Atlanta (band)
| Company type | Musical group |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1982 in Nashville, Tennessee, United States |
| Headquarters | Nashville , United States |
| Products | Country music albums and singles |
Atlanta was a country music group from the United States, established in 1982 in Nashville, Tennessee. From 1983 through 1988, the band produced two albums under MDJ Records and achieved nine singles on the Billboard Hot Country Singles charts. Their notable top ten tracks included "Atlanta Burned Again Last Night" and "Sweet Country Music".
History
The band Atlanta came together in 1982, featuring Brad Griffis on bass, Bill Davidson handling vocals and rhythm guitar, Tony Ingram providing vocals and fiddle, Alan David on lead guitar, Allen Collay and Bill Packard both on keyboards, Jeff Baker playing harmonica, Dick Stevens on bass, and John Holder on drums. Before forming Atlanta, Ingram had recorded with Spurzz under Epic Records, while Stevens, Davidson, Griffis, and David had previously toured as part of a re-formed version of The Vogues. Producer Larry McBride, known for launching Alabama, played a key role in assembling the group. With nine members, Atlanta was the largest ensemble in country music during that period.
Their first single, "Atlanta Burned Again Last Night" (1983), was issued through McBride's independent MDJ label. It remained on the Billboard country singles chart for seventeen weeks and reached number 9, marking one of the most successful debut singles for an independent country act.
The follow-up single "Dixie Dreaming" reached number 11 and was their final release on MDJ. In early 1984, promotion shifted to MCA Records, which released "Sweet Country Music", achieving the band’s highest chart position at number 5. MCA also launched their debut album Pictures in 1984, accompanied by singles "Pictures" and "Wishful Drinkin'", the latter featured in the movie Ellie.
Prior to recording their second album, John Holder left the group and was replaced by Darrell "Boo Boo" McAfee on drums. The self-titled second album came out via MCA in 1985 and included singles "My Sweet-Eyed Georgia Girl" and "Why Not Tonight", both of which peaked outside the Top 40. Subsequently, after the departures of Davidson and David, Jody Worrell took over guitar duties as the band transitioned to Southern Tracks label, releasing singles "We Always Agree on Love" and "Sad Clichés".
Allen Collay (born Allen Callais) passed away on February 16, 2010, at age 67.
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country |
US |
CAN Country | |||||||
| Pictures |
|
8 | 140 | 6 | |||||
| Atlanta |
|
33 | — | — | |||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions |
Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country |
CAN Country | ||||||||
| 1983 | "Atlanta Burned Again Last Night" | 9 | — | Pictures | |||||
| "Dixie Dreaming" | 11 | — | |||||||
| 1984 | "Sweet Country Music" | 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 | — | — | |||||
| 1988 | "Sad Cliches" | 70 | — | ||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||