By Mark Woolsey

It’s been a long, interesting ride chock-full of twists and turns for Rodney Justo, the first lead singer for celebrated hometown favorites the Atlanta Rhythm Section.

And it’s by no means over. Justo, while the last surviving original member of the band, fronts a group of talented musicians and later-joining members playing under the ARS name. The band will revisit its prolific career on April 18 with a show at the Strand Theatre on the Marietta Square.

Expect to hear some familiar sounds at the venerable theatre—and more.

Says Justo: “There are about seven songs we have to do in every show. Which is good because they were hits. That leaves us with quite a few songs that were regional hits, some ‘deep cuts’ and a few surprises.”

Justo has had a somewhat tangled history with the group. He was lead singer for the band’s first album, “Atlanta Rhythm Section,” circa 1972. The record did not do well, so he left to pursue his own career aspirations, which he labeled “financial opportunities.”

Justo was replaced by Ronnie Hammond, who voiced signature hits such as “So Into You,” “Imaginary Lover,” and “I’m Not Going to Let it Bother Me Tonight ” during the mid-70s–early 80s timeframe.

“In 1983 I came back for a year and then I came back 15 years ago. I’ve had more comebacks than a human yoyo,” Justo says wryly.

Justo says his take on the band has always been that they were a straight-ahead “rock band from the south, not a southern rock band,” striking a separate chord from such Dixie mainstays as Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Outlaws and the Marshall Tucker Band. The ARS chart hits were much more pop in nature, he notes.

Nonetheless, they were swept into the southern rock tidal wave, playing various big-ticket festivals with genre artists, and Justo says he’s unsure whether the categorization ultimately worked for or against them.

So, what kept drawing him into the band?

“I was asked to come back,” he says. “I was perfectly happy in retirement.” The nudge came from Buddy Buie, who initially brought the band members together and who was manager, producer and songwriter for them.

Three members came from the Candymen, who had toured with Roy Orbison (Justo, keyboardist Dean Daughtry and drummer Robert Nix) and two others hailed from the Classics IV, which had had such hits as “Spooky” and “Traces.” That aggregation had included Buie (who’d also worked with the Candymen) and guitarist J.R. Cobb, according to the band’s official biography.

And dispelling an urban legend of rock, Justo says “There’s a lot of talk about this. I hear all the time that people think we’re the old Classics IV. No, we were the Candymen.” In other words, there was a carryover, but by no means a direct one.

Two additional session players came along for the ride: guitarist Barry Bailey and bassist Paul Goddard.

The band started off at Doraville’s Studio One as a house band for various artists while working on their own material.

After initial challenges, the group hit the motherlode with their 1976 album “A Rock and Roll Alternative”, but by the early 80’s, public tastes shifted away from southern rock. The band struggled through lineup changes, personal issues that dogged various members and albums that received uneven receptions from the public.

“It’s like anything,” says Justo. “Tastes change.”

A highlight did come in 1996 when ARS was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame.

The other original band members eventually passed away, leaving it to Justo to, as he puts it, “carry the torch,” along with an updated lineup.

The current roster: guitarist Steve Stone, a 40-year band stalwart, bassist Justin Senker, drummer Rodger Stephan, keyboardist Lee Shealy and guitarist David Anderson.

Justo says the current group gets along really well—“and there are no ego issues.”

The Strand seems a good fit for the Rhythm Section. The band notes on its website that “at this point, playing in the many historic theaters that we visit seems appropriate. The effort to restore these century-old venues and the pride they return to their community is amazing.”

A history-laden institution themselves, ARS will play at the Strand on Marietta Square April 18 at 8 p.m. Tickets start at $69.