Exile, formerly The Exiles, is an American band founded in Richmond, Kentucky, in 1963. The band consists of J.P. Pennington, Les Taylor, Sonny LeMaire, Marlon Hargis (keyboards), and Steve Goetzman (drums). With a founding membership including original lead singer Jimmy Stokley, 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, Exile achieved mainstream success in 1978 with "Kiss You All Over", a number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100. This iteration of the band mostly played soft rock and pop music.
Exile in 2013. L–R: Steve Goetzman, Les Taylor, Marlon Hargis, Sonny LeMaire, and J.P. Pennington.
Early on, Exile was a backing band for Caravan of Stars, a touring revue hosted by Dick Clark.
Founding member Jimmy Stokley was the band's lead singer at the time of their first major hit "Kiss You All Over".
The band's lineup after switching to country in the early 1980s, and again since 2008 (L-R): Sonny LeMaire, Les Taylor, Marlon Hargis, Steve Goetzman, and J.P. Pennington.
Richmond is a home class city in KY and the county seat of Madison County, Kentucky, United States. It is named after Richmond, Virginia, and is home to Eastern Kentucky University. With close proximity to Lexington, Richmond is considered by many to be a great place to live. It has an average - high cost of living compared to other areas. The population was 36,826 as of 2023. Richmond is the fourth-largest city in the Bluegrass region and the state's seventh-largest city. It is the ninth largest population center in the state with a Micropolitan population of 106,864. The city serves as the center for work and shopping for south-central Kentucky, with many local and chain options alike. Richmond KY is home to numerous festivals, notably the Millstone Festival. In addition, Richmond is the principal city of the Richmond-Berea, Kentucky Micropolitan Area, which includes all of Madison and Rockcastle counties.
Madison County courthouse, Richmond, with flags at half-staff in honor of Veterans Day (2007).