Atlanta Rhythm Section's last original member talks still touring at 80

Over the past 14 years, all six members of the Atlanta Rhythm Section who were active when the band had its flurry of hits in the late 1970s, like “So Into You,” “Imaginary Lover” and “Spooky,” have died.

Lead singer Ronnie Hammond died in 2011, followed by drummer Robert Nix in 2012, bassist Paul Goddard in 2014, guitarist James “J.R.” Cobb in 2019, guitarist Barry Bailey in 2022, and keyboardist Dean Daughtry in 2023.

Yet, the band still tours, led by Rodney Justo, who cofounded the group in 1971 in Doraville, left a year later, but returned after Hammond died in 2011. Justo, a Florida resident, and his five current bandmates, many of whom have been touring with ARS for decades, are performing in Atlanta on Thursday, April 18, at the Strand Theatre in Marietta with a handful of tickets still available at earlsmithstrand.org.

ExplorePhotos of Atlanta Rhythm Section performin in 2015 at Eddie's Attic in Decatur

Credit: Jonathan Phillips

Credit: Jonathan Phillips

“It’s a weird thing,” said Justo in a recent interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I was the first guy out and the last guy in. It’s not a great feeling knowing you outlived everyone. When I’m gone, it’s over I would think.”

The band does about 50 dates a year, hitting summer festivals, casinos and solo gigs like the one at the Strand. Justo enjoys mixing it up with bands from ARS’ era like Orleans, the Outlaws, Pure Prairie League and Firefall. He especially likes the themed cruise ship vacations where he gets to interact with fans.

“I don’t like to sound like I’m a big deal, but I enjoy walking around the boat and talking with people when they recognize you,” Justo said.

Now 80 years old, Justo began his music career in the late 1950s as a teenager at the dawn of the rock era. He toured Europe with Roy Orbison. He worked with Ray Stevens. And he was part of a house band that backed the likes of Dion, Fabian and Gene Pitney.

He came to Atlanta in 1970 as a studio musician and literally helped build Studio One in Doraville. “I laid tile,” he said. “I hammered nails. I put in soundproofing.” That studio, where bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd, 38 Special and Journey recorded, was also the birthplace of the Atlanta Rhythm Section, a space that is now a carpet warehouse.

Credit: Atlanta Rhythm Section

Unfortunately, the band’s first album didn’t go anywhere, and Justo left. “I had no problems with the band itself,” Justo said. “I had a daughter who was sick in 1972. We weren’t making any money. I’m not a guy who shirks responsibility. I had to leave.”

He moved to New York, became a session musician and worked with acts like B.J. Thomas of “Hooked on a Feeling” fame. By 1978, he was in his mid-30s and decided to seek a more stable career: liquor distribution in his hometown, Tampa, Florida.

Over the next 33 years, Justo moved from the bottom rungs of the business making $150 a week to a sales manager. He got to travel the world, from Europe to Asia to Australia. He raised his family and lived comfortably. Most of his work colleagues had no clue about his former life, though he said he liked to sing in the hallways.

At the time, he said he never harbored any jealousy toward ARS when the band became successful without him.

“I didn’t resent them,” he said. “I was ecstatic. Any time they showed up in Tampa, I’d see them. Ronnie was so nice to me. If he knew I was there, he’d mention me to the audience. I appreciated that.”

In 2011, he was ready to retire from liquor sales. But after Hammond died of heart failure that year, the band asked Justo to come back to fill in. He was reluctant at first but decided to give it a try. Much to his surprise, the music bug came back. His goal has been to keep the ARS flame alive for as long as he can.

Coming to Atlanta is special, he said. “It’s not the audience’s responsibility to be a good audience,” he said. “It’s our responsibility to make them a good audience. When we come to the Buckhead Theatre or Eddie’s Attic, they make it easy for us. We hope to have the same energy when we come to Marietta.”

ARS is easily the most popular band that uses Atlanta in its name. But Justo said there have been plenty of people over the years who have misnamed the band the Atlantic Rhythm Section. “I’ve had reporters say that to me,” he said. “I don’t want to be a schmuck and correct them.”

The concerts are low on glitz, in part because of his natural sense of frugality. “We’re too cheap to hire a lighting guy,” he said. “It’s just the music. Not that I’m against strobe lights and fog machines. We recently saw Night Ranger. They were high energy, very polished. I admire it. But we just don’t do that.”

He also said that may also be in part because of his age: “I’m 80. I’m now a triple threat. Any given night, I could have a heart attack, a stroke or soil my pants!”