Treasure the Memories
of Our Roots
July 28 – August 2, 2014
Media Alert Rooted in the Community for 31 years.
For Immediate Release Contact: Kim Morgan
570.739.2627
Exile to Perform at Schuylkill County Fair
Come hear the legendary country rock band Exile performs at the Schuylkill County Fair, August 1, 2014 on the M & T Stage at 9 PM. The Schuylkill County Fair will host this legendary country group for one performance and one performance only. This is your one chance to hear and see this group perform locally with an up close and in person venue. Don’t miss this opportunity to revisit the music of your youth through a 90 minute performance that will have you moving to the groove.
Exile, originally known as The Exiles, is an American band founded in Richmond, Kentucky by J.P. Pennington.[1] 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 leader/guitarist Pennington, lead singer Jimmy Stokley, keyboardist Buzz Cornelison, bassist Kenny Weir, and drummer Bobby Johns.[2]
They hit the peak of their success in 1978 with the ballad hit "Kiss You All Over." After a couple of minor subsequent pop hits, they re-established in 1983 as a country music group. Between then and the early 1990s, the band had several country chart hits, including the Number Ones "Woke Up in Love", "I Don't Want to Be a Memory", "Give Me One More Chance", "Crazy For Your Love", "She's a Miracle", "Hang On to Your Heart", "I Could Get Used to You", "It'll Be Me", "She's Too Good to Be True" and "I Can't Get Close Enough". Although their chart success waned by 1991, they have continued to record ever since.
The country music version of the band included J.P. Pennington (guitar, lead vocals), Les Taylor (guitar, vocals), Sonny LeMaire (bass, vocals), Marlon Hargis (keyboards) and Steve Goetzman/Gary Freeman (drums). Their biggest hits, spanning from 1978 through 1987, included "Kiss You All Over", "Woke Up in Love", "She's a Miracle" and "Give Me One More Chance".
When lead singer Stokley departed in 1980, he was replaced by singer/guitarist Les Taylor, who helped forge the path for the group's transformation into a country band with a strong Southern rock flavor.[3] Solidified with the lineup of Pennington, Taylor, Lemaire, Goetzman and, Hargis, Exile saw a number of their songs become hits for other country acts, and followed that success to Nashville themselves. In 1983, they released their first country chart single, "High Cost Of Leaving" produced by legendary Nashville starmakerBuddy Killen, reaching the Top 40 at a respectable No. 27 on the country chart, then followed by a flurry of four successive No. 1 country singles in 1984, namely "Woke Up In Love," "I Don't Want To Be A Memory," "Give Me One More Chance" and "Crazy For Your Love". There were six more No. 1 country singles by 1987: "She's A Miracle," "Hang On To Your Heart," "I Could Get Used To You," "It'll Be Me," "She's Too Good To Be True" and "I Can't Get Close Enough" and numerous minor hits. Exile received 11 nominations for Vocal as well as Instrumental Group Of The Year from the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association.
Meanwhile, original lead singer and band co-founder Jimmy Stokley died on August 13, 1985. An Associated Press obituary published in The Miami Herald on August 15, 1985 [4]attributed his death at Pattie A. Clay Hospital in Richmond to complications from hepatitis. Stokley had been experiencing complications from hepatitis for over a year prior to his passing. In October 1984, the then-current members of Exile performed a benefit concert for him at Eastern Kentucky University to help Stokley pay for his medical expenses.
All told, there have been 35 members of Exile. The most recent line-up consisted of J. P. Pennington, Les Taylor, Ray Salyer, Steve Richmond, and Jason Witt. However, on October 19, 2006, Taylor announced that he would once again leave Exile to pursue solo interests. Two years later, on October 1, 2008, it was announced that the mid- 1980scountry lineup (Pennington, Taylor, Sonny LeMaire, Marlon Hargis and Steve Goetzman) had reunited with plans to release an EP and tour dates to be scheduled.
Your chance to hear this legendary pop turned country group will be Friday, August 1 at 9PM on the Schuylkill County Fairgrounds. For more information on Exile and other event happening at the Schuylkill County Fair visit the website www.schuylkillfair.com Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.