In the spring of 1970, 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. After playing on other artists' recordings, the Atlanta Rhythm Section was christened in May 1970, with Justo (singer), Barry Bailey (guitar), Paul Goddard (bass), Daughtry (keyboards), Nix (drums) and Cobb (guitar), and they were soon signed by Decca Records, who released their first album, 'Atlanta Rhythm Section', in January 1972. Due to the record's limited commercial success, Justo quit the band and relocated to New York City as a session singer, being replaced by Ronnie Hammond. With Hammond on board, the band's second release, 'Back Up Against The Wall' appeared in February 1973, but it also failed to sell, and Decca dumped ARS from their roster. After signing to Polydor, they released their third album, 'Third Annual Pipe Dream', in August 1974, yielding the band's first hit single, 'Doraville', which peaked at #35, and pulled the album up to #74 on Billboard's Top 200. Their next two releases, 1975's 'Dog Days' and 'Red Tape' from 1976 sold in even lesser quantities, but the band toured extensively through those years, and they appeared with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra during an outdoor show in Atlanta's Chastain Park in July 1975.
The increased exposure paid off as the group's next album, December 1976's 'A Rock and Roll Alternative', rose to #13 on the Billboard chart and was certified gold in the spring of 1977. In January 1978 the band released what would turn out to be its most successful album, 'Champagne Jam', 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, shifting over a million units and being certified platinum. The album provided two more hits for the band, 'Imaginary Lover', which reached #7, and 'I'm Not Gonna Let It Bother Me Tonight' which peaked at #14. On 24 June 1978 the band appeared at the Knebworth Festival in Knebworth, England before a crowd of 60,000, on a bill that included Genesis, Jefferson Starship, Brand X, Devo and Roy Harper. The eighth Atlanta Rhythm Section album, 'Underdog', was released in June 1979, and produced Top 20 hits 'Do It or Die' and 'Spooky', which was a remake of Cobb's and Buie's 1968 Classics IV hit. Early in 1979, drummer and primary lyricist Nix had a falling out with manager/producer Buie over the group's musical direction, wishing 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.
'The Boys from Doraville' appeared in August 1980, but 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. Bruce Lundvall offered a better deal at Columbia Records (CBS), who released the next ARS album, 'Quinella', in August 1981, which containing the hit single 'Alien', but like 'The Boys From Doraville', it struggled with sales. In 1982 ARS worked on a second album for CBS, to be titled Sleep With One Eye Open', but before completion, CBS wanted the band to drop some of the tracks and record more. Insiders regarded some of the tracks as among the best work the group had ever done, but CBS wanted to swap out certain songs, leading to a standstill and a creative dispute that resulted in the album being shelved entirely, and CBS dropping its contract with the group. Late in 1982 singer Ronnie Hammond decided to leave ARS for a solo career, and was joined by Buie, although their work with Alabama musicians never resulted in commercial release. The disappointment over the unreleased album, and the fact that CBS kept them in limbo for months by not releasing them from their contact, signalled the end for the first incarnation of ARS, but if 'Sleep With One Eye Open' had been released as the band intended then it might have turned around their fortunes, but we'll never know. Give it a listen, and if you are already a fan then you'll be able to tell if this would have been their swansong, or if CBS were right to can it.
Track listing
01 Sleep With One Eye Open
02 High Time
03 Longing For A Feeling
04 Long Distance Love
05 Stone Cold Hit
06 Two Note Boogie
07 Bad Situation
08 Wine With Dinner
