'It's all about the people you meet'

FINDLAY — After a music career that has spanned the better part of 60 years, Rodney Justo has a somewhat surprising admission. The lead singer of the Atlanta Rhythm Section — the only original member of the group remaining — doesn't believe he or his band have fans. "I have friends," Justo said. "The band has friends." And every time he sings, Justo gets to make more of them. "It's a true joy," Justo said. "You can ask the guys in the band: My favorite part of the gig is after the show. We sit around, we talk, we meet people. I love that, man." Justo will get the chance to see old friends — and, perhaps, make new ones — when he and he Atlanta Rhythm Section join the Ozark Mountain Daredevils for a show at the Ritz Theatre in Tiffin Oct. 26. The Atlanta Rhythm Section was formed in 1970 and began charting songs a few years later. It hit it big with southern rock tracks like "So Into You," "Imaginary Lover" and "Spooky." It had 13 top-40 hits on the Billboard Top 100 chart. Justo actually wasn't there for ARS' commercial peak. But he has had a remarkable life in rock and roll. In the mid-1960s, he sang in Roy Orbison's band, traveling the world. Orbison appreciated Justo's singing, and later, produced some solo records for him. A few of those recordings are available on Amazon Music, such as "Tell Her That You Care" and "Miss Brown." "I was very grateful," Justo said. "(But) I knew I was not gonna have a hit record." Later on, Justo moved to Atlanta, where he (literally) helped build the famous Studio One. The studio was designed and constructed by audio engineer Rodney Mills and was supported by music publisher Bill Lowery (who Justo called the "Barry Gordy of Atlanta") and future ARS manager Buddy Buie. The studio became the place where ARS, Lynyrd Skynyrd and 38 Special recorded classic songs. But when Justo and guitarist J.R. Cobb arrived, there was no way to know that. "There was nothing," Justo said. "It was an empty building, but they were bringing in installations, and we were part of that. "We laid tile. We put up soundproofing. It was great to be part of that genesis of the whole thing with Studio One. ... There was nothing there, but Buddy had a dream, he had a vision." The Atlanta Rhythm Section came together as a session band in Studio One. "This band exists because of Buddy," Justo said. "He was the writer, the main writer, producer, manager, owner of the studio." Along with Justo and Cobb, the original members were guitarist Barry Bailey, keyboardist Dean Daughtry, bassist Paul Goddard and drummer Robert Nix. The group played on other artists' sessions and then released a self-titled album in January of 1972. Shortly after that, Justo quit the band. "When I left the band, it was an economic decision," Justo said. "I think the trigger was that we weren't gonna be playing (live). We were gonna be relegated back to being in the studio all the time." Justo went to New York to sing jingles. Meanwhile, the Atlanta Rhythm Section, now with lead singer Ronnie Hammond, continued. By 1976, ARS had a hit album with "A Rock and Roll Alternative." The album contained the group's biggest hit, "So Into You." Justo said he has no regrets about leaving the band when he did. "I want to sing jingles, I want to make some money doing it," he said. "I had to make money. My daughter had some medical issues, and those things aren't cheap." Justo said there were never any hard feelings between him and the rest of ARS. "Let's face it: They're all my friends," Justo said. "If they played anywhere around central Florida, I would show up and see them." On one such occasion, Justo saw Lowery. "I (told him) how happy I was for the guys," Justo said. "He said, 'You ought to be. You get mentioned in every press release.'" Justo laughed recalling the conversation "I was like Pete Best," he said, referencing The Beatles drummer prior to Ringo Starr. "(But) Pete worked." But Justo was ready to be done with the music business. He stopped singing in 1978, though he did rejoin ARS in 1983, "just to help them out." But he felt it was time to try something else. "I wanted to be home with my family," Justo said. "I didn't want to be gone. I wanted to be around my children and enjoy them, I wanted to do things for my wife. Being a musician and being gone all the time was not going to get me there." Finding a "regular job" wasn't as easy as Justo hoped. He said it was difficult because potential employers knew Justo was a singer, and believed he would split as soon as he got an offer to sing again. "I got a lot of that," he said. "It was very disappointing." Eventually, he found a job for $150 a week. By then, Justo wasn't singing at all. Not to himself. Not in the shower. Not at all. "When I quit, I had to over-quit," Justo said. But in 2011, Justo got calls from Daughtry and Buie. The two asked Justo to come back to the Atlanta Rhythm Section. They told him that Goddard was going to return. With Daughtry, Goddard and Justo, ARS would have half of the original members back. But Justo was reluctant. "(I said), 'I don't know. I'm OK. I'm trying to get my golf game in shape," Justo recalled. "I told my wife, she said, 'No, you should do it. You're not getting any younger.' So, that's how that happened." He's been with the band since. But the band is different now, Nix died in 2012, Goddard died in 2014, Cobb died in 2019 and Bailey in 2022. Daughtry died in 2023. Buie passed about a decade ago. There's only one original left. "Now," Justo said. "It's just me." But Justo and the band — with a different lineup — have continued. In a phone conversation that lasted nearly a half hour, Justo was friendly and generous, cheerfully retelling stories about his career and his time with the Atlanta Rhythm Section. But he did bristle a bit when a topic — or, perhaps, a label — came up. "I get a lot of the 'tribute band' crap," Justo said. "I say, 'Listen, tribute bands are bands created to honor somebody. This is a band that evolves.' If you go see the New York Yankees, I don't see Babe Ruth out there, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle ... what are these? The 'tribute' Yankees?" And just like those Yankees (if not the current ones), the Atlanta Rhythm Section will bring the hits to the Tiffin show. "I've got about six or seven songs I gotta do," he said. "(But) we do a different show every night. You're gonna hear what they call 'deep cuts.'" It's just another chance for Justo and his bandmates to play for his friends. "I don't need the money," he said. "I enjoy meeting people. What it all boils down to is, it's all about the people you meet."