Dartblog

Lady Ella Fitzgerald and Tommy Flanagan’s quartet in Stockholm, April 3, 1963, with Georgia on My Mind.

This is a notable execution of Gorrell/Carmichael turn which was made famous by Ray Charles thirty years after it was written. Ella has some phrasal passages of impacting length, threaded with soulful scat. She always knew, instinctively, just how thickly she could layer the improvisation on a ballad like this. It is also worth noting that this is truly prime time for Ella: Georgia on My Mind was written for baritone, I think; transposed for her bluesy upband lilt it could have emerged as a piece of tin. Instead Ella reaches deeply, achieving an honest soprano version of what was originally a man’s love song.

For the lyrics, please see the Georgia State Code, Title 50, Section 3-60.