SONG OF THE DAY
“So Into You” by Atlanta Rhythm Section (A Rock and Roll Alternative, Polydor, 1976). Written by Buddy Buie, Dean Daughtry & Robert Nix.
INTERESTING FACTS (a la wikipedia)
– A Rock and Roll Alternative is an album by southern rock band Atlanta Rhythm Section, which features the band’s biggest hit, “So into You”, which peaked at #7 on theBillboard Hot 100.
– Atlanta Rhythm Section, sometimes abbreviated ARS, is an American southern rock band. The band unofficially formed in 1970 as former members of the Candymen and the Classics IV became the session band for the newly opened Studio One in Doraville, Georgia.
– Studio One and would become one of the preeminent studios in the Atlanta area. Over the years, artists who recorded there included Al Kooper, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Joe South, Bonnie Bramlett, Dickey Betts, B.J. Thomas and Billy Joe Royal.
- While road weary from touring non-stop for most of the year, they nevertheless went back to Studio One and wrote, recorded, and produced the next album, A Rock and Roll Alternative in 30 days. Whether it was the deadline pressure or the natural evolution of the group, they indeed created a rock and roll alternative that would carry them to new heights.
– The band attained a new level of critical acclaim and popular appeal with this album when it was released in December 1976.
– It included seven originals and a cover of a blues classic, “Outside Woman Blues”, previously recorded by the Yardbirds.
– “So Into You” proved to be the breakthrough. It rose to #7 on on the charts and was a staple of rock radio during the summer of 1977. The album made it to the Top 10 on the charts and went Gold.
– Popularity now carried ARS out of the clubs and into stadiums. On September 4th, 1977 they played their biggest show yet, the Dog Day Rockfest at Atlanta’s Grant Field on the campus of Georgia Tech. Heart and Foreigner were the opening acts and Bob Seger co-headlined.
– After this point, for the next several years, ARS was on the road for 250 plus shows a year.
- While ARS didn’t reach the commercial success of Lynyrd Skynyrd or The Allman Brothers, the group had a strong following in the South and charted a number of hits.