Song · Ray Charles
“Georgia On My Mind” by Ray Charles
From the album The Genius Hits the Road (1960)
“Georgia On My Mind” by Ray Charles appears on 14 radio countdowns from 7 stations between 2001 and 2026. It was first released in 1960 on the album The Genius Hits the Road. Its best result is #22 on The Colorado Sound Top 800 Songs About Places. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #317 indie & aaa song of all time.
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Ray Charles cut "Georgia On My Mind" for his 1960 album The Genius Hits the Road, and a Georgia native singing an old Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell tune turned it into something that felt like his own homecoming. Sid Feller produced, Ralph Burns arranged it, and Charles sings and plays piano with Edgar Willis on bass and Milt Turner on drums, easing through it with a slow, aching grace that makes every line sound lived in.
The State of Georgia made his version its official state song in 1979, and the Grammy Hall of Fame took in his 1960 recording on ABC-Paramount in 1993. The song belongs to the Great American Songbook, and in June 2026 it made CBS News's roundup of 250 essential American songs spanning 250 years.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 1364 | WFPK | WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2000 |
| 2004 | 86 | WXPN | WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2004) | 885 |
| 2007 | 105 | WTMD | WTMD Top 897 Songs of All Time | 897 |
| 2009 | 248 | WXPN | WXPN 885 Desert Island Songs (2009) | 885 |
| 2012 | 108 | WYEP | WYEP Top 500 Songs Countdown | 500 |
| 2014 | 329 | WXPN | WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2014) | 885 |
| 2018 | 693 | The Current | The Current's 893 Essential Songs | 892 |
| 2020 | 169 | WXPN | WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2020 |
| 2022 | 968 | WYEP | WYEP Countdown to Fall 2022 | 603 |
| 2023 | 697 | WYEP | WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 | 1229 |
| 2023 | 425 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time | 909 |
| 2023 | 22 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 800 Songs About Places | 800 |
| 2024 | 150 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 850 Cover Songs | 850 |
| 2026 | 348 | WYEP | WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time | 1180 |
Also listed as: Georgia on My Mind.
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