Songs with the name Georgia

Few names in song feel as warm and lived-in as Georgia. Hoagy Carmichael’s 1930 recording of “Georgia on My Mind” is a tender, wistful piano piece, with the name carried like a distant memory. Ray Charles made it far fuller and more famous in 1960, his voice turning the same melody into a slow, gospel-tinged confession. Ben Bernie and His Orchestra took a different route in 1925 with “Sweet Georgia Brown”: a brisk, brassy jazz record full of hot clarinet and dance-band sparkle, where the name belongs to a captivating woman.

The name also sits inside stories of motion and trouble. Gladys Knight & the Pips gave the 1973 soul record “Midnight Train to Georgia” a smooth, dramatic build, with backing vocals trailing the lead like a train rhythm as the name marks a destination and a retreat home. The Charlie Daniels Band made “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” a fierce, breathless fiddle duel from 1979, where the name belongs to a boy gambling his soul against the devil. Vicki Lawrence’s 1972 “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia” is a slow, ominous country-pop narrative, with the name anchoring a dark, tragic place.

Later records keep the name close and plain. Elton John’s 1971 “Georgia” is a gentle, melodic piano ballad, with the name sung softly as a person on the singer’s mind. John Mayer’s 2001 “Why Georgia” is a thoughtful acoustic track about feeling restless and unsure, with the name asked almost as a question. Vance Joy’s 2014 “Georgia” is a bright, upbeat indie-folk song, letting the name ring out as a simple, affectionate call.