Born on This Day in 1948, the Country-Pop Frontman Who Co-Wrote a No. 1 Hit for Janie Fricke and Penned Songs for Travis Tritt and Shelby Lynne 

Les Taylor, lead singer of Exile and singer-songwriter who penned hits for country A-listers like Travis Tritt and Shelby Lynne, was born Dec. 27, 1948, in Oneida, Kentucky.

Videos by American Songwriter

Taylor grew up the youngest of nine on a 40-acre farm halfway between London and Manchester, Kentucky. When he was about 11, his family sold the farm and moved into the town limits of London. That’s when he began learning guitar alongside his older cousin.

“Both of us started playing the very same day,” Taylor recalled during a November 2022 interview with Cornerstone Television Network. “His father had an old Kay F-hole acoustic guitar and we learned how to play on that until we could get better instruments.”

@todaysnashville

Tonight -“I Want To Kiss You All Over” – Les Taylor – Exile Band – shares his journey – “a street to nowhere” to a promise to always give God honor and glory in everything in his life. Here’s a clip. Watch tonight on CTVN or https://todaysnashville.com. #faith #music #nashville #lestaylor #story #legends #countrymusic #singer #songwriter

♬ original sound – Today’s Nashville

Once that happened, he and his cousin formed an instrumental group called the Wanderers. Sitting in homeroom at school one day, an announcement blared over the loudspeaker that the Wanderers would perform during that evening’s sock hop at the high school gym.

“I thought, ‘Wow that’s nice. I wish they would have told me,’” recalled Taylor.

So they played that night, netting $4 apiece. By the time the dance ended, word had spread around town, and the owner of a local skating rink hired the Wanderers to play at his venue every Thursday.

[RELATED: Born on This Day in 1947, the Jingle Singer Who Became a Country Star and Dominated the Charts in the 1980s]

Les Taylor Joined Exile in 1980

Les Taylor caught a break in 1980 when fellow Kentucky musicians Exile invited him on as their lead singer, after original frontman Jimmy Stokley’s replacement didn’t work out. At the time, the country-pop outfit was fresh off their No. 1 hit “I Want to Kiss You All Over.”

Making his debut later that year on the band’s album Don’t Leave Me This Way, Taylor performed with Exile for nearly a decade before leaving in 1989 to pursue a solo career. His highest-charting single, “I Gotta Mind to Go Crazy,” peaked at No. 44 on the country charts in 1991.

Taylor reunited with Exile in 1995 and has remained with the band for the last 30 years. He also helped pen Janie Fricke’s 1982 chart-topping hit “It Ain’t Easy Bein’ Easy.”

Featured image by Frederick Breedon IV/WireImage