The song Rainy Night in Georgia was playing on Radio Swiss Jazz as we were eating dinner last week. That piece always brings out my sentimental and romantic side. Then a thought struck me. I get all misty-eyed about Georgia On My Mind as well. Ditto for Midnight Train to Georgia. And suddenly I realized there is an entire Georgia genre of music.
This realization led to a bit of research, and I found a playlist with over fifty versions of songs with the word “Georgia” in the title. Some were about the state, some were about a girl named Georgia and some were ambivalent.
Since I have been a fan of the Georgia genre all my life without realizing it, I thought it was high time to pick out my favorite versions of my favorite Georgia songs. Here are the results: my ultimate Georgia concert.
All my blogs are written to be about a minute long…but I only promised that the words would take a minute. I didn’t say anything about music.
P.S. I double dare any other state in the union to come up with a playlist comparable to this one.
Click on the links below for a wonderful concert and please forgive the YouTube ads.
Ray Charles – Georgia on My Mind
Gladys Knight & The Pips – Midnight Train To Georgia
Conway Twitty ft. Sam Moore – Rainy Night In Georgia
Jim Croce – Walkin’ back to Georgia
The Charlie Daniels Band – The Devil Went Down to Georgia
Ella Fitzgerald & Duke Ellington orch. – Sweet Georgia Brown