Kiss You All Over

"Kiss You All Over" is a 1978 song performed by the group Exile. It was written by Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn. It was included on the band's album Mixed Emotions, and it featured Jimmy Stokley and guitarist JP Pennington on lead vocals.

On the American Top 40 broadcast of May 26, 1979, Casey Kasem reported that Chapman stated his source of inspiration for "Kiss You All Over" was "It's Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next to Me" by Barry White.

The song was a number one single in the United States, but proved to be Exile's only big hit in the pop rock market (they would later have great success on the country music charts). It held the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks (starting September 30),^[2] and Billboard ranked it as the No. 5 song for 1978.

In the United Kingdom, the song was released on Mickie Most's RAK Records, and it peaked at number 6 in the UK Singles Chart.^[3] In this song, a string synthesizer is used. In 2010, Billboard ranked the song ninth on its list of "The 50 Sexiest Songs Of All Time".^[2]

Lead vocalist on the song Stokley was ousted from the band in 1979, his health declining thereafter until he died at the age of 41 in 1985. The band moved into country music following the synth-pop success of "Kiss You All Over" and the 1979 follow-up hit "You Thrill Me" (reaching #40 (UK no. 67)) and "How Could This Go Wrong", #88 on the charts. "Take Me Down" peaked at #3 on the Euro Hit 40 in the mid-1980s.

No Mercy version

"Kiss You All Over"
Single by No Mercy
Released	1997
Genre	Europop
Songwriter(s)	Mike Chapman, Nicky Chinn
Producer(s)	Johnny Vicious, Darrin "Spike" Friedman
No Mercy singles chronology
"Please Don't Go" (1997) "Kiss You All Over" (1997) "Hello How Are You" (1998)
"Please Don't Go" (1997) "Kiss You All Over" (1997) "Hello How Are You" (1998)
Music video
"Kiss You All Over" on YouTube

The band No Mercy's 1997 remixed version by Johnny Vicious and Darrin "Spike" Friedman reached #1 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart.^[4] It also reached #16 on the UK Singles Chart and #47 in Australia.

Cover versions

• 1978: A version by Jim Mundy and Terri Melton made number 87 on the Hot Country Songs charts.
• 1978: A Disco version was covered by Broadway
• 1979: Along with the track "So Strange", Phyllis Hyman covered this song and had a minor disco hit, peaking at number 75.
• Also in 1979, Millie Jackson covered this song for her album A Moment's Pleasure and it was released as a single in Europe.
• 1982: A lovers rock version by Samantha Rose produced by reggae producer Winston Curtis was recorded in London.
• 1993: Tiffany released a version on her Asia-only album Dreams Never Die. The album (and song) were re-released in the U.S. in 2005.^[5]
• 2003: The song was sampled by Live Element for their track Something About You^[6]
• 2003: Cilla Black covered the song on her last ever studio album, Beginnings: Greatest Hits & New Songs. Her version was later remixed by Tommy Sandhu for the 2009 remix album Cilla All Mixed Up.
• 2013: On the album Love Will..., Trace Adkins recorded a cover version with Exile (J.P. Pennington and Les Taylor).
• 2016: A cover of the song appears on the Information Society album Orders of Magnitude

Appearances in other media

The song was featured in the films Happy Gilmore, Wild Hogs, Man on the Moon, Employee of the Month, and Zookeeper. It was also used in 2007 on CBC's Hockey Night In Canada during a montage of Stanley Cup celebrations at the conclusion of the final game of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The song closes out the finale of the first season of the Amazon Series Red Oaks. The Exile's version of the song also closes episode seven of Netflix series Mindhunter.

References