Formed in 1963, Exile made its debut in Kentucky, playing in small clubs. Unknown to them at the time, the band would outlast most, if not all, others, offering members more than a 60-year career in the music industry. After releasing their most recent album last year, “A Million Miles Later”, the group is promoting it on tour and will perform in Bristow’s own Freeland Center.
On Saturday, October 5, Exile will perform an unbeatable concert that music lovers of all ages will not want to miss. The concert is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. and will celebrate 61 years of the band’s remarkable performance history.
Most of us have heard the group’s work without even realizing as some of their songs were featured in popular movies. Also, well-known bands such as Restless Heart, Alabama, and Diamond Rio have performed songs written by Exile members.
Throughout their 60-year career, Exile has topped both pop and country charts with 11 singles hitting number one. They have also produced 3 gold albums and sold more than 8 million records.
Of their best hits, “Kiss You All Over” proved their most successful and spend 4 weeks, in 1978, atop Billboard’s pop chart. Later, the song made appearances in the movies “Happy Gilmore and “Employee of the Month”.
However, the band transitioned to country music in the early 1980s, recording an additional 10 songs that went on to hit number 1 atop country charts. Two of those hits included “Give Me One More Chance” and “I Don’t Want to Be a Memory”.
In 2008, five original members of Exile re-formed the band and performed at the Grand Ole Opry for the first time. Since then, the group has made more than 100 appearances at the venue. In 2013, they were inducted into the Kentucky Hall of Fame. Original members of Exile are the
See Exile, Page Two same group that tours and performs today. Moreover, Exile has toured and performed with acclaimed musical artists The Oak Ridge Boys, Kenny Rogers, Aerosmith, Fleetwood Mac, and The Judds. Band members currently include Sonny LeMaire, Steve Goetzman, J.P. Pennington, Marlon Hargis, and Les Taylor.
Individually, J.P. Pennington and Sonny LeMaire have been recognized as “Songwriter of The Year” by Broadcast Music, Inc., BMI, and been presented with 7 “Million-Air” awards. The Million-Air Award recognizes song creators and publishers when their works amass more than one-million broadcasts across the country. The songs for which they received the Million-Air awards were performed by Exile, Diamond Rio, and Alabama and included “The Closer You Get”, “She’s A Miracle”, and “Give Me One More Chance”. Band member Les Taylor was also awarded a BMI Country Award for his songwriting contributions on Janie Fricke’s “It Ain’t Easy Being Easy”.
Together, the group made and released their first album of original music in more than 30 years last year: “A Million Miles Later”. The album consists of 16 songs and is said to have taken around 1.5 years to create.
Bristowans, be sure not to miss this unique opportunity to celebrate Exile in concert at the Freeland Center next week. Tickets are available at Etix.com and by calling the Freeland Box Office at 918637-3540.