September 15, 1930: Hoagy Carmichael Records "Georgia On My Mind"

September 15, 1930: Hoagy Carmichael records his composition "Georgia On My Mind" at RCA Victor's studio at 155 East 24th Street in New York City.

Hoagland Howard Carmichael was born on November 22, 1899 in Bloomington, Indiana. Sidney Zion, a columnist for the New York Daily News, listed him as one of "The Century Seven," 7 people born in 1899, the last year of the 19th Century, whose work guided American popular culture through much of the 20th Century. They were: Duke Ellington, born on April 29; Fred Astaire, May 10; James Cagney, July 17; Alfred Hitchcock, August 13; Hoagy Carmichael, November 22; Noël Coward, December 16; and Humphrey Bogart, December 25.

A pianist and composer, "Hoagy" attended Indiana University in his hometown, and, on visits to Chicago, became a professional pianist, meeting the great trumpeters Louis Armstrong and Leon "Bix" Beiderbecke. In 1925, he began recording with his own band, with "Washboard Blues." He became a star with his 1927 recording "Stardust," with lyrics by Mitchell Parish. The song's opening, "Sometimes, I wonder" became the title of his memoir.

His saxophone player, Frankie Trumbauer, was from St. Louis, but suggested to him that he write a song about the State of Georgia, contributing the opening: "Georgia, (pause), Georgia... " Carmichael's IU roommate was Stuart Gorrell, another Indiana native, and he wrote the lyrics.

Gorrell's name was absent from the copyright, but Carmichael sent him royalty checks anyway, so he could enjoy the benefits of the song's fame. Beiderbecke would not: He died from the effects of alcoholism on August 6, 1931.

In 1938, with Frank Loesser, Carmichael wrote "Heart and Soul." In 1942, with Johnny Mercer, he wrote "Skylark." In 1946, with Jack Brooks, he wrote "Ole Buttermilk Sky." In 1951, with Mercer, he wrote "In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening."

In his 1st James Bond novel, Casino Royale, Ian Fleming had 2 characters remark that Bond looked like Carmichael. Fleming would repeat the comparison in his 3rd Bond novel, Moonraker.

On September 23, 1930, 8 days after Carmichael recorded "Georgia On My Mind," Ray Charles was born in Albany, Georgia. In 1960, Charles recorded the song, and made it a Number 1 hit, something that wasn't possible for Carmichael, as Billboard magazine didn't start its popular music chart until 1940. In 1979, the State of Georgia made Charles' recording the official State Song.

Frankie Trumbauer died in 1956, Stuart Gorrell in 1963. Hoagy Carmichael developed a 2nd career as a character actor, appearing in films and on television, and lived until December 27, 1981, when a heart attack took his life in Rancho Mirage, California. He was 82.

The RCA studio at 155 East 24th Street would also be the site of the recordings of such classics as Benny Goodman's "King Porter Stomp," Artie Shaw's "Begin the Beguine," Bunny Berigan's "I Can't Get Started," Glenn Miller's "Moonlight Serenade," Tommy Dorsey's "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You," Coleman Hawkins' "Body and Soul" and Duke Ellington's "Harlem Air Shaft." And, moving on to rock and roll, both sides of the greatest double-sided hit in music history: "Don't Be Cruel" and "Hound Dog" by Elvis Presley.

In 1968, RCA opened a new main recording studio to 110 West 44th Street, just off Times Square. They sold the 24th Street building to the City University of New York. CUNY tore it down in 1998, and built a "vertical campus" for Baruch College on the site.

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September 15, 1930 was a Monday. These baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the Detroit Tigers, 5-3 at Navin Field in Detroit. (It was later renamed Briggs Stadium and Tiger Stadium.) Babe Ruth went 3-for-4 with a walk and an RBI. Lou Gehrig went 0-for-4.

* The New York Giants beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-1 at the Polo Grounds in New York. Bill Terry went 4-for-5 with 2 RBIs. Mel Ott went 1-for-2 with 2 walks. Paul Waner and Lloyd Waner each went 1-for-4, with Lloyd adding an RBI.

* The Brooklyn Robins (as the Dodgers were known under the managing of Wilbert Robinson from 1914 to 1931) beat the Cincinnati Reds, 13-5 at Ebbets Field. Babe Herman and Del Bissonette each went 4-for-5 with 2 RBIs. Glenn Wright and Al Lopez each had 3 RBIs.

* A doubleheader was split at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Phillies won the opener, 12-11. The Chicago Cubs won the nightcap, 6-4. With its 280-foot right-field pole, and a 60-foot wall, Baker Bowl was amenable to lefthanded hitters and slugfests, as these numbers show:

Over the 2 games, the Cubs' 5 Hall-of-Famers batted as follows: Rogers Hornsby went 2-for-6 with an RBI; Charles "Gabby" Hartnett went 2-for-4 with an RBI in the opener, but did not play in the nightcap; Lewis "Hack" Wilson went 3-for-8 with a walk and 2RBIs; Hazen "Kiki" Cuyler went 3-for-9 with an RBI; and former Giants legend George "High Pockets" Kelly went 5-for-8 with an RBI. In addition, Woody English went 3-for-10 with 3 RBIs, and Cliff Heathcote went 5-for-10 with 2 RBIs. The Phillies' only Hall-of-Famer, Chuck Kline, went 3-for-8 with 4 RBIs, while Don Hurst went 5-for-8.

* The Washington Senators beat the Chicago White Sox, 14-9 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

* A doubleheader was split at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. The St. Louis Browns won the opener, 3-1. The Boston Red Sox won the nightcap, 2-1, when Russ Scarritt singled home the winning run in the top of the 11th inning.

* To get a bigger gate, the game scheduled for this day between the Boston Braves and the Cincinnati Reds at Braves Field in Boston was moved to the day before, for a Sunday doubleheader. The Braves won the opener, 9-2. The Reds won the nightcap, 6-4.

* And the Cleveland Indians and the Philadelphia Athletics were not scheduled.