Atlanta rhythm section 2024

American rock band

Atlanta Rhythm Section (or ARS) is an American Southern rock band formed in by Rodney Justo (singer), Barry Bailey (guitar), Paul Goddard (bass), Dean Daughtry (keyboards), Robert Nix (drums) and J. R. Cobb (guitar).^[2] The band experienced its greatest chart success with Ronnie Hammond as lead singer – Hammond returned again – The band's current lineup consists of Justo, along with guitarists David Anderson and Steve Stone, keyboardist Lee Shealy, bassist Justin Senker and drummer Rodger Stephan.

Early career

In the spring of , former members of the Candymen (Rodney Justo, Dean Daughtry and Robert Nix) and the Classics IV (Daughtry and James B. Cobb Jr.) became the session band for the newly opened Studio One recording studio in Doraville, Georgia, near Atlanta.^[3]

After playing on other artists' recordings, the Atlanta Rhythm Section was christened in May , with Justo (singer), Barry Bailey (guitar), Paul Goddard (bass), Daughtry (keyboards), Nix (drums) and Cobb (guitar).^[2] Bailey and Goddard had played together in several groups and, like the Candymen, had also backed up Roy Orbison.

The group's name was thought up by Studio One's owner Buddy Buie and his two partners in the venture, Cobb and Bill Lowery.

Signed by Decca Records, the band released their first album, Atlanta Rhythm Section, in January ^[2] Due to the record's limited commercial success, Justo quit the band,^[2] relocating to New York City as a session singer.

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He was replaced by Ronnie Hammond,^[2] assistant to Studio One's engineer, Rodney Mills. Mills also later worked as the band's road manager and sound man and Buie, also the band's manager and producer as well as co-owner of Studio One, is listed first on almost all of their songwriting credits.

With Hammond on board, the band's second release, Back Up Against the Wall (February ), also failed to sell and Decca dumped ARS from their roster.^[2]

Buie's manager, Jeff Franklin, who was based in New York and had gotten the group the deal with Decca, was then able to get ARS signed to Polydor for their third release, Third Annual Pipe Dream, in August ^[2] As a special thank-you to Bailey, Daughtry, and Goddard for appearing on his pioneering Christian Rock album Mylon, We Believe, Mylon LeFevre performed on one of the Pipe Dream tracks, "Jesus Hearted People" (Buie, Bailey, Goddard, Daughtry and Rodney Mills had all been regular players at Master Sound and LeFevre's studio, LeFevre Sound, before they built Studio One).

Pipe Dream yielded the band's first hit single, "Doraville", which peaked at #35 and pulled the album up to #74 on Billboard's Top by November ^[2]

The band's next two releases, Dog Days (August ) and Red Tape (April ), sold in even lesser quantities,^[2] but ARS toured extensively in –, with numerous shows in the South, Northeast and Midwest.

On July 18, , the band appeared with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra during an outdoor show in Atlanta in Chastain Park; in August, they opened for The Who at the Gator Bowl in Jackso^[4]nville, Florida and for The Rolling Stones at the Municipal Auditorium in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Hit years

The increased exposure paid off as the group's next album, A Rock and Roll Alternative (December ),^[2] rose to #13 on the Billboard chart and was certified gold in the spring of The debut single from the record, "So in to You", peaked at #7 on April ^[2]

On September 3, , ARS played their biggest show yet, the Dog Day Rockfest at Atlanta's Grant Field on the campus of Georgia Tech.

Heart and Foreigner were the opening acts and Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band co-headlined with ARS.

In January ARS released what would turn out to be its most successful album, Champagne Jam,^[2] which led off with the song "Large Time", a tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd, some of whom had lost their lives in a plane crash the previous October.

Champagne Jam became their biggest-selling album, selling over a million and certified platinum.

Atlanta rhythm section biography definition The studio was dubbed Studio One and would become one of the preeminent studios in the Atlanta area. Thomas and Billy Joe Royal. Two talented local session players also joined in-guitarist Barry Bailey and bassist Paul Goddard. These musicians played on a number of other artist's records and the decision was made to make an album on their own. Buie wanted the best players doing his songs as a guitar based band, and he wrote, produced and managed ARS from the start.

The album provided two more hits for the band, "Imaginary Lover" (#7)^[2] and "I'm Not Gonna Let It Bother Me Tonight" (#14).

On June 24, , the band appeared at the Knebworth Festival in Knebworth, England before a crowd of 60, on a bill that included Genesis, Jefferson Starship, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Brand X, Devo and Roy Harper.

On July 1, , the band played before more than 80, at Texxas Jam at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas, with various other artists including Walter Egan, Van Halen, Eddie Money, Head East, Journey, Heart, Ted Nugent and Aerosmith. On August 26, , it was Canada Jam at Mosport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada, before their largest audience yet (over ,) with the Doobie Brothers and the Commodores, among others.

The following week, ARS had a rock festival of their own, Champagne Jam, at Grant Field at Georgia Tech on September 3, , which also included Santana, the Doobie Brothers, Eddie Money, Mose Jones and Mother's Finest.

Three weeks later, they appeared on the White House lawn at President Jimmy Carter's invitation for his son Chip's 28th birthday party.

The band had previously met Carter while he was still governor of Georgia during a press junket for their third album and had campaigned for him in during his run for the presidency.

The eighth Atlanta Rhythm Section album, Underdog, was released in June and produced Top 20 hits "Do It or Die" (#19) and "Spooky" (#17), a remake of Cobb's and Buie's Classics IV hit.

Early in , drummer Robert Nix, the group's primary lyricist, had a falling out with manager/producer Buie over the group's musical direction. Nix wished to move the band in a more rocking direction while Buie was content with their current approach, which incorporated the mellower ballads. The rest of the band's dissatisfaction with Nix's excessive "lifestyle choices" sealed his fate and he was replaced by Roy Yeager, who had previously played for Lobo.^[2]

Champagne Jam II, on July 7, , at Georgia Tech featured ARS, Aerosmith, the Cars, Dixie Dregs, Mother's Finest and Whiteface.

That October, an ARS live performance from Studio One was released as the double live set Are You Ready.

Decline and departures

In August ARS performed three concerts in Japan alongside Cheap Trick and other acts as a part of Japan Jam 2.^[5]

The Boys from Doraville (August ) showed a steep falling off in sales for the group as radio programmers began turning their attention away from Southern rock to other rock genres, such as new wave.

The album provided no hit singles and was their last for Polydor. Another reason for the drop-off in sales may have been the departure of their advocate, Arnie Geller, from Polydor in to form the Buie/Geller Organization and BGO Records with Buddy Buie. As a result, the group departed Polydor, which led to a breach of contract lawsuit from the company that was later settled in the band's favor.

Bruce Lundvall offered a better deal at Columbia Records (CBS), who released the next ARS album, Quinella in August , containing the hit "Alien" (#29) but, like The Boys From Doraville, struggled with sales.

In ARS worked on a second album for CBS, to be titled Longing For A Feeling ("Sleep With One Eye Open", a song on the unreleased album, had also been put forth as a possible title).

Before completion, CBS wanted the band to drop some of the tracks and record more. Buie and the band refused, the album was shelved, and CBS dropped its contract with ARS. "It kind of put the brakes on their career", said producer Bill Lowery, "And the other problem was that we couldn't get out of our contract.

Atlanta rhythm section photos: Atlanta Rhythm Section (or ARS) is an American Southern rock band formed in by Rodney Justo (singer), Barry Bailey (guitar), Paul Goddard (bass), Dean Daughtry (keyboards), Robert Nix (drums) and J. R. Cobb (guitar). [2] The band experienced its greatest chart success with Ronnie Hammond as lead singer – Hammond returned again.

From what I remember, they toyed with us for months."^[6]

Late in , singer Ronnie Hammond decided to leave ARS for a solo career, joined by Buie (who ceased managing ARS), though their work with Alabama musicians never resulted in commercial release. After buying out his partners, Buie continued to run Studio One until when he sold it to Georgia State University.

Unfortunately, the cost of running the studio was too high and it was closed in , and later torn down. Buie died at age 74 on July 18,

Drummer Roy Yeager tripped over a fallen tree while the band was on tour in Daytona Beach in and suffered a severe broken leg. One of the band's road crew, Danny Biget, took over on drums, and ARS persuaded Rodney Justo to return to do some shows in early Justo had moved from session singer to lead singer again in the mids with a group from Alabama called Beaverteeth.

He then left the music industry for a number of years and eventually took up a sales position with a wine company.

During –, the group went to Nashville and tried working with Buddy Buie's former associate Chips Moman, a more country-oriented producer, on a proposed new record label called Triad, in conjunction with producer Buddy Killen and former Capricorn Records head Phil Walden.

But results were slow to come and, dissatisfied with the country music direction, bassist Paul Goddard and drummer Biget left to work with British producer Eddy Offord in another band with former Dixie Dregs keyboardist T Lavitz and guitarist Pat Buchanan, called Interpol, that was in a more progressive rock direction; unfortunately, Interpol never got off the ground.

Ronnie hammond The Atlanta Rhythm Section In the annals of rock and roll, where do they fit? They put out 15 albums of excellent original material, and consistently put on entertaining live shows-both of which helped establish a broad if not huge fan base. They had some big hits and have been a major player in the Southern Rock scene. But is that the whole story?

The Chips Moman Nashville project, which was given the tentative name Hardball, was completed but the album, like their previous effort for CBS, has never been released.

Two new members, Tommy Stribling (bass) and Keith Hamrick (drums), joined in late and ARS, now without a recording contract, continued to play shows, mostly in the South.

Greenville, South Carolina native Andy Anderson, who'd been playing with Billy Joe Royal, was recommended by his friend Hamrick as the new front man and sang on the unreleased Moman project after Justo was let go.

In the group tried a new singer, Jeff Logan, who had previously been a trombone player with a band called High Cotton. Logan did two shows but did not work out because his higher voice did not fit the band, was not really a frontman, and had not learned the songs.

Anderson soon returned as lead vocalist. Bassist Stribling went on to leave in February , turning it over to Steve Stone.

In late , J. R. Cobb left to concentrate more on songwriting and session work at Moman's new studio in Memphis (for The Highwaymen, among others) and Stribling came back to play guitar. The personnel shuffles continued as Hamrick also departed in late and was replaced by Sean Burke (who joined in early ).

Another new lead singer, Shaun Williamson, was rolled in in But in , Williamson and Stribling were let go as Bailey and Daughtry sought to revamp the band by bringing back Ronnie Hammond.

Ronnie Hammond returns

In Hammond, Bailey, and Daughtry returned to the studio with Sean Burke and two new players, Brendan O'Brien (guitar) and J.

E. Garnett (bass), to produce a new album with Buddy Buie and Rodney Mills that had more of an "'80s rock sound".

Released in October on the CBS/Epic subsidiary label Imagine, Truth in a Structured Form, ARS's first album in eight years, featured a heavy drum sound that propelled almost every track and a sharper, more synthesized gloss over the songs, with all, except one, being written by Buddy Buie and Ronnie Hammond, another departure from their previous approach.

O'Brien, who was co-producer as well as guitarist on the album, was invited to go on the road with the band but he declined, preferring to continue his career in session work (today he is a much-in-demand producer, having worked with Bob Dylan, Pearl Jam, and Bruce Springsteen).

Steve Stone then returned, as guitarist this time.

But album sales for Truth lagged and there was another hiatus in their recorded work as the band continued to tour, with Burke's friend Justin Senker replacing Garnett on bass in May (after subbing a show for him late the previous year in Louisville, Kentucky) and R.J. Vealey taking over the drum chair from Burke in after the latter suffered a leg injury.

In the group went back into the studio, this time to re-record some of their classic songs. This new collection was recorded in North Carolina and the resulting live-in-studio sound of Atlanta Rhythm Section '96 (released on CMC International in April ) presented a different, less polished take on some of their classic tunes and captured the sound of their live performances from that period.

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It was also around this time that ARS was elected to the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. The band, joined by "classic era" members Cobb, Nix and Goddard, was honored at a September induction ceremony at the Georgia World Congress Center.

ARS then recorded Partly Plugged, which was released in January on the independent Southern Tracks label.

It featured some new songs and more remakes of some classics.

On December 28, , singer Ronnie Hammond, who had battled alcoholism and depression off and on over the years, got into a confrontation with police in Macon, Georgia and was subsequently shot by the police officer. Hammond was seriously injured but survived the injury, though he suffered from depression afterwards.

The band's fifteenth album, Eufaula, was released in February but problems occurred almost immediately as the record label, Platinum Entertainment, faced financial troubles and was not able to support the album as intended.

ARS continued to tour on a limited basis. But on November 13, , tragedy struck. After the band had finished an afternoon set at a concert festival in Orlando, Florida, year-old drummer R.

J. Vealey complained of indigestion and then collapsed and died of a heart attack. "It was very sudden, very shocking", said guitarist Barry Bailey. "He was a great drummer, the best drummer this band ever had." ARS then continued on upon recruiting new drummer Jim Keeling.

Later changes

In early , with Hammond hospitalized, Andy Anderson came back to front the band until Hammond was well enough to return.

Anderson would come again in May to sub another show for Hammond. But in , Anderson was back again after Hammond decided to take a gig with another group, Voices of Classic Rock. Hammond left touring altogether soon afterward to focus on family and songwriting. A retirement show for Hammond was held on December 6, , at the club Whiskey River in Macon.

Hammond performed, backed by Dean Daughtry, Justin Senker, Steve Stone, Jim Keeling, Wendall Cox (from Travis Tritt's band) and Mike Causey (from Stillwater). Hammond died on March 14, , in Forsyth, Georgia, at age 60 of heart failure.

In early , Barry Bailey, suffering from multiple sclerosis, retired from the group to take care of his wife, who was sick with cancer.

Steve Stone played most of the lead guitar parts from this point on and Andy Anderson's long-time Billy Joe Royal bandmate Alan Accardi was brought in as second guitarist. Accardi, a Nashville veteran, would stay with the band for more than a year before a friend of Jim Keeling, Huntsville, Alabama native David Anderson, from the band Brother Cane, was brought in as the new guitarist in April

In former ARS drummer Roy Yeager was involved in a controversy concerning the destruction of a TennesseeAmerican Civil War landmark.^[7]

On March 26, , singer Andy Anderson suffered a heart attack just before he was to catch a plane to Las Vegas to join the band for a two-night stand at the Gold Coast Hotel and Casino.

Andy's friend Steve Croson (who'd played alongside him for years in Billy Joe Royal's band) lived in Vegas and was able to step in on short notice. In April and May, original singer Rodney Justo returned, joined by ARS's –88 singer Shaun Williamson, until Andy was healthy enough to return in May.

Return of Paul Goddard and Rodney Justo

In May , original lead vocalist Rodney Justo returned to the group, nearly forty years after his departure.

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In the mids ARS got back together and re-recorded some of their best and best known songs. The Georgia Music Hall of Fame. The band also did a second version of these songs with the same line up except for new drummer R. The occasion provided an opportunity for a reunion performance of band members, and despite a temporary power outage they rocked on. Building on the momentum of this event and the impending 25th anniversary of the group, ARS recorded a new album.

Original bassist Paul Goddard returned as well, after a year absence. Goddard's second tenure with the band was short-lived, however, as he died of cancer on April 29,

After Goddard's death, ARS continued to play shows with a lineup of Rodney Justo, Dean Daughtry, Steve Stone, Dave Anderson, Justin Senker and Jim Keeling. Keeling, who left ARS to spend more time with his family, was replaced in March by Justo's friend Rodger Stephan (who had also played drums with Marty Balin).

Present day

The band still tours, playing mostly festivals and nostalgia-themed concerts.

Their most recent album of new recordings, With All Due Respect (May ), was largely covers of other artists' songs (Lynyrd Skynyrd, Allman Brothers, etc.) alongside re-recordings of classic ARS tunes, done at Southern Tracks Studios with longtime engineer Rodney Mills.

The album also featured guest performances by Rodney Justo and Paul Goddard, just before they rejoined the group, and Ronnie Hammond, in his final recorded appearance.

From The Vaults (May ), released on both the Fuel and Sunset Blvd Records labels, was a double CD collection of unreleased tracks both studio and live and even featured some pre-ARS Candymen performances.^[8]From The Vaults was re-released in the summer of under the title Time Machine with many of the same and some different tracks.^[9]

During the spring of , Rome, Georgia keyboardist Lee Shealy was brought in to sub for Dean Daughtry, who had a broken wrist.^[10] And from August to October of that same year, singer Andy Anderson returned to the band yet again to stand in for Justo, who was recovering from back surgery.

ARS founder and guitarist J.R. Cobb and his wife, Bertha Ann "Bert" Absher, married in and had one son, Justin. They lived in Monticello, Georgia for more than 30 years. Cobb died of a heart attack on May 4, , at the age of 75, at Piedmont Newton Hospital in Covington, Georgia.

At the start of , Lee Shealy, having been called to fill in for keyboardist Daughtry at various times from on, returned for good after Daughtry announced his retirement from performing.^[11]

In , Paul Goddard died^[12].

Barry Bailey died in his sleep on March 12, , at the age of 73, after years of deterioration from multiple sclerosis.^[13]

During the spring and summer of , the band's guitarist David Anderson subbed on lead vocals after Justo had to tend to his ailing wife, Shirley, who died on July ^[14]

ARS co-founder and keyboardist Dean Daughtry died in Huntsville, Alabama on January 26, , of natural causes at age 76,^[15] leaving Justo as the last surviving original member.

Band members

Main article: List of Atlanta Rhythm Section members

Current members

• Rodney Justo – vocals (–, , April , –present)
• Steve Stone – bass, harmonica, backing vocals (–), guitar (lead from –present), harmonica, backing vocals (–present)
• Justin Senker – bass (–, June – present)
• David Anderson – guitar, vocals (April – present)
• Rodger Stephan – drums, backing vocals (March – present)
• Lee Shealy – keyboards, backing vocals (–present)

Discography

Main article: Atlanta Rhythm Section discography

References

External links