Willie Nelson And Ray Charles Stun With Live Performance Of "Georgia On My Mind"

Jun 14, 2020 by apost team

In 1986, Willie Nelson and Ray Charles recorded a live duet of "Georgia On My Mind," sitting side by side on a piano. The song is the official song of the state of Georgia.

"Georgia On My Mind" was produced and written by Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell in 1930. Ray Charles, who passed away in 2004, made the song a major hit in 1960 with his unforgettable rendition. In fact, it resonated with the people of Georgia so much that it became the official state song on April 24th, 1979.

Contrary to popular belief, Carmichael had written the song to not be about the state of Georgia, but for his sister who was named Georgia.

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Nelson later took on the beloved song and recorded it for his album, Stardust, in 1978. The 87-year-old's beloved version of the song was released as a single and hit #1 on the Billboard country charts. It’s no surprise that he won a Grammy for Best Male Country Vocal Performance for his rendition of the song.

In 1985, Nelson teamed with Charles during a Nashville Network concert simply titled The Willie Nelson Special. The pair’s performance of "Georgia on My Mind" was a highlight of the program, as the two longtime friends sat together at the piano to trade vocals on the song, as seen above.

But Nelson and Charles also played behind the scenes, too, enjoying a rivalry at chess that Nelson joked about during the special. “He won,” Nelson said, adding, “But the next time we’re gonna turn the lights on.” The comment earned a hearty laugh from Charles in the video.

Nelson and Charles performed another duet together on the very same day, this time of "Seven Spanish Angels." The song was an immediate hit after it was released as a single from Charles' album Friendship, which was released a year before the concert.

The song was originally pitched to just Nelson, but the pair ultimately split the verses evenly. It reached No. 1 on the Billboard Country charts and his since been covered by dozens of artists. 

What do you think of this performance? Let us know in the comments and be sure to pass this along to your music loving friends and family.