Atlanta (band)
Encyclopedia
Atlanta was an American country music
group formed in 1982 in Nashville, Tennessee
, USA. It was composed of Brad Griffis (vocals), Bill Davidson (vocals, guitar), Tony Ingram (vocals, fiddle), Alan David (lead guitar), Allen Collay (keyboards), Bill Packard (keyboards), Jeff Baker (harmonica), Dick Stevens (bass guitar) and John Holder (drums). Between 1983 and 1988, Atlanta recorded two albums for MCA Records
and charted nine hit singles on the Billboard
country charts. Its chart history included two Top Ten country hits in "Atlanta Burned Again Last Night
" and "Sweet Country Music
." The latter was also the band's highest charting single, peaking at number 5.
), Tony Ingram (vocals, fiddle
), Alan David (lead guitar
), Allen Collay (keyboards
), Bill Packard (keyboards), Jeff Baker (harmonica
), Dick Stevens (bass guitar
) and John Holder (drums
). Prior to the foundation, Ingram had recorded on Epic Records
in the band Spurzz, and Stevens, Davidson, Griffis and David had previously toured as a re-establishment of The Vogues
. The group was founded through the assistance of record producer
Larry McBride, who had also launched the career of Alabama
. Also on board was recording engineer Milan Bogdan, who had a long list of credits in the recording industry. With nine members, Atlanta was the largest country music band at the time.
"Atlanta Burned Again Last Night
" was the band's debut single, released in 1983 on the independent MDJ record label
, which McBride owned. This recording spent seventeen weeks on the Billboard
country singles charts, peaking at number 9. This single was one of the highest-charting debut singles by an independently-signed country music act.
After it came the number 11 "Dixie Dreaming
", the band's second and final MDJ release. By early 1984, MCA Records
assumed promotion of the band's singles and albums, releasing "Sweet Country Music
" early in the year. This became the band's highest-charting hit, reaching number 5 on the Billboard country charts. MCA released the band's debut album Pictures in 1984. MCA also released the singles "Pictures" and "Wishful Drinkin'," the latter of which was included in the film Ellie.
Atlanta released its self-titled second album for MCA in 1985. It included the singles "My Sweet-Eyed Georgia Girl" and "Why Not Tonight," both of which peaked outside the country Top 40. The band later moved to the Southern Tracks label, releasing "We Always Agree on Love" and "Sad Clichés."
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
group formed in 1982 in Nashville, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, USA. It was composed of Brad Griffis (vocals), Bill Davidson (vocals, guitar), Tony Ingram (vocals, fiddle), Alan David (lead guitar), Allen Collay (keyboards), Bill Packard (keyboards), Jeff Baker (harmonica), Dick Stevens (bass guitar) and John Holder (drums). Between 1983 and 1988, Atlanta recorded two albums for MCA Records
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...
and charted nine hit singles on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
country charts. Its chart history included two Top Ten country hits in "Atlanta Burned Again Last Night
Atlanta Burned Again Last Night
"Atlanta Burned Again Last Night" is the title of a song recorded by American country music group Atlanta. It was released in May 1983 as the lead single from their debut album Pictures. The song reached #9 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles chart It was written by Jeff Stevens, Terry...
" and "Sweet Country Music
Sweet Country Music
"Sweet Country Music" is the title of a song recorded by American country music group Atlanta. It was released in February 1984 as the third single from their debut album Pictures. It was their highest charting single, reaching #5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and peaking at #2 on...
." The latter was also the band's highest charting single, peaking at number 5.
History
Atlanta was formed in 1982 by Brad Griffis (vocals), Bill Davidson (vocals, rhythm guitarRhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
), Tony Ingram (vocals, fiddle
Fiddle
The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
), Alan David (lead guitar
Lead guitar
Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
), Allen Collay (keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
), Bill Packard (keyboards), Jeff Baker (harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
), Dick Stevens (bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
) and John Holder (drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
). Prior to the foundation, Ingram had recorded on Epic Records
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
in the band Spurzz, and Stevens, Davidson, Griffis and David had previously toured as a re-establishment of The Vogues
The Vogues
The Vogues are an American vocal group from Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh. The original group consisted of Bill Burkette , Don Miller , Hugh Geyer and Chuck Blasko .-Career:...
. The group was founded through the assistance of record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Larry McBride, who had also launched the career of Alabama
Alabama (band)
Alabama is a country music and southern rock band from Fort Payne, Alabama, United States. The band was founded in 1969 by Randy Owen and his cousin Teddy Gentry , soon joined by Jeff Cook...
. Also on board was recording engineer Milan Bogdan, who had a long list of credits in the recording industry. With nine members, Atlanta was the largest country music band at the time.
"Atlanta Burned Again Last Night
Atlanta Burned Again Last Night
"Atlanta Burned Again Last Night" is the title of a song recorded by American country music group Atlanta. It was released in May 1983 as the lead single from their debut album Pictures. The song reached #9 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles chart It was written by Jeff Stevens, Terry...
" was the band's debut single, released in 1983 on the independent MDJ record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, which McBride owned. This recording spent seventeen weeks on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
country singles charts, peaking at number 9. This single was one of the highest-charting debut singles by an independently-signed country music act.
After it came the number 11 "Dixie Dreaming
Dixie Dreaming
"Dixie Dreaming" is the title of a song written by John Gilbert and recorded by American country music group Atlanta. It was released in September 1983 through MDJ Records and later appeared on the band's MCA Records album Pictures. The song reached #11 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles...
", the band's second and final MDJ release. By early 1984, MCA Records
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...
assumed promotion of the band's singles and albums, releasing "Sweet Country Music
Sweet Country Music
"Sweet Country Music" is the title of a song recorded by American country music group Atlanta. It was released in February 1984 as the third single from their debut album Pictures. It was their highest charting single, reaching #5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and peaking at #2 on...
" early in the year. This became the band's highest-charting hit, reaching number 5 on the Billboard country charts. MCA released the band's debut album Pictures in 1984. MCA also released the singles "Pictures" and "Wishful Drinkin'," the latter of which was included in the film Ellie.
Atlanta released its self-titled second album for MCA in 1985. It included the singles "My Sweet-Eyed Georgia Girl" and "Why Not Tonight," both of which peaked outside the country Top 40. The band later moved to the Southern Tracks label, releasing "We Always Agree on Love" and "Sad Clichés."
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country |
US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
CAN Country RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... |
|||||||
| Pictures Pictures (Atlanta album) Pictures is the title of a country album by American country music group Atlanta. It was released in March 1984. The album peaked at number 8 on the Top Country Albums charts and number 140 on the U.S. Billboard 200. The biggest hit on the album, and also one of Atlanta's biggest hits, was "Sweet... |
|
8 | 140 | 6 | |||||
| Atlanta |
|
33 | — | — | |||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions |
Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales... |
CAN Country RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... |
||||||||
| 1983 | "Atlanta Burned Again Last Night Atlanta Burned Again Last Night "Atlanta Burned Again Last Night" is the title of a song recorded by American country music group Atlanta. It was released in May 1983 as the lead single from their debut album Pictures. The song reached #9 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles chart It was written by Jeff Stevens, Terry... " |
9 | — | Pictures | |||||
| "Dixie Dreaming Dixie Dreaming "Dixie Dreaming" is the title of a song written by John Gilbert and recorded by American country music group Atlanta. It was released in September 1983 through MDJ Records and later appeared on the band's MCA Records album Pictures. The song reached #11 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles... " |
11 | — | |||||||
| 1984 | "Sweet Country Music Sweet Country Music "Sweet Country Music" is the title of a song recorded by American country music group Atlanta. It was released in February 1984 as the third single from their debut album Pictures. It was their highest charting single, reaching #5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and peaking at #2 on... " |
5 | 2 | ||||||
| "Pictures" | 35 | 31 | |||||||
| "Wishful Drinkin'" | 22 | — | |||||||
| 1985 | "My Sweet-Eyed Georgia Girl" | 57 | — | Atlanta | |||||
| "Why Not Tonight" | 58 | — | |||||||
| 1987 | "We Always Agree on Love" | 75 | — | Non-album songs | |||||
| 1988 | "Sad Cliches" | 70 | — | ||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||