Georgia on My Mind

[1930]
Lyrics by Stuart Graham Steven Gorrell
Music by Hoagland Howard Carmichael
Album: The Genius Hits the Road [1960]


“Georgia .. no peace I find..” ..What was Ray Charles' most famous hit of the 1960s was actually written in 1930 by Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell and first recorded that same year by Hoagy Carmichael himself.  However, the song has been most often associated with soul singer Ray Charles, who was a native of the U.S. state of Georgia and recorded it for his 1960 album The Genius Hits the Road.
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.
In 1960, Charles’ version went to No. 1 on the Billboard magazine Hot 100. Ray's hit rendition would become the most widely-known version of the tune from this time on. It would also be the song most associated with his musical career.
In 1962, famed jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald released a rendition of the song, produced by Norman Granz, on the album Ella Swings Gently with Nelson.
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.
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 in Ray Charles' version of the song.
In 1979, the song was designated the State Song of Georgia, and Charles was invited to perform it at the state capitol. The song has become part of the Great American Songbook tradition.

The TV series Designing Women used an instrumental version of "Georgia on My Mind" as its opening theme. During the opening credits of the show's sixth season in 1991, Charles performed his version of the song live on piano while the show's cast looked as the opening credits.
In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine named the Ray Charles version of "Georgia on My Mind" the 44th greatest song of all time.