Our state song is older than you think

Georgia native Ray Charles took the song “Georgia on My Mind” to number one on the Billboard magazine Hot 100 when he was 30. He won two Grammy Awards for the song, which helped launch his career.

Charles’ version of “Georgia on My Mind” was designated the official state song in 1979 and was named one of the 500 greatest songs of all time by Rolling Stone magazine.

The song was written 30 years earlier, in 1930, by Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell. Carmichael recorded the song with his orchestra, but it was Ray Charles who made it a big hit.

– Jan Schroder, The 100 Companies