As 2023 comes to a close, The CMBeat wanted to highlight a special band in music and the exciting big accomplishment they had this year. The country rock band, Exile celebrated their 60th Year Anniversary this year as being together as a group!

In celebration, Exile released their new album, A Million Miles Later, which is their first album with original music in over thirty years. The album is a great addition to the wonderful catalog of music they have already released. It’s by far some of the best country music that’s been released this year in 2023 as well. There’s several noteworthy songs on the album featuring Exile’s great melodies and unmatchable harmonies.

Click the image to listen to Exile’s album “A Million Miles Later” on all streaming platforms!

“This was our most ambitious album project ever, 16 songs,” shared band member J.P. Pennington in a statement about the release of the new album. ”It took about a year and a half to complete and was a total team effort. I feel like we covered a lot of ground genre-wise. We have all been influenced by many different styles of music and we tried to reflect that here. We’re very proud of it.” 

“We are family and at times reading each other’s minds, a by-product of focusing with full intensity on a common goal for sixty years,” said Exile’s Steve Goetzman. “Each member is chosen for personality, as well as talent. We are good guys and help one another grow along these lines, keeping ourselves in check. Actually, we’ve covered far more than a million miles, but who is counting. This album is a summary of how we click. I feel a lot of gratitude!”

“It’s very rewarding to be able to release a new product that we’re proud of, particularly as we’re celebrating our 60th anniversary,” commented Exile member Marlon Hargis. “I think this is one of the best projects we’ve ever done,” stated Exile’s Les Taylor.

“The creativity has never stopped in this band,” related Sonny LeMaire of Exile. “While we are grateful for our past accomplishments, we’re still striving to create new music and new challenges. This 60th anniversary project, ‘A Million, Miles, Later,’ from the writing and recording, has been a joy from start to finish.” 

Along with that, Exile celebrated the 45th Anniversary of the release of their biggest hit, Kiss You All Over, which was released on September 30th, 1978 and remained at #1 for four weeks and continued to chart for another 23 weeks. It was named #9 on Billboard Magazine’s 50 Sexiest Songs. 

The song, Kiss You All Over, has sold over 5 million copies worldwide, amassed over 50 millions Spotify streams and has been included in a variety of film and television projects including The Big Ugly, Happy Gilmore, ZooKeeper, Wild Hogs and more. “It is hard to believe that it’s been 45 years since “Kiss You All Over” changed our career – and our lives!”

Exile continued, “This song is obviously the song most associated with Exile, and still gets the biggest reaction of any song we do in our show. After (probably) thousands of performances, we still have a blast playing it, ” said Exile. “We are extremely lucky to have such a career-making song, that still gets lots of airplay, and is used in many movies and TV series. We owe a lot to the songwriters and producers, Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn.”

The Kentucky Music Hall of Famers, Exile formed the band in 1963 in Richmond, Kentucky. The group has managed to top both the country and pop charts during their 60 year long career. In the early 1980’s, Exile started to focus on country music more. Exile has successfully had ten No. 1 singles, including I Don’t Want To Be A Memory and Give Me One More Chance. 

Along with that, there’s one more thing country music fans may not know about the group. The band, Exile has some phenomenal songwriters! Some of the greatest songs in country music have been co-wrote by members of the band. In turn, is the reason why Exile’s music is so remarkable. 

Les Taylor co-wrote Janie Fricke’s song, It Ain’t Easy Being Easy in 1982. J.P. Pennington co-wrote two of the band, Alabama’s big hits, Take Me Down, in 1982 followed by The Closer You Get in 1983. Sonny LeMaire co-wrote Restless Heart’s song, When She Cries, in 1992, followed by Diamond Rio’s big hit, What A Beautiful Mess in 2002. Along with that, Sonny LeMaire co-wrote Andy Griggs’ song, She Thinks She Needs Me in 2004 and LeMaire co-wrote Clay Walker’s song, Fall, in 2007. 

Lastly, Exile recorded the song, Heart and Soul which was the title track to their album in 1981. Just two years later in 1983, Huey Lewis and The News recorded their own version of the song and had major success with their release.

Photo by Mark Conner

Congratulations to Exile on celebrating their 60th Year Anniversary! It’s an extraordinary accomplishment. All the achievements they have made in their careers is incredible. Exile is definitely the hidden gem in country music. This band is so memorable because of their constant release of great music and their strength as individuals in the band. Exile continues to release wonderful country music and they have a fantastic show on tour! I highly recommend to see Exile live in concert, they perform such an entertaining show each and every time you see them in concert! Looking forward to seeing what’s next for Exile!

Be sure to follow Exile on their social media including on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and at their website HERE!

What do you think about Exile celebrating their 60th Year Anniversary? I’d love to hear your thoughts so leave me a comment below or on social media!

Photo Credit in the Cover Photo belongs to Mark Conner.