals (1963-1964)
• Mike Howard - guitar (1963-1969)
• Bobby Johns - drums (ca. 1971-ca. 1977)
• Mark Jones - harmony vocals, guitar (1989-93)
• Bill Kennon - bass guitar (1972)
• Billy Luxon - trumpet (1963-1974)
• Paul Martin - lead vocals, guitar (1989-1995)
• Steve Richmond - drums (2005)
• Ray Salyer - bass guitar (2005)
• Jimmy Stokley - lead vocals (1963-1979)
• Danny Williams - bass guitar (1974-1977)
• Jason Witt - keyboards (2005)
• Kenny Weir - guitar, bass guitar (ca. 1972-ca. 1974)

Discography

Studio albums

• Exile (1973)
• Stage Pass (1978)
• Mixed Emotions (1978)
• All There Is (1979)
• Don't Leave Me This Way (1980)
• Heart and Soul (1981)
• Exile (1983)
• Kentucky Hearts (1984)
• Hang On to Your Heart (1985)
• Shelter from the Night (1987)
• Still Standing (1990)
• Justice (1991)
• Wrapped Up In Your Arms for Christmas (2016)
• The Garage Tapes (2019)
• Joyful Noise (2021)

References

Works cited

• Randy Westbrook (2013). 50 Years of Exile: The Story of a Band in Transition. Acclaim Press. ISBN 978-1-938905-22-3.
• Whitburn, Joel (2017). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2017. Record Research, Inc. ISBN 978-0-89820-229-8.

External links

• Official website
• Exile at IMDb