"Kiss You All Over" is a 1978 song performed by American group

Exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

, written by

Mike Chapman Michael Donald Chapman (born 13 April 1947) is an Australian-American record producer and songwriter who was a major force in the British pop music industry in the 1970s. He created a string of hit singles for artists including The Sweet, Suz ...

and

Nicky Chinn Nicholas Barry Chinn (born 16 May 1945) is an English-American songwriter and record producer. Together with Mike Chapman he had a long string of hit singles in the UK and US in the 1970s and early 1980s, including several international number- ...

. It was included on the band's third album, ''Mixed Emotions'' (1978), and featured lead vocalist

Jimmy Stokley Exile is an American band originally formed in 1963. In the 1970s, they were known as a rock band that had a major hit single with "Kiss You All Over" in 1978. After several lineup changes, the band was re-launched as a country act that achieved ...

and guitarist

J.P. Pennington James Preston Pennington (born January 22, 1949) is an American musician, known primarily as the guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the country pop band Exile. Pennington was one of the early members and one of the lead singers of the group unti ...

on vocals. On the '' American Top 40'' broadcast of May 26, 1979,

Casey Kasem Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem (April 27, 1932 – June 15, 2014) was an American disc jockey, actor, and radio personality, who created and hosted several radio countdown programs, notably '' American Top 40''. He was the first actor to voice Nor ...

reported that Chapman stated his source of inspiration for "Kiss You All Over" was "

It's Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next to Me "It's Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next to Me" is a hit song by American singer Barry White. The song was written by Ekundayo Paris and Nelson Pigford, and arranged by Barry White. Chart performance Released from his album '' Barry White Sings for ...

" by

Barry White Barry Eugene Carter (September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003), better known by his stage name Barry White, was an American singer and songwriter. A two-time Grammy Award winner known for his bass voice and romantic image, his greatest success came ...

. The song was a number one single in the United States, but proved to be Exile's only big hit in the pop market (they would later have great success on the

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

charts). It held the number one spot on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for four weeks (starting September 30), and ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' 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 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, the song was released on Mickie Most's RAK Records, and peaked at number 6 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. The strings are played with a synthesizer in a 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. After the success of

soft rock Soft rock is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in Southern California and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, melodic songs with big, lush productions. S ...

singles from the albums ''Mixed Emotions'' and ''All There Is'', the band moved into

in the 1980s.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Broadway version

Disco band

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

recorded their version. The single backed with "Love Bandit" was released on Hilltak 7802, and distributed by

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

. It was also issued in a 12" format. Music magazine called it ''"The inevitable disco version"''. It had a three week run with the song on the ''Billboard'' Hot Soul Singles chart, peaking at #92 on December 16, 1978.

Chart

No Mercy version

German

Eurodance Euro-Dance (sometimes referred to as Euro-NRG, Euro-electronica or Euro) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of hip hop, techno, Hi-NRG, house music, and Euro-Disco. This ...

trio No Mercy's 1997 remixed version by

Johnny Vicious Johnny Vicious (born John Coles) is an American house DJ, producer and remixer. He DJed in New York City clubs Mars and Paladium in the 1980s, and in the early 1990s started his own label, Vicious Muzik Records, with Jeffrey Rodman. Vicious b ...

and Darrin "Spike" Friedman reached number-one on the ''

Hot Dance Club Play Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

chart. It also reached number 16 on the

and number 47 in Australia.

Critical reception

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from ''

'' 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 Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

-spiced rendition of

's '70s-era hit." He noted that "the song's hook thrives within FMP's arrangement of swirling

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

beats and

flamenco guitars A flamenco guitar is a guitar similar to a classical guitar but with thinner tops and less internal bracing. It usually has nylon strings, like the classical guitar, but it generally possesses a livelier, more gritty sound compared to the cl ...

." He also added "factor in the act's sweet harmonies". The magazine's Paul Verna viewed it as an "giddy rendition". Diana Valois from ''

The Morning Call ''The Morning Call'' is a daily newspaper in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1883, it is the second longest continuously published newspaper in the Lehigh Valley, after '' The Express-Times''. In 2020, the newspaper permanently closed its ...

'' picked "Kiss You All Over" as the "second best cut" of the album, describing it as "a full-blown flamenco exotica cover". Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' constated 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." A reviewer from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' rated the song four out of five, concluding, "A third huge hit for the boys."

Tracklisting

* CD single # "Kiss You All Over" (Radio Edit) - 4:31 # "Kiss You All Over" (Club Mix) - 5:53 # "Bonita" (Radio Edit) - 3:54 # "Bonita" (Club Mix) - 7:08

Charts

Release history

References

{{authority control 1978 songs 1978 singles 1997 singles 1998 singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Exile (American band) songs Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in South Africa Number-one singles in Australia Songs written by Mike Chapman Song recordings produced by Frank Farian Song recordings produced by Mike Chapman Songs written by Nicky Chinn RAK Records singles Curb Records singles Hilltak Records singles Warner Records singles Arista Records singles No Mercy (pop band) songs Songs about kissing Phyllis Hyman songs