Ray Charles - Georgia On My Mind (Live At Montreux, 1997)
Georgia on My Mind is a song by Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell, most commonly associated with the version by Ray Charles, a native of Georgia, who recorded it in his 1960 on the album The Genius Hits the Road.
It became the official state song of the State of Georgia in 1979.
It was not until Ray Charles' 1960 recording on The Genius Hits the Road, that the song became a major hit, reaching the number one spot for one week in November 1960 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. On March 7, 1979, in a mutual symbol of reconciliation after conflict over civil rights issues, he performed it before the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature). After this performance, the connection to the state was firmly made, and then the Assembly adopted it as the state song on April 24.
This version of the song was played with a video montage each time, that Georgia Public Television went off the air nightly. With the advent of 24-hour broadcasting, it is rarely used now, the last time being in 2009 for the permanent sign-off of GPB's analog TV stations on February 17.
The song was used as the theme song to the CBS sitcom Designing Women (set in Atlanta), initially as an instrumental (performed by Doc Severinsen), and later in a recording by Ray Charles. Charles' version was also sampled for rap group Field Mob's 2005 single, "Georgia", featuring Jamie Foxx and Ludacris.
Sometime after 2000, Charles invited the Italian singer Giorgia Todrani to sing the song with him after learning, that she was named in honor of the song.
Jamie Foxx and Alicia Keys, backed by Quincy Jones and his Orchestra, performed a new arrangement in honour of Ray Charles at the 2005 Grammy Awards.
The song has been covered by many artists, significant among them: Richard Manuel, Louis Armstrong, Dean Martin, Glenn Miller, Zac Brown Band, Michael Bublé, Michael Bolton, Dave Brubeck, Anita O'Day, Ella Fitzgerald, Rebecca Parris, Jo Stafford, Gladys Knight, Gene Krupa, Grover Washington, Jr., James Brown, Usher, Fats Waller, Billie Holiday, Nat Gonella and The Georgians, Django Reinhardt, Wes Montgomery, John Mayer, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Righteous Brothers, Tom Jones, Maceo Parker, Van Morrison, Coldplay, The Joel Haynes Trio (with Denzel Sinclair) and the Spencer Davis Group (with Steve Winwood on vocals), Tony Rice, Arturo Sandoval, instrumental version by Oscar Peterson, and a member of the new Korean boy group, B.A.P's Daehyun. Bing Crosby recorded this song twice: in 1956 with Buddy Cole and his trio and in 1975 with Paul Smith and Band for the LP A Southern Memoir.
Written in 1930 by Hoagy Carmichael (music) and Stuart Gorrell (lyrics). Gorrell wrote the lyrics for Hoagy's sister, Georgia Carmichael.
However, the lyrics of the song are ambiguous enough to refer either to the state or to a woman named "Georgia". Carmichael's 1965 autobiography, Sometimes I Wonder, records the origin: a friend, saxophonist and bandleader Frankie Trumbauer, suggested: "Why don't you write a song called 'Georgia'? Nobody lost much writing about the South." Thus, the song is universally believed to have been written about the state.
The song was first recorded on September 15, 1930, in New York by Hoagy Carmichael and His Orchestra with Bix Beiderbecke on muted cornet and Hoagy Carmichael on vocals. It featured Eddie Lang on guitar. The recording was part of Beiderbecke's last recording session. The recording was released as Victor 23013 with "One Night in Havana".
Frankie Trumbauer had the first major hit recording in 1931, when his recording made the top ten on the charts. Trumbauer had suggested that Carmichael compose the song. Another 1931 hit version was Mildred Bailey's vocal made with members of Paul Whiteman's Orchestra (Victor 22880).
On 30 July 1963, Lou Rawls recorded the song for his album Tobacco Road. Cold Chisel's version of the song appeared on the album Barking Spiders Live: 1983 and has become a staple of their live shows. Guitarist Ian Moss still performs the song and a live version is included in his Let's All Get Together album.
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 and became 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, which was released as a single that year as well as on their 1977 album Islands.
American Idol contestant Matt Giraud performed this song during Hollywood Week Second Solo Performance. In 2006, saxophonist Gerald Albright covered the song off the album New Beginnings.
In 2009, Hong Kong singer Khalil Fong covered the song in his album Timeless.
The lyrics:
Georgia, Georgia,
The whole day through
Just an old sweet song
Keeps Georgia on my mind
I'm say Georgia
Georgia
A song of you
Comes as sweet and clear
As moonlight through the pines
Other arms reach out to me
Other eyes smile tenderly
Still in peaceful dreams I see
The road leads back to you
I said Georgia,
Ooh Georgia, no peace I find
Just an old sweet song
Keeps Georgia on my mind
Other arms reach out to me
Other eyes smile tenderly
Still in peaceful dreams I see
The road leads back to you
Georgia,
Georgia,
No peace, no peace I find
Just this old, sweet song
Keeps Georgia on my mind
I said just an old sweet song,
Keeps Georgia on my mind
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