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 Georgia who recorded it for his 1960 album The Genius Hits the Road. In 1979 Georgia designated this as the official state song.

Original version
The song was written in 1930 by Hoagy Carmichael (music) and Stuart Gorrell (lyrics). Although it is frequently asserted that the lyrics were written not about the state of Georgia but rather for Carmichael's sister, Georgia Carmichael,

Carmichael contradicted this view in his second autobiography, Sometimes I Wonder. He wrote that the song was composed when bandleader Frankie Trumbauer suggested that he write about the state of Georgia. According to Carmichael, Trumbauer also suggested the opening lyrics should be "Georgia, Georgia ...", with the remaining lyrics coming from Gorrell. Carmichael made no mention of his sister.

The song was recorded on September 15, 1930, in New York by Hoagy Carmichael and His Orchestra with Bix Beiderbecke on muted cornet, Carmichael on vocals, and Eddie Lang on guitar. The recording was part of Beiderbecke's last recording session.

Recordings
Frankie Trumbauer had the first hit recording in 1931 when it reached the top ten on the charts. He had suggested that Carmichael compose the song.

The song was a standard at performances by Ronnie Hawkins and The Hawks in the late 1950s and early 1960s, where it was sung by pianist Richard Manuel. When The Hawks split off on their own as The Band, they kept the song as part of 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.

Ray Charles
Ray Charles' 1960 recording on The Genius Hits the Road was a major hit, reaching the number one spot for one week in November 1960 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Though "Georgia On My Mind" was a hit single before Charles' recording, the song has now become strongly identified with Charles in the public consciousness. On March 7, 1979, in a symbol of reconciliation in the aftermath of years of activism and national legislation resulting from the Civil Rights Movement, Charles performed the song before the Georgia General Assembly. After this performance, the Assembly adopted it as the state song on April 24.

In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine named Ray Charles' version of "Georgia on My Mind" the 44th greatest song of all time.

Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson recorded "Georgia" 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.

A year later, Nelson won a Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance for his version of the song.

Lyrics
The original lyrics, including the commonly excised introductory verse, are in the Georgia Code under license.

Other versions
The song has been recorded by many artists, including Ailee, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Bing Crosby (who recorded it twice and included it in his albums New Tricks and A Southern Memoir), Frankie Laine, Richard Manuel, Dean Martin, Deana Martin, Ethel Waters, Gerald Albright, Eddy Arnold, Mildred Bailey, Michael Bolton, Michael Buble, Dave Brubeck, Lenny Dee, Ella Fitzgerald, The Anita Kerr Singers, Brenda Lee, Glenn Miller, Anita O'Day, Rebecca Parris, Jerry Reed, George Roberts, Leon Russell, Zac Brown Band,  James Brown, Ray Bryant, Coldplay, Deep Purple, Khalil Fong, Jerry Garcia, Crystal Gayle, Nat Gonella, The Hi-Lo's, Al Hirt, Billie Holiday, Tom Jones, Gladys Knight, Gene Krupa, Jerry Lee Lewis, Annie Lennox, Little Willie Littlefield, John Mayer, Wes Montgomery, Van Morrison, Willie Nelson, Maceo Parker, Oscar Peterson, Lou Rawls, Django Reinhardt, Arturo Sandoval, Spencer Davis Group, Tony Rice, The Righteous Brothers, John Scofield, Jo Stafford, Usher, Fats Waller, Grover Washington Jr., and Jackie Wilson.