Ray Charles: Georgia On My Mind [purchase]*
James Brown: Georgia On My Mind [purchase]
To echo what Darius said about "Louisiana 1927," there are times when you wanna shoot for the deep cuts and this is not one of those times. The greatest song ever written with Georgia in mind is Hoagy Carmichael's "Georgia On My Mind." There's a reason why Brother Ray's version is the official state song, so for totally obvious reasons his version leads things off. However, I wanted to include another cover of the tune from a certain native Georgian. Augusta, G.A., to be precise. Of course, I'm talking about Soul Brother #1, James Brown.
Both versions are dedicated to Uga VI, the University of Georgia's legendary bulldog mascot who recently passed away due to heart failure. For those of you not SEC football fans like myself, the picture above is probably the most famous Uga-related photo. From 1996, it's actually Uga V snapping at booger-eating Auburn player, Robert Baker, after Baker had the nerve to score on Uga's beloved Bulldogs. RIP Uga. May Georgia always be on your mind.
* While "Georgia On My Mind" is on several different compilations, I'm linking to The Genius Hits The Road because its traveling motif is entirely appropriate to this week's theme. In fact, 11 different songs (!) name check states, so keep it in mind for future themes and your own blogs.