Posted on 08/14/2025 11:26:32 AM PDT by nickcarraway
Their new US hit of August 1979 was a song that had been very good to some of the group 11 years earlier.
Some songs are locked in their era, while others update themselves and reach another generation. On August 11, 1979, the Atlanta Rhythm Section were hitting the American chart with a number that had been very good to some of the group 11 years earlier, and even that was an adaptation of an instrumental original. The word for all of that is “Spooky.”
The song was co-written by Mike Shapiro, who as pop-jazz alto saxophonist Mike Sharpe, recorded the tune for the Liberty label and reached No.57 with it in the US in 1967. Later that year, Jacksonville, Florida soft rock outfit Classics IV heard its potential.
Their guitarist James Cobb and producer Buddy Buie added lyrics, and the song climbed to No.3 on the Hot 100 in early 1968. That vocal interpretation inspired covers by many of the easy listening and soul acts of the day, notably Andy Williams, Dusty Springfield, Percy Sledge, and Martha & the Vandellas.
Fast forward a decade, by which point Cobb, Buie and fellow Classics IV graduate Dean Daughtry were longtime members of the highly successful Atlanta Rhythm Section. The initial appeal of the Doraville, Georgia group, said Rolling Stone in 1978, “came from its break with the often predictable Southern-rock genre: the band combined the usual guitar-solo orientation with an attractive pop sensibility.”
Plundering the past
Already with several years of hit singles and albums under their belt – including Top 10 hits with 1977’s “So Into You” and 1978’s “Imaginary Lover” – the ARS decided to revisit their past. They recorded a new version of the atmospheric “Spooky” for their Underdog album, which was already certified gold in America by the time it was released as a single. The group had just had another Top 20 hit with the first single from the LP, the pretty “Do It Or Die.”
ARS’ new “Spooky” entered the US chart at No.90. It spent two months making slow but steady progress up the Hot 100 and came to rest for two weeks at No.17 in October. It was the group’s final Top 20 American hit.
Always loved that song. Never turn it off when it comes on the radio.
👍👍
ARS seems like they exploded on the scene in 76 and had disappeared by the end of 79.
My favorite ARS song is ‘Angel’.
I got to skydive into one of there concerts in Ft Walton Beach as part of a concert opener back in 1985. I was with the Ft Rucker Sport Parachute Club demonstration team. Cool memories :)
Likewise!
My band covers the ARS version of "Spooky", and as the lead guitarist, I get to wail on those solos like nobody's business. Big fun, and always a crowd-pleaser.
Very Cool music. The video looked live and great interaction amongst members.
Before the plane crash, Ronnie Van Zant called the tightest southern rock band of them all.
Doraville, A touch of country in the city.......No country within 50 miles of Doraville now.
Always liked Doraville, Not Gonna Let It Bother Me Tonight, Spooky and Homesick
So Into You was OK
Couldn’t stand Imaginary Lover - the song is about whacking it!
“Do it or die”.
Yes, one of their best tunes. Sure to make everyone’s Halloween playlist.
Yes, one of their best tunes. Sure to make everyone’s Halloween playlist.
The lyrics were discreet enough for the song to get huge airplay in an era that would still censor naughty words. Today, you could use that tune as the intro theme of a movie about stuff like this:
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/4334633/posts
"They always care, they're always there when you need
Satisfaction guaranteed"
I’ve always been partial to “I’m Not Gonna Let It Bother Me Tonight.”
They had a remarkably polished sound. I still play a couple of their albums, and they still sound great. (My favorite was Silent Treatment.)
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