September 25, 2020 —– Chart #58

Hello Musical Friends,

Welcome to Friday folks. I went back to 1930 for today’s Chart of the Day. Well, the song was written in 1930 and first recorded at that time by it writer. But in 1960 another artist made a big hit out of this time tested tune. “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 Ray Charles’s version the official state song.

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 coronet, in New York City on September 15, 1930.

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 “Georgia 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.

The song has been performed by countless artists and in many keys. I chose to chart in the key of C, but play it in any key you like.

Enjoy the original Ray Charles recording:

The real original 1930 recording by Hoagy Carmichael – https://youtu.be/LY9RS1x8iHE

For all of us guitar players, you will love Peter Frampton:

And of course Willie Nelson did a pretty good rendition of this tune as well in 1978: https://youtu.be/m4GgHvDzalw

Keep rockin’,

Stan