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, and Steve Goetzman. 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.
After Stokley was fired due to his declining health, Mark Gray and Taylor joined as vocalists, also contributing on keyboard and guitar, respectively. However, Gray departed after only three years to begin a solo career. Exile began a transition to country music in the beginning of the 1980s, with Pennington and Taylor as vocalists alongside LeMaire, Hargis, and Goetzman. This lineup was featured on their 1983 album Exile, their first as a country band and their first on Epic Records.