Georgia Satellites

Formed in 1980, a lineup of Dan Baird, Rick Richards, Dave Hewitt (Bass), and drummer Randy Delay recorded a six-track demo at Axis Studios in Atlanta. For a short period of time from 1981 to 1982 drummer Randy Delay was replaced by a new drummer, Keith Christopher (formerly of The Brains). Christopher left the band in 1982 to perform with Frank Marino & Mohagony Rush. Jeff Glixman, who had produced the likes of Paul Stanley and Kansas, was enlisted to produce.

Soon after the demo was recorded, the band broke up in the summer of 1984.

However, while the band felt they weren't making any progress on their musical path and had moved on, their English manager 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 (Kerrang #113). 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 Magellon (drums) and Rick Price (bass). With Baird essentially joining the Hell Hounds, the Satellites were reborn and American record labels started taking notice of the band.

By 1986 only 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 album, featuring the track "Keep Your Hands To Yourself." The song went all the way to #2 on the Billboard chart, topped only by Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer," It went into extremely heavy MTV rotation. Other minor hits included "Battleship Chains" (#86) and "Can't Stand The Pain."

In 1988, the band recorded a cover of The Swinging Blue Jean's 1964 hit "Hippy Hippy Shake" for the movie Cocktail. Released as a single, the song made it to #45 on the Billboard chart. During the 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 for 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."