This version of the band signed with Epic Records in 1983 and had a top 40 country single with their first Epic release, "High Cost of Leaving". Some of their songs were covered by other country artists, including Janie Fricke and Alabama, who would turn Exile's "The Closer You Get" (from their 1980 album "Don't Leave Me This Way") into a #1 Country & Western single in 1983. Starting in 1983, Exile had three consecutive top ten albums on the "Billboard" Country Albums chart ("Exile", "Kentucky Hearts", and "Hang On to Your Heart", with the second of those reaching number one), and from 1983 to 1987 ten out of eleven singles reached number one on the "Billboard" Country Singles chart, making them one of the biggest country artists of the decade. They also received thirteen award nominations from the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association.