Georgia on My Mind


"Georgia on My Mind" is a 1930 song written by Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell and first recorded that year. It has often been associated with Ray Charles, a native of the U.S. state of Georgia, who recorded it for his 1960 album The Genius Hits the Road. In 1979, the State of Georgia designated it the official state song.

Background and Composition

It has been asserted that Hoagy Carmichael wrote the song about his sister, Georgia. But Carmichael wrote in his second autobiography Sometimes I Wonder that saxophonist Frankie Trumbauer told him he should write a song about the state of Georgia. He jokingly volunteered the first two words, "Georgia, Georgia...", which Carmichael ended up using while working on the song with his roommate, Stuart Gorrell, who wrote the lyrics. Gorrell's name was absent from the copyright, but Carmichael sent him royalty checks anyway.
Carmichael recorded "Georgia on My Mind", with Bix Beiderbecke on cornet, in New York City on September 15, 1930.

Ray Charles version

Ray Charles, a native of Georgia, recorded a version that went to No. 1 on the Billboard magazine Hot 100.
In 1977 Robert Grossman, James Picker and Craig Whitaker created a clay animation short, Jimmy The C, in which U.S. President Jimmy Carter sings Georgia On My Mind, in Ray Charles' version.
The TV series Designing Women, which used an instrumental version of "George on My Mind" as its opening theme, featured Charles performing his version of the song on a piano while the show's cast looks on during its opening credits during its sixth season, which aired from 1991-92.
In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine named the Ray Charles version of "Georgia on My Mind" the 44th greatest song of all time.
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The Hawks/The Band version

The song was a standard at performances by Ronnie Hawkins and The Hawks where it was sung by pianist Richard Manuel after 1964. When The Hawks broke up and formed The Band, they kept the song in their repertoire. They recorded a studio version of the song for Jimmy Carter's presidential bid in 1976. It was released as a single that year as well as on their 1977 album Islands.

Willie Nelson version

recorded the song on Stardust, his 1978 album of standards. It was released as single, peaked at No. 1 for a single week, and ranked for sixteen weeks on a country chart.
The original lyrics, including the commonly excised introductory verse, are in the Georgia Code under license.

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