Spooky

Hey Zoo Freaks, the Zoo Crew is laying down a real smooth one for you all right now over at THE ZOO. We're talking Spooky by the Atlanta Rhythm Section, straight off the Underdog record from 1979. That song has got more history than a biker's road map, and it all starts with a couple of fishing buddies who knew a good groove when they heard one.

Back in the late sixties, there was this instrumental floating around called Spooky by a sax player named Mike Sharpe, who was really Mike Shapiro. It was a jazzy little number that hit the charts modestly, nothing huge, but it caught the ear of J.R. Cobb and Buddy Buie. Those two were fishing partners who liked to hole up in a little trailer near Lake Eufaula on the Georgia-Alabama line. No phones, no distractions, just the water and the songs they were writing. They heard that instrumental on the radio one day while driving down I-85, and Buie turned to Cobb and said he loved it so much he wanted to put words to it. Cobb knew the publisher, so they got the green light. They reworked the arrangement to fit a pop song and wrote lyrics about a girl who keeps you guessing, the kind who says no then changes her mind, always keeping you on your toes. The Classics IV cut it with Dennis Yost on vocals, and it climbed all the way to number three in 1968. That version had this cool whistling bit that made it feel a little mysterious, perfect for the cool of the evening when things get groovy.

Years later, after the Atlanta Rhythm Section had already scored with So Into You and Imaginary Lover, they decided to revisit that old one for Underdog. Cobb and Buie were still in the mix, of course, since Cobb had helped start the band and Buie produced a whole lot of their stuff. They took that original and turned it into a rocker with Barry Bailey laying down these blistering guitar solos full of descending triplets, and Dean Daughtry adding a spirited keyboard break that just locks in. It went out as the second single and hit number seventeen, becoming one of those early album rock staples that still sounds fresh when you crank it up. In interviews over the years, Buddy Buie talked about how he and Cobb always believed the song could be reconstructed that way, and they were right. Rodney Justo, who was around from the beginning and came back later to front the band, has said in recent chats that Spooky is one of those songs you just have to do. The crowd expects it, same as So Into You or Champagne Jam. He jokes around sometimes about how certain tunes kept them out of the big money early on, but this one turned into a keeper that connects people across generations.

The Atlanta Rhythm Section themselves got rolling in a pretty organic way back in 1970. They came out of Studio One in Doraville, Georgia, a little town northeast of Atlanta where Buddy Buie, along with engineer Rodney Mills and publisher Bill Lowery, set up shop. Buie pulled together musicians he knew from the Candymen, who had backed Roy Orbison, and from the Classics IV. That meant guys like Rodney Justo on vocals at first, Dean Daughtry on keys, Robert Nix on drums, and later J.R. Cobb on guitar, plus Barry Bailey and Paul Goddard. They started as the house band, cutting tracks for other artists three or four days a week, then working on their own stuff in between. Justo has recalled how they were in their twenties, pulling twenty or thirty hour stretches because they were so excited it did not feel like work. They threw around other names like Marthasville or Terminus, even Gift Horse, but Buie liked Atlanta Rhythm Section because it tied them to the city. The members were not crazy about it at the time, figuring a rhythm section was just the basics, but the name stuck and it worked out fine.

They cut a demo that landed them a deal with Decca, and their self-titled debut came out in 1972 with Justo singing. It did not set the world on fire, so he stepped away for a bit and Ronnie Hammond took over the vocals for the big years. Those early records built a following down south even if the national charts were slow. By the time Underdog rolled around, they had gold and platinum albums under their belt and were playing places like the White House lawn for President Carter. The band was always more about polished songwriting and tight playing than the rowdier southern rock outfits, drawing from studio craft and influences that ran toward the Eagles or Steely Dan as much as the Allmans. That session background is what let them take an old Classics IV hit and make it their own without missing a beat.

If you want to dig deeper into the Atlanta Rhythm Section, their official site is right here at atlantarhythmsection.com, where you can find tour dates and stories about the long road from Doraville. They keep an official Facebook page going at facebook.com/TheAtlantaRhythmSection with updates on shows and photos. On Instagram you can catch them at instagram.com/atlanta_rhythm_section for the latest from the road. For the fans who stick close, there is an active Facebook group called the Atlanta Rhythm Section Tribute Page at facebook.com/groups/538559506271753 where folks share memories and live clips.

That is the deal on Spooky and the boys who brought it back to life. The Zoo Crew will keep the records spinning for the Zoo Freaks, mixing the deep cuts with the ones that still get the heads nodding. Keep it rock and roll out there, and we will see you on the next one.