In 1963, J.P. Pennington and several of his friends started a band, caught the cultural wave of the sixties, grew long hair, wore out-of-the-ordinary clothing and played rock ‘n roll music. The simple folk of their hometown Richmond, Kentucky turned a cold shoulder to their radical ways and the boys felt shunned. They called themselves THE EXILES.

The Dick Clark Caravan of Stars hit the road in 1965 and picked up THE EXILES to perform on several dates in and around Kentucky. The band opened the shows and provided backup for headlining superstars like Freddie Cannon, B.J. Thomas and others. Clark hired the band again for the 1966 Caravan tour and gave them a piece of advice to boot: “Don’t ever forget your audience.” The boys adopted Dick Clark’s advice as their creed.

The band changed musical styles throughout the mid-sixties, changed their base of operations to Lexington, Kentucky in 1968 and shortened the name to EXILE.  Regional hit records such as Devil’s Bite and Church Street Soul Revival established the band as a Kentucky music icon and drew the attention of major labels and producers. Finally in the fall of 1978, EXILE hit pay dirt with the #1 pop smash, Kiss You All Over, and hit the road touring with Aerosmith, Heart, Dave Mason, Boston, Seals & Crofts and other hot pop acts of the late seventies. The backdrop had changed, but the band never lost sight of its commitment to its audiences.