Ronnie Hammond, former lead singer of the Atlanta Rhythm Section, the Georgia band that made the suburb of Doraville a household name in the 1970s, died Monday at a hospital near his hometown of Macon.
The Macon Telegraph reported that Hammond, 60, died of heart failure late Monday morning at a hospital in Forsyth.
Hammond joined the Atlanta Rhythm Section in 1973 and was with the band for about 10 years.
The band had a string of hits, including "Doraville," "Imaginary Lover" and "So Into You."
The pinnacle of the band's success came in the late 1970s, with the release of the top-10 album, "Champagne Jam." In August 1978, the band hosted an outdoor music festival of the same name at Georgia Tech's Grant Field.
That same year, Hammond and his fellow band members performed on the south lawn of the White House after President Carter invited them to play for his son's birthday party.
The band was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 1996.
"I know he'd want to be remembered for some of his accomplishments in music," Hammond's older brother, Jimmy Hammond, told the Macon Telegraph.
"Ronnie is one of the most gentle, kindest, humble people you could ever run across," Jimmy Hammond told the paper. "That's just the way he was."
Ronnie Hammond is survived by his wife, Tracy, and a son, Jesse.
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