Georgia Satellites
Encyclopedia
The Georgia Satellites are a Southern rock
band from Atlanta, Georgia
, USA. They are best known for their 1986 top five hit single "Keep Your Hands to Yourself", and draw inspiration from Chuck Berry
, Little Feat
, and AC/DC
, among others.
lead singer, Rick Richards
lead guitarist, Keith Christopher bass player (formerly of The Brains
) and David Michaelson formed a band called Keith and the Satellites in Atlanta, Georgia. After playing local Southern bars the line-up changed to lead singer and guitarist Dan Baird
, singer and lead guitarist Rick Richards
, bassist Dave Hewitt and drummer Randy Delay and they recorded a six-track demo at Axis Studios in Atlanta. They then changed the name to The Georgia Satellites. They played every Monday at a bar in Buckhead a burrough of Atlanta, Georgia. Christopher left the band in 1982 to perform with Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush
and eventually move to London, England for a few years, then Nashville with Coleen Cash (Johnny Cash's daughter). He is now living in NYC.
Jeff Glixman
who had produced, mixed and remastered artists such as Paul Stanley
and Kansas
, Gary Moore, Yngwie Malmsteen and Black Sabbath was enlisted to produce. Soon after the demo was recorded, the band broke up in the summer of 1984. Drummer Randy DeLay later performed with the Tony Sarno Band and the Hell Hounds around the Atlanta music circuit. Randy died of cancer in 1993.
However, while the band felt they weren't making any progress on their musical path and had moved on, their English manager, Kevin Jennings, took the demo to a small Yorkshire
record label, Making Waves, who liked the material and released the demos as the Keep the Faith EP in 1985. The press response to the EP was positive and prompted the band to regroup in the United States. Baird had been playing with the Woodpeckers in North Carolina, while Richards remained in Atlanta with the Hell Hounds, who included both Mauro Magellan (drums) and Rick Price (bass). With Baird essentially joining the Hell Hounds, the Georgia Satellites were reborn and American record labels started taking notice of the band.
By 1986 Elektra Records
was willing to sign the band, who then reunited with Glixman to record their debut full-length album at Cheshire Sound Studios in Atlanta. The album, Georgia Satellites
, was their most successful LP, featuring the track "Keep Your Hands to Yourself". The song reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100
, topped only by Bon Jovi
's "Livin' on a Prayer". It went into extremely heavy MTV rotation. Other lesser hits included "Battleship Chains" (#86)written by Terry Anderson and "Can't Stand the Pain". That same year the first MTV awards came into being. Mary Deacon won for Best Art Director on the music video "Keep Your Hands to Yourself".
In 1988, the band recorded a cover of The Swinging Blue Jeans' 1964 hit "Hippy Hippy Shake" for the movie Cocktail. Released as a single, the song reached #45 on the Billboard chart. During that year the band released their second album, Open All Night, which included a cover of the Ringo Starr
song "Don't Pass Me By
", though the album didn't build on the success of the debut. A single, "Open All Night" backed with "Dunk 'n' Dine", failed to chart. A third studio album, In the Land of Salvation and Sin, was released in 1989, which included re-recordings of "Six Years Gone" and "Crazy" from the 1985 EP. Though the album received very positive reviews, it too failed to do well commercially, and Baird left the band in 1990 to pursue a solo career.
The band's 1993 compilation Let It Rock: The Best of the Georgia Satellites included a selection of the best tracks from the three studio albums and bonus material that had been released on the Another Chance EP (1989): "Saddle Up", "That Woman", and "I'm Waiting for the Man". Also included was a live version of Chuck Berry's "Let It Rock".
Baird continues to perform with his band Homemade Sin, which features three former members of the Georgia Satellites. Mauro Magellan joined The Crashers after moving to Wisconsin in the early 1990s. Mauro played on both of Bairds solo albums and continues to tour with him, most recently as a member of Dan Baird and Homemade Sin, which also includes bassist Keith Christopher, formerly of Keith and the Satellites. In addition, Dan Baird performs as a member of the country groups Trent Summar & The New Row Mob
and The Yayhoos
.
Along with his commitment to the Georgia Satellites, Richards also plays with former Guns n' Roses
guitarist Izzy Stradlin
in his band, The Ju Ju Hounds. They toured in the 90s and have recorded seven albums, most can be found on iTunes. Richards also does recording sessions with like-minded players.
"Keep Your Hands to Yourself" is in the Original Music of the movie The Expendables
.
Southern rock
Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music, and genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues, and is focused generally on electric guitar and vocals...
band from Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, USA. They are best known for their 1986 top five hit single "Keep Your Hands to Yourself", and draw inspiration from Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
, Little Feat
Little Feat
Little Feat is an American rock band formed by singer-songwriter, lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George and keyboardist Bill Payne in 1969 in Los Angeles....
, and AC/DC
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...
, among others.
History
Beginning in 1980, Dan BairdDan Baird
Daniel "Dan" John Baird was born in San Diego, California and is an American singer-songwriter, musician and producer. He is best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist from the chart-topping 80s rock band The Georgia Satellites. Baird formed The Georgia Satellites in 1980 and left the band...
lead singer, Rick Richards
Rick Richards
Rick Richards is an American rock guitarist.He is best known for being a member of the band The Georgia Satellites from Atlanta, Georgia. After the initial line up of "Keith and the Satellites" with Keith Christopher, Rick Richards, Dan Baird and David Michaelson, the Georgia Satellites including...
lead guitarist, Keith Christopher bass player (formerly of The Brains
The Brains
The Brains were a rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, led by songwriter Tom Gray in the early 1980s. Their 1980 debut album was entitled The Brains, and was produced by Steve Lillywhite for Mercury Records. The set is probably most noteworthy for the band's own song, "Money Changes Everything", which...
) and David Michaelson formed a band called Keith and the Satellites in Atlanta, Georgia. After playing local Southern bars the line-up changed to lead singer and guitarist Dan Baird
Dan Baird
Daniel "Dan" John Baird was born in San Diego, California and is an American singer-songwriter, musician and producer. He is best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist from the chart-topping 80s rock band The Georgia Satellites. Baird formed The Georgia Satellites in 1980 and left the band...
, singer and lead guitarist Rick Richards
Rick Richards
Rick Richards is an American rock guitarist.He is best known for being a member of the band The Georgia Satellites from Atlanta, Georgia. After the initial line up of "Keith and the Satellites" with Keith Christopher, Rick Richards, Dan Baird and David Michaelson, the Georgia Satellites including...
, bassist Dave Hewitt and drummer Randy Delay and they recorded a six-track demo at Axis Studios in Atlanta. They then changed the name to The Georgia Satellites. They played every Monday at a bar in Buckhead a burrough of Atlanta, Georgia. Christopher left the band in 1982 to perform with Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush
Mahogany Rush
Mahogany Rush is a Canadian rock band led by guitarist Frank Marino. The band had its peak of popularity in the 1970s, playing such venues as California Jam II together with bands such as Aerosmith, Ted Nugent and Heart....
and eventually move to London, England for a few years, then Nashville with Coleen Cash (Johnny Cash's daughter). He is now living in NYC.
Jeff Glixman
Jeff Glixman
Jeff Glixman is an American record producer. He has produced, mixed or remastered artists such as Kansas, Gary Moore, Yngwie Malmsteen, the Georgia Satellites and Black Sabbath...
who had produced, mixed and remastered artists such as Paul Stanley
Paul Stanley
Stanley Harvey Eisen , better known by his stage name Paul Stanley, is an American hard rock guitarist, singer, musician, painter and songwriter best known for being the rhythm guitarist and primary lead vocalist of the rock band Kiss. He is the writer or co-writer of many of the band's...
and Kansas
Kansas (band)
Kansas is an American rock band that became popular in the 1970s initially on Album-Oriented Rock charts, and later with hit singles such as "Carry On Wayward Son" and "Dust in the Wind"...
, Gary Moore, Yngwie Malmsteen and Black Sabbath was enlisted to produce. Soon after the demo was recorded, the band broke up in the summer of 1984. Drummer Randy DeLay later performed with the Tony Sarno Band and the Hell Hounds around the Atlanta music circuit. Randy died of cancer in 1993.
However, while the band felt they weren't making any progress on their musical path and had moved on, their English manager, Kevin Jennings, took the demo to a small Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
record label, Making Waves, who liked the material and released the demos as the Keep the Faith EP in 1985. The press response to the EP was positive and prompted the band to regroup in the United States. Baird had been playing with the Woodpeckers in North Carolina, while Richards remained in Atlanta with the Hell Hounds, who included both Mauro Magellan (drums) and Rick Price (bass). With Baird essentially joining the Hell Hounds, the Georgia Satellites were reborn and American record labels started taking notice of the band.
By 1986 Elektra Records
Elektra Records
Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
was willing to sign the band, who then reunited with Glixman to record their debut full-length album at Cheshire Sound Studios in Atlanta. The album, Georgia Satellites
Georgia Satellites (album)
Georgia Satellites is the first album released by The Georgia Satellites. It contains their biggest hit, "Keep Your Hands to Yourself," and another minor hit, "Battleship Chains," written by Terry Anderson. It also contains a cover of "Every Picture Tells a Story," written by Rod Stewart and Ron Wood...
, was their most successful LP, featuring the track "Keep Your Hands to Yourself". The song reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, topped only by Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...
's "Livin' on a Prayer". It went into extremely heavy MTV rotation. Other lesser hits included "Battleship Chains" (#86)written by Terry Anderson and "Can't Stand the Pain". That same year the first MTV awards came into being. Mary Deacon won for Best Art Director on the music video "Keep Your Hands to Yourself".
In 1988, the band recorded a cover of The Swinging Blue Jeans' 1964 hit "Hippy Hippy Shake" for the movie Cocktail. Released as a single, the song reached #45 on the Billboard chart. During that year the band released their second album, Open All Night, which included a cover of the Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
song "Don't Pass Me By
Don't Pass Me By
"Don't Pass Me By" is a song by The Beatles from the double album The Beatles . Lead vocals were performed by Ringo Starr. It was Starr's first solo composition.-Origin:...
", though the album didn't build on the success of the debut. A single, "Open All Night" backed with "Dunk 'n' Dine", failed to chart. A third studio album, In the Land of Salvation and Sin, was released in 1989, which included re-recordings of "Six Years Gone" and "Crazy" from the 1985 EP. Though the album received very positive reviews, it too failed to do well commercially, and Baird left the band in 1990 to pursue a solo career.
The band's 1993 compilation Let It Rock: The Best of the Georgia Satellites included a selection of the best tracks from the three studio albums and bonus material that had been released on the Another Chance EP (1989): "Saddle Up", "That Woman", and "I'm Waiting for the Man". Also included was a live version of Chuck Berry's "Let It Rock".
Current activity
After a brief sabbatical following the departure of Baird, the Georgia Satellites returned in 1993. Led by original band members Rick Richards (lead guitar and vocals) and Rick Price (bass and vocals), with Kenny Head on keyboards and Todd Johnston on drums, they continue to perform. The 1997 album Shaken Not Stirred was a mix of re-recordings of their earlier material and eight new songs: "Running Out", "Let It Rock (Bye Bye Johnny)", "Deep in the Heart of Dixie", "Anna Lee", "My Fault", "Shaken Not Stirred", "She Fades Away", and "Rain".Baird continues to perform with his band Homemade Sin, which features three former members of the Georgia Satellites. Mauro Magellan joined The Crashers after moving to Wisconsin in the early 1990s. Mauro played on both of Bairds solo albums and continues to tour with him, most recently as a member of Dan Baird and Homemade Sin, which also includes bassist Keith Christopher, formerly of Keith and the Satellites. In addition, Dan Baird performs as a member of the country groups Trent Summar & The New Row Mob
Trent Summar & The New Row Mob
Trent Summar & The New Row Mob is an American country music group from the state of Tennessee. Its members comprise Trent Summar , Ken McMahan , Dan Baird , Dave Kennedy , and Michael "Supe" Granda...
and The Yayhoos
The Yayhoos
The Yayhoos are an American rock group. The band was once described as the "Harlem Globetrotters of Roots Rock", "a genuine, supergroup of southern-rock and alt.country heavyweights" and just "supergroup." The four bandmates share singing, songwriting and playing duties.- Members' background :*Dan...
.
Along with his commitment to the Georgia Satellites, Richards also plays with former Guns n' Roses
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...
guitarist Izzy Stradlin
Izzy Stradlin
Jeffrey Dean Isbell , known by his stage name Izzy Stradlin, is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the co-founder and former rhythm guitarist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, which he left at the height of its fame in 1991. Following his departure, he led his own band Izzy...
in his band, The Ju Ju Hounds. They toured in the 90s and have recorded seven albums, most can be found on iTunes. Richards also does recording sessions with like-minded players.
Albums
- Georgia SatellitesGeorgia Satellites (album)Georgia Satellites is the first album released by The Georgia Satellites. It contains their biggest hit, "Keep Your Hands to Yourself," and another minor hit, "Battleship Chains," written by Terry Anderson. It also contains a cover of "Every Picture Tells a Story," written by Rod Stewart and Ron Wood...
(1986) - Inspired By Jack Daniels: Live In Concert (1987)
- Open All Night (1988)
- In the Land of Salvation and Sin (1989)
- Shaken Not Stirred (1997)
Singles
| Year | Song | US Hot 100 | Rock |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | "Keep Your Hands to Yourself" | 2 | 2 |
| "Battleship Chains" | 86 | 11 | |
| "Railroad Steel" | — | 34 | |
| 1988 | "Open All Night" | — | 6 |
| "Hippy Hippy Shake Hippy Hippy Shake Hippy Hippy Shake is a song written and recorded by Chan Romero in 1959. That same year, the song reached number three in Australia.A cover version by Italian rocker Little Tony appeared in the same year and found moderate success in the United Kingdom and Italy.A version by UK-based band The... " |
45 | 13 | |
| "Don't Pass Me By Don't Pass Me By "Don't Pass Me By" is a song by The Beatles from the double album The Beatles . Lead vocals were performed by Ringo Starr. It was Starr's first solo composition.-Origin:... " |
— | 33 |
Personnel
- Dan BairdDan BairdDaniel "Dan" John Baird was born in San Diego, California and is an American singer-songwriter, musician and producer. He is best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist from the chart-topping 80s rock band The Georgia Satellites. Baird formed The Georgia Satellites in 1980 and left the band...
– lead vocals, guitar - Rick RichardsRick RichardsRick Richards is an American rock guitarist.He is best known for being a member of the band The Georgia Satellites from Atlanta, Georgia. After the initial line up of "Keith and the Satellites" with Keith Christopher, Rick Richards, Dan Baird and David Michaelson, the Georgia Satellites including...
– lead guitar, vocals - Rick Price – bass, vocals
- Mauro Magellan – drums
- Todd Johnston - drums
"Keep Your Hands to Yourself" is in the Original Music of the movie The Expendables
The Expendables (2010 film)
The Expendables is a 2010 American ensemble action film written by David Callaham and Sylvester Stallone, and directed by Stallone. Filming began on March 28, 2009, in Rio de Janeiro, New Orleans, and Los Angeles, and the film was released in theaters on August 13, 2010 in North America.The film is...
.