J.P. Pennington started Exile in 1963 in his hometown of Berea, KY. Original a rock 'n' roll combo called the Exiles, the group was popular in the South and eventually landed a tour on Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars tour in 1965 and 1966, with pop idols Bryan Hyland and Freddy "Boom Boom" Cannon.
Pennington revived the group several times, changing members and musical styles as often as he changed his socks. They landed a number of short indie label deals, and in 1977, now reinvented as a country-rock band, they were signed to Atco Records. The Atco affiliation didn't yield any hits, but it did get them noticed by Atco's sister label, Warner Brothers. Warner refashioned the band as more of a straight-ahead pop act, and they scored a huge Top 40 hit with the song "Kiss You All Over." Soon after, the band was styled back to its country roots. As they saw a number of chart successes upon establishing themselves as a country outfit, their material started to get covered by acts such as Janie Fricke and Alabama.
Exile went through an extended period during which they were the darlings of the contemporary Country Music scene, and although they had a number of personnel changes, they remained intact through 1989, when Pennington and singer Les Taylor both left for solo careers. The band carried on, but failed to see any real chart success without the two anchor musicians. Both would return to Exile in 1996, to carry on with yet another version of the band.