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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 guitarist Pennington, leader/lead singer Jimmy Stokley, Bernie Faulkner B3 sax acoustic guitar, Billy Luxon trumpet, keyboardist Buzz Cornelison, bassist Kenny Weir, and drummer Bobby Johns.

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.  All 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.  Numerous 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" and "Take Me Down", both of which became hits for the group Alabama, played a short stint from 1980 to 1982.
Exile (American band)