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Sweet Georgia Brown

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Wikipedia article




"'Sweet Georgia Brown'" is a jazz standard and pop tune composed in 1925 by Ben Bernie and Maceo Pinkard, with lyrics by Kenneth Casey.

History



Reportedly, Ben Bernie came up with the concept for the song's lyrics although he is not the credited lyricist after meeting Dr. George Thaddeus Brown in New York City. Dr. Brown, a longtime member of the Georgia State House of Representatives, told Bernie about his daughter, Georgia Brown, and how subsequent to the baby girl's birth on August 11, 1911, the Georgia General Assembly had issued a declaration that she was to be named Georgia after the state. This anecdote would be directly referenced by the song's lyric: "Georgia claimed her Georgia named her."

The tune was first recorded on March 19, 1925, by bandleader Ben Bernie, resulting in a five-week stretch at number one for Ben Bernie and his Hotel Roosevelt Orchestra.CD liner notes: Chart-Toppers of the Twenties, 1998 ASV Ltd.

One of the most popular versions of "Sweet Georgia Brown" was recorded in 1949 by Brother Bones and His Shadows and later adopted as the theme song of the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team in 1952.

Renditions



* Ben Bernie and His Hotel Roosevelt Orchestra, 1925

* California Ramblers, 1925

* Ethel Waters, 1925

* Lillie Delk Christian with Johnny St. Cyr, 1926

* Cab Calloway, 1931

* Bing Crosby recorded the song on April 23, 1932 with Isham Jones and his Orchestra and it is assessed as reaching the No. 2 spot in the charts of the day.

* Coleman Hawkins with Benny Carter and Django Reinhardt, 1937

* Django Reinhardt, 1938

* Art Tatum, 1941

* Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, 1943

* The version used by the Globetrotters is a 1949 instrumental by Brother Bones and His Shadows with whistling and bones by Brother Bones. It was adopted as the Globetrotters theme in 1952.

* Bud Powell, 1950

* Red Norvo with Charles Mingus and Tal Farlow, 1950

* Gale Storm, album 'Gale Storm Sings', 1956.'Windsor Star' 26 May 1956 "Gale Storm Gains New Fame as Singing Star" by Matt Dennis p.9

* Anita O'Day, 'Jazz on a Summer's Day', 1958

* Carol Burnett, 1960

* Tony Sheridan recorded it in December 1961 with his studio backing group, The Beat Brothers, and it was issued on his 1962 album 'My Bonnie'. He rerecorded the song in 1964 for his next album, 'A Little Bit of Tony Sheridan' this time backed by The Bobby Patrick Big Six but still credited to The Beat Brothers.

:* The Beatles, with Roy Young, as a backup band recorded it again for Tony Sheridan on May 24, 1962, in Hamburg, Germany, using the original lyrics. This was released in Germany, on Sheridan's EP 'Ya Ya' in 1962 and in Greece as the b-side of the single 'Skinny Minny'. This recording was rereleased as a single in 1964 during the wave of Beatlemania with Sheridan having re-recorded the vocals with tamer lyrics and the additional verse: "In Liverpool she even dares/to criticize the Beatles' hair/With their whole fan-club standing there/oh Sweet Georgia Brown". This version can be heard on the German compilation album 'The Beatles' First!' and it's numerous reissues. The song was edited as a single for the American market with added guitar and drum parts.

* Nancy Sinatra, for the 1966 album 'Sugar'

* Jerry Lee Lewis, for the 1970 album 'There Must Be More To Love Than This'

* Rahsaan Roland Kirk, for the 1976 album 'The Return of the 5000 Lb. Man'.

* Oscar Peterson, Niels-Henning rsted Pedersen, and Ray Brown performed the song live at the Montreux Jazz Festival, 1977

* Oscar Peterson, 'Live at the Blue Note', 1990

* Roberta Flack recorded "Sweet Georgia Brown" for her 1994 album 'Roberta': as Flack feared the song might be perceived as demeaning to women her version featured newly-added lyrics - written by Flack with her producers Jerry Barnes and Katreese Barnes - meant to establish Georgia Brown as (Roberta Flack quote:) "a strong woman who is gorgeous, sexy, strong and intelligent" rather than a pass-around girl.'Billboard' Vol 106 #35 (27 August 1994)"Roberta Flack Celebrates 25 Years on Atlantic" by Craig Rosen pp.12, 125 "Sweet Georgia Brown" has become a staple of Flack's live shows, the singer having stated that the lyric changes (Roberta Flack quote:) "cost me $25,000 so I sing [the song] whenever I have the chance."'Hartford Courant' 17 July 1998 "Flack Soothes With Her Songs" by Donna Larcen p.A4

* The hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest sampled a 1976 cover by The Singers Unlimited for their penultimate album 'The Love Movement' on the track "Start It Up".

* Denny Zeitlin, 'Slickrock', 2003

* Mel Brooks used a Polish version of the song in his 1983 movie 'To Be or Not to Be'. It is performed by himself and his wife Anne Bancroft.

* Take 6's version on the 2008 album 'The Standard' features both whistling and vocals.

* Danny Gatton- Redneck Jazz Explosion Live in 1977 CD- The Humbler Stakes His Claim

See also



*List of 1920s jazz standards

Notes and references



Category:1925 songs

Category:1925 singles

Category:Basketball music

Category:The Beatles bootleg recordings

Category:Harlem Globetrotters

Category:1920s jazz standards

Category:Ella Fitzgerald songs

Category:The Beatles with Tony Sheridan songs

Category:Harry Connick Jr. songs

Category:Trini Lopez songs

Category:Sound trademarks

Category:Songs with music by Maceo Pinkard

Category:Songs about Georgia (U.S. state)

Category:Cab Calloway songs

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