Top 10 Atlanta Rhythm Section Songs

Photo: Decca Records / Public domain

Our Top 10 Atlanta Rhythm Section songs list looks back at the songs of a band that celebrated their most successful years in the 1970s. Atlanta Rhythm Section was one of the most fascinating bands in classic rock history as far as categorizing their style.

Billed as a Southern rock band, the group’s biggest hits sounded nothing like Southern rock. Songs like “So Into You,” “Spooky,” and “Imaginary Lover” sounded closer to adult contemporary bands like Steely Dan than Southern rock groups like The Allman Brothers Band. However, the band did have a hard-rocking side and released many great rock tunes that could be classified as Southern rock or simply rock and roll.

Our Top 10 Atlanta Rhythm Section songs list presents songs from the band’s catalog that represent the different styles of music they recorded. The group continued to tour decades after its original success, even as many of its early members passed away. By 2025, original singer Rodney Justo, who had returned to the group in 2011, was the last surviving founding member.

We hope you enjoy this great selection of Atlanta Rhythm Section songs. There are so many great ones.

# 10 – Doraville

We open up our Top 10 Atlanta Rhythm Section songs list with the band’s first hit, entitled “Doraville.” This sounds very different from the string of hits the band would celebrate a few years later that presented a more polished adult contemporary sound.

The song was released on the band’s third album, Third Annual Pipe Dream, in 1974, and reached number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100. By that time, Ronnie Hammond had taken over lead vocals from original singer Rodney Justo. The recording-era lineup included Hammond, Barry Bailey and J.R. Cobb on guitars, Dean Daughtry on keyboards, Paul Goddard on bass, and Robert Nix on drums.

# 9 – Jukin

At number nine on this Atlanta Rhythm Section songs list, we turn to the great rocking tune “Jukin.” The song was issued on the band’s Red Tape album.

The Red Tape album was released in 1976. Four years after the group released its debut album, the band’s lineup had changed, particularly in the lead-vocal and guitar positions.

The Red Tape album featured Ronnie Hammond on lead vocals, Barry Bailey and J.R. Cobb on guitars, and founding members Paul Goddard on bass, Dean Daughtry on keyboards, and Robert Nix on drums. Producer Buddy Buie also contributed vocals to the record.

# 8 – Do It Or Die

Continuing with our Top 10 Atlanta Rhythm Section songs list, we turn to the band’s eighth studio album, Underdog, released in 1979. The song “Do It Or Die” was released as the first single from the record.

It’s a nice mid-tempo tune that fit in perfectly with the adult contemporary market, reaching the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the adult contemporary chart in 1979. Great harmonies on this one. This band sounded so different on so many songs.

# 7 – Sky High

We usually don’t put live tracks on Top 10 lists, but this killer live version of “Sky High” must be heard. The song appeared originally on A Rock and Roll Alternative in 1976, and this performance was released on the great Atlanta Rhythm Section live album entitled Are You Ready?.

The live album was released in 1979, with “Sky High” as its opening track. Just take a listen to that killer guitar solo. This one rocks hard.

# 6 – I’m Not Gonna Let It Bother Me Tonight

As we continue with this fun Top 10 Atlanta Rhythm Section songs list, we turn to one of those great songs you probably forgot all about. It’s always fun finding those great tracks that you might not remember by name, but as soon as you hear the song, you say, “Oh yeah. I love this song.”

“I’m Not Gonna Let It Bother Me Tonight” appeared on Champagne Jam in 1978 and reached number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100. It’s another example of how easily the band could move between Southern rock and smoother radio-friendly material.

# 5 – Alien

The single “Alien” was released on the band’s Quinella album in 1981. For those who may not be sure of the meaning of the word Quinella, it’s a term used in horse betting that enables a gambler to pick two horses that need to finish first and second in a race, in either position, to win the bet.

Why the band decided to name their album after a horse bet is beyond me. Nonetheless, the significance of this record is that it stands as the only album the band released on Columbia Records.

The song “Alien” was not a huge hit, although it reached number 29 on the Billboard Hot 100, but it was a really good song. This is one you need to check out because unless you’re a big-time Atlanta Rhythm Section fan, you probably have never heard of it.

# 4 – Champagne Jam

The title track from the great Champagne Jam album is the first of two songs in a row from this great album to make up our Top 10 Atlanta Rhythm Section songs list. The song was released as the third single from the record. It did not do that well on the charts, although it reached the number 43 position on the Billboard Hot 100.

It was a little heavier than their previous singles that veered more toward the jazzier R&B side of the road. This one was filled with great slide guitar playing and a killer rock and roll hook. The Champagne Jam album also featured Artimus Pyle of Lynyrd Skynyrd on percussion.

# 3 – Imaginary Lover

“Imaginary Lover” proved to be a very successful follow-up to the band’s biggest hit single, “So Into You.” In fact, “Imaginary Lover” peaked at the same position as “So Into You” on the Billboard Hot 100, as both songs reached number seven.

The song “Imaginary Lover” continued the band’s exploration into keyboard- and guitar-driven, soul-infused grooves that the public loved. This is a sound that was far different from their earlier Southern rock-based roots. “Imaginary Lover” was released on the band’s album entitled Champagne Jam. The album was released in 1978.

# 2 – Spooky

As we close in on our number one spot on our Top 10 Atlanta Rhythm Section songs list, we turn to the great song “Spooky.” Atlanta Rhythm Section’s great remake of the song by Mike Shapiro and Harry Middlebrooks Jr., with lyrics later added by J.R. Cobb and Buddy Buie, was released in 1979 on the band’s Underdog LP.

The song has a long history of having been covered by multiple artists. Originally released as a jazz instrumental, the most famous early vocal version of the song belongs to the Classics IV, who had a Top 10 hit with it in 1968. Dusty Springfield also recorded a great version of the song.

Nonetheless, our favorite version belongs to Atlanta Rhythm Section, whose sound was perfect for the song.

# 1 – So In To You

We close out our Top 10 Atlanta Rhythm Section songs list with their great song “So Into You.” The song appeared on the album A Rock and Roll Alternative. The album was released in December 1976, and “So Into You” became a major hit in 1977.

It would become the band’s biggest hit of their career. The song reached the Billboard Hot 100’s Top 10, peaking at number seven. However, it reached a higher position on the Cash Box charts, peaking at number five, solidifying it as the highest-ranking song of their career.

The song’s formula strayed toward a jazz- and R&B-influenced rock sound that proved to be very popular in the mid-1970s when bands like Steely Dan and Boz Scaggs scored big hit albums defining that sound.

It would be hard to argue that Atlanta Rhythm Section were a Southern rock band based on the sound of “So Into You.” But does it really matter? In the end, a great song is a great song, no matter what style it defines.