Hoagy Carmichael, music · Stuart Gorrell, lyrics · First recorded by Carmichael's orchestra in New York, 1930
Hoagy Carmichael wrote the music and Stuart Gorrell wrote the words in 1930. The 32 run , and each moves through a chain of falling that lead back to . Ray Charles's 1960 recording became the official state song of Georgia in 1979.
The path starts with Carmichael's own 1930 recording and Armstrong's 1931 vocal, then moves to Ray Charles, a voice and guitar duo, a live tenor saxophone set, the Brubeck quartet, a piano trio and a modern saxophone quartet. Each step shows another way to play the same 32 .
8 recordings, 1930 to 1992 · Play all 8 on YouTube ↗
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Hoagy Carmichael and His Orchestra (with Bix Beiderbecke) · 1930
Georgia
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Play the melody with the from the iReal Pro chart in F. Say A or B out loud as each section goes by.
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Louis Armstrong and His Orchestra · 1931
OKeh 41541
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Hum the tune along with Armstrong, then play it on your instrument at the same pace with the iReal Pro .
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Ray Charles · 1960 · Soul & R&B
The Genius Hits the Road
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Play the first as slow block from the iReal Pro chart, and hum the tune over them.
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Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass · 1983 · Vocal
Speak Love
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Play the first four from the chart ( , Dm , Dm A7♭9, Dm ) on guitar or piano. Then listen to the recording and see where Pass's match yours.
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Ben Webster · 1960 · Bebop, Cool jazz
At the Renaissance
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Listen with the iReal Pro chart open and raise a finger each time the begins.
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The Dave Brubeck Quartet · 1959 · Cool jazz
Gone with the Wind
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Follow the iReal Pro chart and tally each full pass through the 32 . Write down whether Desmond or Brubeck is playing in each pass.
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The Oscar Peterson Trio · 1962 · Bebop
Night Train
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Play just the root of each in the on piano or bass, one note per chord. Then listen for Ray Brown's bass line in the recording.
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Archie Shepp Quartet · 1992 · Contemporary jazz
Something to Live For
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Pick one and write down the you hear in each , using the chart to check. That takes a good ear for jazz chords, so the smaller task is to mark where the starts in each chorus.
2 more, from 1976 to 1993. Tap a cover to play it here.
1976 · Hard bop, Modal jazz
Biting the Apple
Dexter Gordon's quartet recorded the song on November 9, 1976, and the track first appeared on CD.
1993
Light Out of Darkness
Shirley Horn recorded the song for her 1993 album Light Out of Darkness, a tribute to Ray Charles.
The tune's layout, its keys and the chord chart, for anyone who wants to play along.
Each runs eight in . It opens on , then and lead to and . Bar 4 plays G/B, and , and bars 5 and 6 chain into . The first A ends on Am7 D7 and Gm7 , which loops back to the top, and the second A ends on and an Em7♭5 A7♭9 that points into the . The bridge sits in for its first six bars, where Dm alternates with A7♭9, and before a and turn. Then Am7 D7 and Gm7 C7 chain back to F major. The final A repeats the first six bars and closes on F6, with a Gm7 C7 . These areas follow the iReal Pro chart.
Chart from iReal Pro's Jazz 1460 playlist, contributed by its users.