When Collective Soul was told early last year of Dolly Parton's mandolin-tinged cover of the band's "Shine," guitarist Dean Roland's reaction was akin to a teenager finally kissed by a longtime crush. Almost two years later, the otherwise soft-spoken Roland seemed as if he had yet to wash the lipstick off his cheek. "I loved it, man!" exclaimed Roland, from an Atlanta studio where Collective Soul was a month into the recording of a new CD. "One of the biggest compliments (about Parton's cover) is that she is capable of writing her own stuff. She's written some amazing stuff in her career. So for her to acknowledge one of our songs and play and cover it was ... cool."

Collective Soul's original version of "Shine" spent eight weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock singles chart in 1994. In addition to launching the Atlanta-based band's now decade-long music career with a swift and unexpected kick, "Shine" led the charge for a handful of now-classic Collective Soul hits.

The band was so flattered by Parton's cover, it sent a monster bouquet of flowers to the singer's dressing room before a January 2001 appearance on Late Show With David Letterman. Parton's version of "Shine" — from her critically hailed 2001 bluegrass CD "Little Sparrow" — eventually nabbed the singer a Grammy for best female country vocal performance in March.

"She sent us a little note back just thanking us," gushed Roland. "She's sweet like that."

Collective Soul's jangly guitar-based melodic pop headlines a lineup of live music at this weekend's BayFest 2002 that includes the alt-rock of Atomic Eyes, the pop-punk of Trickside and the dance-pop of Hoku. In addition to Roland, Collective Soul's longtime membership includes older brother/lead vocalist Ed Roland, bassist Will Turpin and drummer Shane Evans.

The band was first formed in 1989 by Ed Rowland and Evans as Marching Two-Step. By 1992, it had morphed into Collective Soul with the addition of Turpin, former lead guitarist Ross Childress and Dean Rowland. Frustrated that constant touring and its recorded demo were getting it nowhere, the band broke up the next year.

At about the same time, an Atlanta college radio station decided to take a chance on a sweet Southern slice of spiritual lyrics, distorted guitar, and rough-hewn vocals called "Shine" on the forgotten demo. The song quickly became a regional radio smash. Collective Soul regrouped in Christmas 1993, was signed by Atlantic Records in January 1994 and released the remastered demo as its first album, "Hints, Allegations and Things Left Unsaid," two months later.

The album sold 2 million copies and landed the band on stage as an opening act for Aerosmith and in the star-studded lineup of Woodstock '94. Described in the rock press as everything from "a one-hit grunge-lite band" to "the second-coming of album-oriented rock," the band, said Dean Roland, handled the praise, criticism and instant fame fairly well.

"Everybody stayed relatively sane," said Roland nonchalantly. "We all grew up in the same town. Our families are close. Those kind of things keep you grounded."

Released in 1995, the band's self-titled second album proved Collective Soul's "Shine" success was no fluke. "Collective Soul" sold more than 3 million copies and spun off alt-radio hits from "The World I Know," "December," and "Gel."

Subsequent Collective Soul albums have failed to sell as well, but the band continued its streak of hit singles through the end of the '90s with "Run" and "Heavy." The band's sixth CD should be out next spring.

Now a foursome (Childress left the band last year) and still a fan favorite on the touring circuit, Collective Soul, said Roland, has adjusted to the changing tides of album sales and fame. Though its accomplishments have gone largely unrecognized by the industry, the band is actually one of the most successful music acts of the last decade.

"I think we're in a good place ... a comfortable place, in a sense," offered Roland. "But in the same breath, I'll say we still feel we have so much more to accomplish. It's a big world out there."