Tag: Georgia Satellites

Georgia Satellites -Hippy Hippy Shake

I have to give Deke credit for this post. He did a review of “LIGHTNIN’ IN A BOTTLE” …a live Satellite show in 1988 that was released in 2002. This song was in a movie called Cocktail…I wasn’t a fan of the movie but it did have some good music. Deke mentioned Hippy Hippy Shake and I’ve always liked this song.

The Georgia Satellites came out of nowhere with a number 2 hit in 1986 called Keep Your Hands To Yourself. At the time of Madonna and synth-driven songs, it was great to hear this band out of Georgia that played raw roots rock and roll without the big production.

I remember being a senior in high school and watching one of my buddy’s band play in a talent show right before us. They played “Keep Your Hands To Yourself” and it sounded great. That song was made for a rock band…any rock band and I asked him if they wrote it. He said no they had an advance copy of the song or bootleg. I’ve liked this band ever since. They were a no-frills raw rock band in the middle of the sometimes overproduced 80s…a band I followed until they broke up.

I always thought their timing was a bit off. If they would have come out in the late eighties along with the Black Crowes and Guns and Roses… they could have had more staying power.

This song is a little different for them. Their lead singer Dan Baird didn’t sing it. The lead guitar player Rick Richards did the vocals on this one as well as their hit  Battleship Chains.

Chan Romero was just 17 when he wrote this song. According to his entry in the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, he was inspired by the song “Come On, Let’s Go” by Ritchie Valens. The Swinging Blues Jeans cover was a hit in 1963 when the song peaked at #2 in the UK, #2 in Canada, and #24 on the Billboard 100. The Beatles covered it on their Live At The BBC album.

The Satellites version peaked at #45 in the  Billboard 100 and #65 in Canada.

Some of the movies this has appeared in include Uncle Buck, Austin Powers International Man of Mystery, and Cocktail. 

Hippy Hippy Shake

For goodness sakes
I got the hippy hippy shakes
yeah I got the shakes
I got the hippy hippy shakes
I can’t sit still
with the hippy hippy shakes
yeah I get my fill now
with the hippy hippy shake
yeah it’s in the bag
the hippy hippy shake

well I’ve been shakin’ to the left
shakin’ to the right
you do the hippy shake shake
with all of your might
oh baby yeah come on shake
oh it’s in the bag
the hippy hippy shake

well I’ve been shakin’ to the left
shakin’ to the right
you do the hippy shake shake
with all of your might
of baby yeah come on shake
oh it’s in the bag
the hippy hippy shake
the hippy hippy shake
the hippy hippy shake

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Georgia Satellites – Almost Saturday Night / Rocking All over The World

The Georgia Satellites came out swinging with a number 2 hit in 1986 called Keep Your Hands To Yourself. At the time of Madonna and synth driven songs it was great to hear this band out of Georgia that played raw roots rock and roll.

I almost always post the original songs but I do like the Satellites versions of these two. Both of these songs could have fit in nice with CCR’s catalog.

These two songs they tacked together worked perfect with each other. They are both John Fogerty songs that he released in the mid seventies. The Satellites were on the same touring circuit as the Replacements, REM, and The Fresh Young Fellows. What separated them at the time with those bands was that hit. They also had a minor hit with a song called Battleship Chains.

The two songs were on John Fogerty’s self titled album released in 1975. The Satellites released their version on their greatest hits released in 1993. The lead singer Dan Baird had quit by this time. The band is still together but with only one original member…lead guitarist Rick Richards.

Almost Saturday Night/Rockin’ All Over the World

Oh-ho-ho

Outside my window
I can hear a radio
And I know that motor wagon’s gettin’ ready to fly
And it’s almost Saturday night

Bye-bye, tomorrow
Jody’s gone to a rodeo
And I know some good ol’ boys are gettin’ ready to ride
And it’s almost Saturday night

Gonna push the clouds away
Let the music have its way
Let it steal your heart away
And I know, I know it

Outside me ringin’
The night train is bringing me home
When you hear that locomotion gettin’ ready to ride
And it’s almost Saturday night

Gonna push the clouds away
Let the music have its way
Let it steal my heart away
And I know, I know it

Outside me ringin’
The night train is bringing me home
When you hear that locomotion gettin’ ready to ride
And it’s almost Saturday night

Outside my window
Outside, it’s almost Saturday night
Outside me ringin’
Outside, it’s almost Saturday night

Well, I like it, I like it, I like it, I like it
I li-li-like it, li-li-like it
Here we go, rockin’ all over the world
Well, I like it, I like it, I like it, I like it
I li-li-like it, li-li-like it
Here we go, rockin’ all over the world
Well, I like it, I like it, I like it, I like it
I li-li-like it, li-li-like it
Here we go, rockin’ all over the world
Well, I like it, I like it, I like it, I like it
I li-li-like it, li-li-like it
Here we go, rockin’ all over the world

Georgia Satellites – Another Chance

Livin’ with my back against the wall
nowhere but forward to fall

The song reminds me of something Ronnie Lane of the Faces would write…in the vein of Oh La La. A loose song that could be played on a back porch somewhere in the south. This was an album cut that I first found on their greatest hits. It’s slowly became my favorite song by this Georgia band.

I remember being a senior in high school and watching one of my buddies band play in a talent show right before us. They played “Keep Your Hands To Yourself” and it sounded great. That song was made for a rock band…any rock band and I asked him if they wrote it. He said no they had an advance copy of the song or bootleg. I’ve liked this band ever since. They were a no frills raw rock band in the middle of the sometimes over produced 80s…a band I followed until they broke up.

The song was released on the album In the Land of Salvation and Sin but wasn’t released as a single and it probably should have been. Their popularity was down at this point and the album didn’t do well. They broke up in 1990 and reformed in 1993 but without lead singer Dan Baird.

Another Chance

Livin’ with my back against the wall
nowhere but forward to fall
well I close my eyes, somebody will catch my breath
oh my lord let’s get on board
the rides gonna scare me to death

I don’t wanna leave before my time is done
don’t wanna stick around when my race is run
I don’t wanna go before they call my dance
don’t wanna die asking for another chance

come help me Poor Richard
and won’t you help me raise the glass
here’s to me and here’s to you
may our dreams all come to pass
cruel trick of time, is played in the wink of an eye
well heaven’s above you don’t need no shove
the years go sailing bye, oh

I don’t wanna leave before my time is done
don’t wanna stick around when my race is run
I don’t wanna go before they call my dance
don’t wanna die asking for another chance

another game of chance
a lifetime come and gone
I guess it’s up to me
if I don’t want to sing another man’s song
I wanna say what Grandma said, lying on her dying bed
I ain’t been cheated, no mistreated, and I don’t have to say that yet, oh

I don’t wanna leave before my time is done
don’t wanna stick around when my race is run
I don’t wanna go before they call my dance
don’t wanna die asking for another chance
another chance
no not another chance
no no another chance

The Georgia Satellites – Keep Your Hands To Yourself

A friend of mine that played guitar in high school got a copy of this song the year before it was officially released. They were playing in the gym before us and they played this song. I thought they wrote it until I asked him. It’s a good sounding song live.

It was an instant bar band song. It was a song you didn’t really have to rehearse…just one listen would do it.

This was the only hit for the Georgia Satellites, although lead singer Dan Baird had a hit as a solo artist in 1992 with “I Love You Period.” They didn’t have another big hit but they did have some songs that got airplay on radio and MTV like Battleship Chains and a cover of Hippy Shake.

It was released in 1986 and peaked at #2 in the Billboard 100 and #69 in the UK in 1987.

 

From Songfacts

Lead singer Dan Baird wrote this about the problems their drummer was having with his girlfriend. He wrote it in one sitting on their tour bus.

The video portrayed a shotgun wedding, complete with very pregnant bride and actual shotgun. It was directed by Bill Fishman, whose other credits include the Ramones’ “I Wanna Be Sedated” and Good Charlotte’s “Lifestyles Of The Rich And Famous.”

Many people thought the line “I’ve got a little change in my pocket, going jingle, linga, ling” was a reference to masturbation. The group denied this.

The group was signed to Elektra Records after executives heard a cheaply made 8-track demo of this song. Elektra gave the band a 5-figure budget to cut an entire album of material, but despite attempting several different recordings of “Keep Your Hands to Yourself,” none of these takes were as good as the demo. The demo was included on the album, and that is the version you hear.

Keep Your Hands To Yourself

I got a little change in my pocket going jingle lingle ling
Want to call you on the telephone baby i give you a ring
But each time we talk i get the same old thing
Always no huggin no kissin until i get a wedding ring
My honey my baby don’t put my love upon no shelf
She said don’t give no lies and keep your hands to yourself

Cruel baby baby baby why you want to treat me this way
You know i’m still your lover boy i still feel the same way
That’s when she told me a story ’bout free milk and a cow
And she said no huggin no kissin until i get a wedding vow
My honey my baby don’t put my love upon no shelf
She said don’t hand me no lies and keep your hands to yourself

You see i wanted her real bad and i was about to give in
That’s when she started talkin’ true love started talkin’ about sin
I said honey i’ll live with you for the rest of my life
She said no huggin no kissin until you make me your wife
My honey my baby don’t put my love on no shelf
She don’t hand me no lies and keep your hands to yourself.

 

Georgia Satellites – Battleship Chains

Liked this song the first time I heard it in the mid-eighties. I was sick of “Keep Your Hands To Yourself” but I liked that this 80s band that used guitars and played rock and roll. They also did a great version of “HippyHippy Shake.”

This song was sung by lead guitarist Rick Richards. It peaked at #86 in the Billboard 100 and #44 in the UK in 1987. Battleship Chains was also covered by a band called the Hindu Love Gods that contained members of REM and Warren Zevon.

Battleship Chains
You got me tied down with battleship chains 
fifty foot long and a two ton anchor
tied down with battleship chains
fifty foot long with a two ton anchor

I can’t move my arms 
to hold nobody
hold nobody but you 
I can’t move my legs s
to chase nobody
to kick nobody but you

You got me tied down with battleship chains
fifty foot long and a two ton anchor
tied down with battleship chains
fifty foot long and a two ton anchor

I can’t move eyes
to see nobody
see nobody but you
I can’t move my tongue
to taste nobody
to lick nobody but you

You got me tied down with battleship chains
fifty foot long and a two ton anchor
tied down with battleship chains
fifty foot long and a two ton anchor

I can’t move my lips
to kiss nobody
kiss nobody but you
I can’t move my heart 
to love nobody
to love nobody but you

You got me tied down with battleship chains
fifty foot long and a two ton anchor
tied down with battleship chains 
fifty foot long and a two ton anchor 
You got me tied, tied, 
whoo hoo, tied tied
don’t you know you got me 
tied tied, whoo hoo 
baby don’t you know you got me 
tied tied, whoo hoo