"Kiss You All Over" is a 1978 song performed by the group Exile, written by Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn. It was included on the band's album Mixed Emotions, and featured lead vocalist Jimmy Stokley and guitarist J.P. Pennington on 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. It held the number one spot on the BillboardHot 100 for four weeks, and Billboard ranked it as the No. 5 song for 1978. The track also reached number-one in at least three other nations. In the United Kingdom, the tune was released on Mickie Most's RAK Records, and peaked at number 6 in the UK Singles Chart. The strings are played with a synthesizer in backing track. In 2010, Billboard ranked the song ninth on its list of "The 50 Sexiest Songs Of All Time". Lead vocalist on the number, 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" 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.
The German band No Mercy's 1997 remixed version by Johnny Vicious and Darrin "Spike" Friedman reached number-one on the BillboardHot Dance Club Play chart. It also reached number 16 on the UK Singles Chart and number 47 in Australia.
Critical reception
Billboard wrote that "there's no denying that No Mercy's eponymous album is several notches above standard dance/pop fare-as evidenced by this Latin-spiced rendition of Exile's '70s-era hit." They noted further that "the song's hook thrives within FMP's arrangement of swirling house beats and flamenco guitars." They also added "factor in the act's sweet harmonies". Music & Media commented that "this highly successful trio has given this song a poppy-flamenco treatment that is likely to mean it will chart all over the place once again, something that proves that good songs last a long while."
1978: An Italian version was recorded by Genoa-based band Latte e Miele, with the title Sto volando con te', Italian lyrics by Massimo Gori ; the song was included in the 2004's compilation L'amore... cos'è? .
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.
2013: On the album Love Will..., Trace Adkins recorded a cover version with Exile.
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 version of the song also closes episode seven of the Netflix series Mindhunter.
