Kiss You All Over – Exile | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#1 for 4 weeks) & Adult Contemporary (#19); 1978
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
In a year of disco mania, a Kentucky band broke the mold and locked up the #1 spot with a song penned by two Englishmen. Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn’s earlier hits were glitter rave-ups such as Ballroom Blitz by Sweet, so the Kiss You All Over demo – with its sparse guitar-based sound – was somewhat of a departure.
Chapman heard The Exiles – as they were then known – playing at the opening of an apartment complex, liked what he heard, and decided to work with them.
Mike also liked their reworking of Kiss. His faith was well-placed as it became Chapman and Chinn’s first U.S. chart topper. Interestingly, Kiss You All Over was bumped from #1 by Nick Guilder’s Hot Child In The City, also co written and produced by Mike Chapman.
As for Exile, the group found a second life on the country side of music, reeling off 10 #1 records between 1984 and 1986.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Mike Chapman
Lyrics Written by:
- Mike Chapman
- Nicky Chinn
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).