Georgia Satellites

Georgia Satellites are a Southern rock band who 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.

Beginning in 1980, lead singer Dan Baird, guitarist Rick Richards, bass player Keith Christopher and David Michaelson formed a band called Keith and the Satellites. After playing local Southern bars and line-up change, they recorded a six-track demo and changed the name to The Georgia Satellites. Soon after the demo was recorded, the band broke up in the summer of 1984.

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. The positive response to the EP prompted the band to regroup in the United States.

In 1986, the band released their debut full-length album, Georgia Satellites, which was their most successful LP, and featured the track "Keep Your Hands to Yourself". The song reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and went into extremely heavy MTV rotation. Other lesser hits included "Battleship Chains" 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". 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. Baird would leave 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.

After a brief sabbatical following the departure of Baird, the Georgia Satellites returned in 1993. 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. 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.