Exile still going strong after 60 years

Feb. 26—Very few bands have the ability to say they've known each other for 60 consecutive years. But, as fate would have it, this band can say just that.

Believe it or not, the band is still putting out brand new music. Are they still performing live? You bet they are!

Many bands call it quits after 50 years or so, Aerosmith has been together has been together 53 years and is on their last tour.

The Eagles are also on their last tour, they've known each other for over 50 years, but took took a notable 14 year hiatus. Billy Joel has been around the music scene for 59 years, 50 plus of those as a solo artist.

The band I'm talking about is none other the band, Exile. Though not the same lineup that sported Richmond native Jimmy Stokley, the lineage and success of the band continues.

To set the stage on the time Exile was founded: gas was $0.30/gallon, milk and bread combined were roughly 0.44, Richmond's population was somewhere around 12,000-16,000 and EKU played basketball at Alumni Coliseum for the first time.

"I wanted viewers of this film on KET to know the band's full story, which traces its history all the way back to 1963," said KET's Tom Thurman, producer and director for the documentary Exile: 60 Years of Music.

While the documentary talks about the band's commercial success with 'Kiss You All Over' the song that topped charts in the late 1970s. That same song featured in movies years later, namely Happy Gilmore and Employee of the Month.

"Some of their earliest and least-known recordings are featured, like 'It's Alligator Time' and 'A Game Called Hurt', both from 1966. These songs have an energy and a rawness to them that will surprise you. Many people in Richmond were there at Speck's back when the band was playing these songs," Thurman said.

He called it "a rock 'n roll trip down memory lane."

The band has underwent several changes over the years. Those included a complete genre switch to pop country, the primary five splitting off amicably and honing their skills as producers and songwriters in Nashville penning hits for bands like Alabama and solo artists like Travis Tritt, and a hiatus that lasted around a decade.

Remember I said the band is still making music? The band got back together in the 2000s and still performs today. This didn't come without rough days in the early times.

Dick Clark once told the band in the mid-late 1960s: "boys, you aren't out here to entertain yourselves; it's about the people who bought the tickets. Never forget your audience." That serves as the band's mantra to this day.

At this time, Exile was the backing band on Dick Clark's 'Caravan of Stars' program, current frontman J.P. Pennington remembers that conversation like it was yesterday, according to the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame.

"The timing of making this documentary for KET couldn't have been better. It coincided with the release of Exile's new album 'A Million Miles Later,' so it allowed me to portray just how relevant and powerful this band remains," Thurman said.

Though the band is known for the aforementioned 'Kiss You All Over,' Thurman says that the band is much, much more than the songs that commercially define them.

"Exile is a terrific band. But the members (both current and former) are also wonderful people. and both smart and witty. For a filmmaker, that's a dream come true," Thurman said.

At the center of the story, from the formation of the band up until 1979, the band was fronted by Jimmy Stokley, in many respects, Jimmy is one who drove this train.

"A documentary about Exile wouldn't be fair or accurate without emphasizing the importance of their original lead singer Jimmy Stokley from Richmond, who died in 1985. In many ways, he's at the heart of this story," Thurman said.

The documentary Exile: 60 Years of Music premieres Saturday, March 2 at 6:30/5:30 pm on KET.

KET will follow that up on Tuesday, March 5 at 8/7 pm, with Exile: Live in Concert, recorded at the historic Renfro Valley Entertainment Center in Mt. Vernon, Kentucky. The film was made in celebration of the band's 60th anniversary.

The performance was recorded in November of last year and will include many of their hits.

If you are interested in seeing the band perform live, they will play a show at The Kentucky Theatre on March 14th.