“Georgia on My Mind” by Ray Charles
The lyrics of Ray Charles’ “Georgia on My Mind” are very ambiguous, as in being able to be interpreted in at least two credible ways. But many of us rightfully recognize it as an ode to the US state of Georgia, which is logical considering that it has held the distinction of being that locality’s official song for some years now.
However, an interesting story has persisted throughout the decades. And that is that one of its writers, Hoagy Carmichael, actually penned the tune as a dedication to his sister. But ultimately that theory doesn’t seem to hold much validity. For instance, it wasn’t Carmichael but rather his buddy, Stuart Gorrell, who wrote the lyrics. Also if you’re one of the people who deems the song as having a romantic undertone, as even Ray Charles did, well that isn’t the type of love one reserves for his own sister.
So if it was actually written as a song to Carmicheal’s sister, as some historians contend, then a more reasonable explanation would be something like Gorrell having been in love with her.
The Addressee of “Georgia on My Mind”
But going back to the ambiguity of the lyrics, at the center of the story being told is a female figure named “Georgia”. She holds a special place in the singer’s heart – so much so that he decided to dedicate an entire song to her. Indeed other such entities akin to Georgia try to seduce him. But it is only Georgia herself that he is interested in. And another purpose of him putting together this song is to ‘keep Georgia on his mind’ when he is far away from her. In fact he finds it hard achieving a sense of “peace” when they are not together.
Conclusion
So conclusively, the sentiments being expressed aren’t anything that takes an extensive amount of wording to explain. The singer is in love with Georgia. And going back to the widely-accepted understanding of who or what “Georgia” is, that would be the Southern state – the place where Ray Charles was born – and not a woman. And even if Charles didn’t particularly lay down the track with the state of Georgia on his mind, the tune has still been rightfully adopted in such a manner nonetheless and, due to its overall quality, exalted accordingly.
Did Ray Charles write “Georgia on My Mind”
No. This song actually dates back to 1930. That was the year in which Hoagy Carmichael (1899-1981) wrote it alongside Stuart Gorrell (1901-1963).
And just to note Stuart Gorrell, who penned the lyrics, was actually a banker by profession. In fact this is the only song he ever wrote in his life.
The whole effort came about after Hoagy was tasked by one Frankie Trumbauer (1901-1956), a famous saxophonist, to pen a tune centered on Georgia (the US state).
In fact Frankie Trumbauer came out with his own version of Georgia on My Mind in 1931, which reached number 10 on the music charts.
Covers and Achievements of “Georgia on My Mind”
Throughout the years it has also been covered by an ample number of artists. For instance, Willie Nelson dropped a version in 1978 which topped Billboard’s Hot Country Songs listing as well as Canada’s Country Tracks chart. In 1979 it also won a Grammy for Best Male Country Vocal Performance.
But as great achievements as those are, the quintessential rendition has been that of Ray Charles, which was released by ABC-Paramount Records during September of 1960. And it came out as part of “The Genius Hits the Road” (1960), which was actually his 12th album.
Unlike Carmichael, Gorrell or Trumbauer, Ray Charles (1930-2004) was actually born in Georgia (the city of Albany, to be exact). In fact the Genius had a natural affinity for this song even before he recorded it, which is why his driver encouraged him to do so. And he was able to lay down his stirring rendition unconventionally in just four takes.
Ray Charles’s version of “Georgia on My Mind” was his breakthrough hit. Actually it is considered by many to be his signature tune.
In 2003 Rolling Stone declared it as one of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The magazine placed it as high as number 44 on that list.
“Georgia on My Mind” also accounted for two of the four Grammy Awards Ray Charles took home in 1960. And this particular song emerged victorious in the following categories:
- Best Performance by a Pop Single Artist
- Best Vocal Performance Single Record or Track, Male
Appearance on “Designing Women”
Fans of late-20th century sitcoms may also recognize the instrumental from this track serving as the opening-theme song for the CBS series Designing Women. In fact Charles performed the song during the first episode from season six. And doing so actually netted him a TV Land Award nomination.
Ray shoots to #1 with “Georgia on My Mind”
This classic was Ray Charles’ first song to actually top the Billboard Hot 100. And just to note for curiosity’s sake, the other two times Ray Charles topped the Billboard Hot 100 were with “Hit the Road Jack” (1961) and “I Can’t Stop Loving You” (1962).
The Official Song for the State of Georgia
This track’s most notable achievement, at least from a political and perhaps even historical standpoint, was it actually becoming Georgia’s official state song on the date of 24 April 1979. And Ray Charles also performed the tune at the accompanying ceremony.
President Carter loved this Song
US President Jimmy Carter was known to be a huge fan of this tune. He even once played the harmonica while Willie Nelson sang it. Indeed he enlisted Ronnie Hawkins and The Hawks to record a version of the song to use during his presidential campaign in 1976.
And it was pretty common knowledge that the President really liked “Georgia on My Mind”. For instance, a caricature of him starred in a 1977 claymation short entitled “Jimmy the C”, where the fictional Jimmy Carter sings this particular song.
Also interesting to note is that Willie Nelson sang Georgia on My Mind at the funeral of Ray Charles on 18 June 2004. In fact at the ceremony he was acknowledged as being a personal friend of Charles’. And there is at least one video uploaded onto YouTube which features the two of them performing the song together. Said clip is actually from an event called The Willie Nelson Special which was held in 1985.
More Facts about “Georgia on My Mind”
“Georgia on My Mind” has also been covered by other big-name musicians, such as the following:
- James Brown
- Louie Armstrong
- Django Reinhardt
Moreover like Ray Charles and Willie Nelson, renditions by the following made it on the Hot 100:
- Righteous Brothers (1966)
- Georgia Pines Candymen (1967)
- Wes Montgomery (1978)
- Michael Bolton (1990)
And the song was cleverly interpolated into another tribute to the Peach State which rapper Ludacris dropped in 2005 simply entitled “Georgia”.
In 2005, this song was covered by Jamie Foxx, Alicia Keys and Quincy Jones, as a tribute to Ray Charles, at the Grammy Awards.
In 2020, this song was reinterpreted by a makeshift group of musicians consisting of Danielia Cotton, Aaron Comess (of the Spin Doctors), Ben Stivers and Micky Factz into a track entitled “Georgia State of Mind”. And the purpose of that song was to rally voters in support of Georgia’ Democratic Party.
As the story goes, Ray Charles was disturbingly high on drugs when this song was recorded, which was done alongside a 55-strong orchestra. According to that recounting, it also took a solid 20 takes to be laid down properly. But he still managed to give the emotive performance which made his cover a hit.
Ray was 30 years old when he recorded “Georgia on My Mind”, though his voice sounded notably older.
Going back to Ray Charles’s rationale for recording this song, according to an autobiography he published in 1978, it wasn’t that he was particularly fond of the Peach State. Nor was it a case of the singer having been in love with a woman named Georgia. Rather Charles just considered the song “a beautiful, romantic melody” that he wanted to tackle.
