Song of the Day 1/5: Ray Charles, “Georgia on My Mind”

Hey, Georgia is on everyone’s mind today. Personally, I expect Democrats to be just as disappointed with the results as they were with the rest of 2020’s senate elections, but until the polls close this evening, there’s always hope.

Hoagy Carmichael wrote this tune in 1930, but its wasn’t until Ray Charles sang it for his 1960 LP “The Genius Hits the Road” that it found its way to the top of the charts. It was his version that the state declared its official song in 1979.

In his autobiography Hoagy Carmichael credited the idea for the song to saxophonist Frankie Trumbauer, who told him he should write a song about the state of Georgia. But lyricist Stuart Gorrell was always coy about whether the song was about the state or a woman (Georgia was the name of Carmichael’s sister). That’s Bix Beiderbecke on cornet in what turned out to be his last recording before his death at age 28. Other sidemen include jazz giants Jack Teagarden, Jimmy Dorsey and Pee Wee Russell.

Covers of the song are legion. One group that kept it in their set list for years was The Band, who began playing is when they were still backing Ronnie Hawkins as the Hawks. With Richard Manuel on lead vocals, they even played it at their Last Waltz concert.