The group was originally composed of Lance Bulen (vocals),
Kelly Keeling (guitars and keyboards), Keith Harrison (bass) and Harold Knappenberger III (drums). The group began their career under the name Voices, later changed to Cheetah, then to Meridian, finally changed to "Baton Rouge" which Ahmet Ertegun asked for, so some roots from Louisiana would be part of the name and because of the similar name of the band Meridian. With the collaboration of the two songwriting members of the band Surgin', Jack Ponti and Vic Pepe (the first had worked on
the first album of
Bon Jovi), Baton Rouge began rehearsing material for their first album. The album saw the participation of several guest musicians, from drummer Frankie LaRocka of
Company of Wolves and the band of
John Waite, to Joey Franco, drummer of
Good Rats and
Twisted Sister, to Bobby Gordon and Randy Cantor on keyboards. The track "There Was a Time (The Storm)" was co-written with Jaime Kyle. Baton Rouge underwent a change of label and another change of formation for the recording of their second album, with the addition of former
Keel guitarist Tony Palmucci in place of Cremin. Keeling was very unsatisfied with the music Baton Rouge had been playing and of the band itself, so when he received the offer to enter in
Blue Murder, a group founded by guitarist
John Sykes (
Tygers of Pan Tang,
Thin Lizzy,
Whitesnake), he accepted the proposal. Consequently, Baton Rouge disbanded in 1991. In 2006 he became the vocalist of the
Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Lance Bulen collaborated with
Paul Sabu and
Dave Spitz, former bassist of
White Lion and
Black Sabbath, in a quartet called Insomnia (1993–1994) He has also worked as touring and session musician with many rock artists during his career after Baton Rouge dissolution. Tony Palmucci was a session and touring player for
Twisted Sister's vocalist
Dee Snider solo projects. A permanent reunion of the band never materialized. == Band members ==