The Georgia Satellites

History

In 1980, Dan Baird (formerly guitarist for the Atlanta band the Nasty Bucks), along with lead guitarist Rick Richards, bassist Keith Christopher (formerly of The Brains), and drummer David Michaelson formed a band named Keith and the Satellites in Atlanta, Georgia. After performing in local Southern bars, the band's line-up changed. With a new bassist, Dave Hewitt, and a new drummer, Randy DeLay, they recorded a six-track demo at Axis Studios in Atlanta. During this time, the band changed their name to Georgia Satellites and played every Monday at Hedgen's, a beer-stained bar in the otherwise tony Atlanta neighborhood of Buckhead.

Jeff Glixman, who had produced, mixed and remastered artists such as Paul Stanley, Kansas, Gary Moore, Yngwie Malmsteen and Black Sabbath, was enlisted for production. However, soon after the demo was recorded, the band broke up in the summer of 1984. DeLay later performed with the Tony Sarno Band and the Hell Hounds around the Atlanta music circuit, before dying of cancer in 1993.

Although the band felt they were not making any progress on their musical path and had disbanded, their English manager, Kevin Jennings, took the demo to a small Yorkshire record label, Making Waves, who liked the material and released the demo 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. Richards remained in Atlanta with the Hell Hounds, which included both Mauro Magellan (drums) and Rick Price (bass, who had replaced Keith Christopher in The Brains). With Baird essentially joining the Hell Hounds, the Georgia Satellites were reborn and American record labels started taking notice of the band.

In 1986, the group signed with Elektra Records and 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 No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, topped only by Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer". It went into heavy rotation on MTV. Other lesser-known songs included "Battleship Chains" (#86), written by Terry Anderson and "Can't Stand the Pain", but the Georgia Satellites never had another Top 40 hit. That same year the MTV Video Music 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 No. 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-written Beatles song "Don't Pass Me By", although the album was not as successful as their 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. Although 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 Dan Baird, the Georgia Satellites reunited in 1993. Their current lineup, led by original member Rick Richards (lead guitar, backing and lead vocals), along with Fred McNeal (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Bruce Smith (bass, backing vocals), and Todd Johnston (drums) continues to perform live shows. The most recent album, Shaken Not Stirred (1997), 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 performs 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 Baird's solo albums and continues to tour with him as a member of Homemade Sin, which also includes bassist Keith Christopher, formerly of Keith and the Satellites. In addition, 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, Izzy Stradlin and the Ju Ju Hounds. They toured in the 1990s and have recorded seven albums. Richards, along with ex-Satellites manager Kevin Jennings, released an album entitled For Ol' Times Sake in 2013 as The Western Sizzlers, which enlisted the talents of Charlie Starr of Blackberry Smoke as well as seasoned Atlanta musicians Nicky Ford, Jeff Bakos, and Kevin "Snit" Fitzpatrick.

EPs

Compilations