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.

July 4, 1895: "America the Beautiful" Is Published

Katharine Lee Bates

July 4, 1895: The Congregationalist, a church magazine, publishes a poem titled "America," written by poet Katharine Lee Bates.

Born in 1859 in the Cape Cod community of Falmouth, Massachusetts, Bates was the daughter of a Congregationalist minister. She graduated from Wellesley College outside Boston, and taught English there. She contributed her writings to several magazines, but her poem became the only thing that would be remembered after her death in 1929. She had written it after being atop Pike's Peak in Colorado, hence, "purple mountains' majesties."

In 1882, Samuel A. Ward, the organist at Grace Episcopal Church in Newark, New Jersey, wrote a melody. He died in 1903, having never met Bates. In 1910, someone -- it's not clear who -- combined Ward's melody with Bates' poem, and the title to "America the Beautiful," even though that combination of words never appears in the poem.

Along with "God Bless America," "America the Beautiful" is more popular than "The Star-Spangled Banner," America's actual National Anthem. The best-known version is by Ray Charles, recorded in 1972 for his album A Message from the People, produced by his old friend Quincy Jones. His version was included in the 1993 film The Sandlot, and is played right after Midnight on New Year's Even in New York's Times Square, following the playing of Robert Burns' "Auld Lang Syne" and Frank Sinatra's version of "Theme from New York, New York."

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July 4, 1895 was a Thursday. Baseball's National League was the only professional sports league in North America at the time. The 4th of July was already considered a day for doubleheaders, and these games, some of them twinbills, were played:

* The New York Giants beat the Baltimore Orioles, 6-4 at the 1890-1911 version of the Polo Grounds.

* The Brooklyn Bridegrooms beat the Boston Beaneaters, 7-1 at Eastern Park in Brooklyn.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Washington Senators, 4-3 at the Philadelphia Base Ball Grounds, later renamed Baker Bowl.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates swept a doubleheader from the Cleveland Spiders, 6-2 and 10-5 at Exposition Park in Pittsburgh. At the time, Pittsburgh vs. Cleveland was not considered a big rivalry. It would take the NFL, and the 1950s, to make that happen.

* The Chicago Colts swept a doubleheader from the Cincinnati Reds, 8-7 and 9-5 at West Side Park in Chicago.

* A doubleheader was split at an early version of Sportsman's Park in St. Louis, later to be renamed Robison Field. The St. Louis Browns won the opener, 12-6. The Louisville Colonels won the nightcap, 3-1.

The Orioles, the Senators, the Spiders and the Colonels would be phased out after the 1899 season. The Browns became the St. Louis Cardinals in 1900. The Colts became the Chicago Cubs in 1903. The Bridegrooms became the Brooklyn Superbas in 1899 and the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1911. The Beaneaters became the Boston Braves in 1912.

June 20, 1980: “The Blues Brothers” Premieres

Dan Aykroyd (left) as Elwood, and John Belushi as Jake

June 20, 1980: The Blues Brothers premieres, one of the few Saturday Night Live flicks that was turned into a good movie.

SNL castmembers Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi had previously appeared as the Killer Bees, singing blues songs. Belushi, from Wheaton, Illinois, outside Chicago, and Aykroyd, from Ottawa, both loved the blues, but Belushi told show creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels, "I hate the fucking Bees!" So the sketch was reworked into The Blues Brothers, who debuted on April 22, 1978.

Belushi was Joliet Jake, so named because he'd done time at Illinois' Joliet Correctional Center outside Chicago. (One of the most famous prisons in America, it closed in 2002 and is now open to tours.) Aykroyd was his brother Elwood. While Jake sang lead, Elwood could also play a mean harmonica.

While "Blues" was technically their surname, they sang mainly rhythm & blues (R&B) and soul music. They were backed by Booker T. & the M.G.'s: Guitarist Steve "The Colonel" Cropper, bass guitarist Donald "Duck" Dunn," keyboard player Booker T. Jones, and Willie "Too Big" Hall, who became the group's drummer after the original, Al Jackson Jr., was murdered in 1975.

They were also backed by The Memphis Horns, who had worked with the M.G.'s on several hits by performers' on Stax Records in Memphis: "Blue" Lou Marini and Tom "Triple Scale" Scott on saxophone, Alan "Mr. Fabulous" Rubin on trumpet, and Tom "Bones" Malone on trombone.

Those Stax hits included the original 1967 version of "Soul Man," by Sam & Dave. The Blues Brothers made it a hit all over again, wearing black suits, sunglasses and fedoras. Both Jake and Elwood, despite their respective sizes, were fantastic dancers. Having Cropper allowed Jake to yell out what Sam Moore yelled out midway through the original version: "Play it, Steve!"

The act would be extended to a 1980 film, which is still regarded as the best film ever to be made from an SNL sketch. Jake gets out of prison, and is picked up by Elwood, who tells him that the orphanage where they grew up will be closed by the church that runs it unless $5,000 in property taxes are paid to the Cook County Assessor's office, at the Richard J. Daley Center, downtown.

So, Cliché Alert: They get the band back together. Along the way, they meet characters played by music legends Cab Calloway, who sings "Minnie the Moocher"; Ray Charles, who sings "Shake a Tail Feather"; James Brown, who plays a minister and sings "The Old Landmark"; Chaka Khan, who plays Brown's choir leader and sings backup on the song; and Aretha Franklin, who sings "Think."

They manage to put on a show 106 miles from the Daley Center, and get $10,000. On the way back, they are pursued by the Illinois State Police, seeking Elwood for driving with a suspended license, 116 parking tickets, and 56 moving violations; neo-Nazis, whom Jake had dispersed with his wild driving of the Bluesmobile; the Good Ole Boys, a country band whose gig they inadvertently stole; and Jake's ex-fiancée, played by Carrie Fisher, who apparently went nuts and swore revenge after he broke it off.

They manage to get the money delivered with seconds to spare, and are arrested on the spot. The movie ends with the Brothers back in prison, but with the band, Cab, Ray, James, Chaka and Aretha accompanying them as they play "Jailhouse Rock."

Director John Landis got 12 1974 Dodge Monacos to serve as the Bluesmobile. By the time filming was done, exactly none of them were still driveable.

The Dixie Square Mall, south of Chicago in Harvey, Illinois, had already closed by the time the movie came out, so there was no worry about damage. It sat abandoned until finally being demolished in 2012. I wonder if the guy operating the wrecking ball was told to "Hit it!"

For the record: I also hate Illinois Nazis. I also hate Nazis from the other 49 States. And so should you.

Belushi's death in 1982 seemed to kill the act, but Aykroyd later revived it with John's brother Jim Belushi, who became an SNL castmember, and actor John Goodman, a frequent SNL host. Together, the 3 of them played as The Blues Brothers in the halftime show of Super Bowl XXXI in New Orleans in 1997.

In 1998, Blues Brothers 2000, a very weak sequel, was released. Aykroyd again played Elwood, and Goodman again played Mighty Mack McTeer (not related to the brothers), but Jim Belushi was tied to a TV contract, and could not appear again as Zee Blues, leaving it unclear as to why Elwood never previously mentioned this brother.

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June 20, 1980 was a Friday. These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Oakland Athletics, 15-7 at Yankee Stadium. Luis Tiant, a Yankee in 1979 and 1980, outpitched Steve McCatty. Reggie Jackson, Jim Spencer and Johnny Oates hit home runs for the Yankees. Rookie Rickey Henderson went 1-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base for the A's.

* The New York Mets lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-3 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The Mets led, 3-2 with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th, but Pat Zachry allowed singles to Jay Johnstone and Steve Garvey. Jeff Reardon was brought in, and gave up a double to Dusty Baker to lose the game.

* The California Angels beat the Boston Red Sox, 20-2 at Fenway Park in Boston. Despite being the shortest player in baseball at the time, Angel shortstop Freddie Patek went 4-for-6 with 3 home runs and 7 RBIs. Carl Yastrzemski did not play for the Red Sox.

* The Seattle Mariners beat the Baltimore Orioles, 3-1 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Eddie Murray went 0-for-4.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Atlanta Braves, 4-2 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds, 7-5 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Johnny Bench went 0-for-4.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago White Sox, 5-3 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. John Wockenfuss doubled Lance Parrish home with the winning run in the top of the 11th inning.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Minnesota Twins, 4-3 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. A leadoff walk to Gary Alexander and a double by Toby Harrah drove in the winning run in the top of the 15th inning.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Kansas City Royals, 10-5 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. The Brewers won without either Robin Yount or Paul Molitor playing. Nor did George Brett play for the Royals.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 5-2 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The Houston Astros beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-4 at the Astrodome in Houston. Willie Stargell did not play.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Montreal Expos, 4-2 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. Dave Winfield went 3-for-4 with an RBI.

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-1 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Mike Schmidt went 0-for-4. Pete Rose went 2-for-4.

March 17, 1962: Ray Charles Goes Country

March 17, 1962: Ray Charles releases his album Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music. Because of the segregationist nature of the South, black performers had never made it in country music. But because of country's influence on rock and roll, Ray wanted to show his fans how important it was to him. It was one of the first great "crossover" music projects.

Following his groundbreaking tenure with Atlantic Records, ABC-Paramount Records signed Ray to the best deal any pop music performer had ever gotten. They had so much faith in him, they let him record pretty much whatever he wanted. When he recorded his version of Hoagy Carmichael's "Georgia On My Mind" in 1960, he insisted on a racially integrated orchestra. He got it, and the song hit Number 1. It was the biggest hit the label ever had. So they had no problem trusting him with "going country."

The album opened with "Bye Bye Love," by the husband & wife team of Boudleaux & Felice Bryant. It was the 1st hit for The Everly Brothers, in 1957. It was followed by Eddy Arnold's "You Don't Know Me," Curley Williams' "Half as Much," Floyd Tillman's "I Love You So Much It Hurts," Arnold's "Just a Little Lovin' (Will Go a Long Way) and Ted Daffan's "Born to Lose."

Side Two had the Daffan-Davis collaboration "Worried Mind," the Tillman-Davis collaboration "It Makes No Difference Now," Hank Williams' "You Win Again," the Gospel tune "Careless Love," Don Gibson's "I Can't Stop Loving You," and Williams' "Hey, Good Lookin'."

Any one of those 12 songs' titles, had the listener not already known the songs, could have fit a blues song, a rhythm & blues song, or a rock and roll song. On this album, each one became a Ray Charles song. "I Can't Stop Loving You" was Number 1 for 6 weeks in 1962, making it the biggest hit song of the year. "You Don't Know Me" hit Number 2. Anyone who considered the album a gamble had to admit that Ray had come up seven.

Like Ray, Frank Sinatra had already worked with music producer and arranger Quincy Jones. Around this time, Frank was quoted as saying, "Ray Charles is the only true genius in our business." Ray responded, "I think genius is a higher category, and I don't think Ray Charles is anywhere near it."

If he didn't consider himself a genius, I wonder who he did consider to be one, because his success with this album -- and with a Volume Two released in October -- sure made him look and sound like a genius.

That Volume Two would include "Oh Lonesome Me," the flip side to Gibson's original record of "I Can't Stop Loving You"; and, with each becoming a Top 30 hit for Ray, also Jimmie Davis' "You Are My Sunshine," and Williams' songs "Take These Chains from My Heart" and "Your Cheating Heart."

In 1966, former Negro League and minor-league baseball player Charley Pride became the 1st black performer to start in country music and make it big there. There are now 3 black men -- as of 2022, no women -- who are members of the Grand Ole Opry: Pride, DeFord Bailey, and Darius Rucker, who left the rock band Hootie & The Blowfish to sing country.

UPDATE: In 2024, Beyoncé released an album titled Cowboy Carter, reminding everyone of country music's African-American roots. A year later, it received the Grammy Award for Album of the Year -- not Country, but overall. Both times, the white country establishment was okay with it, but the corporate-owned media, with an interest in appeasing Donald Trump, was furious. She didn't care, and announced a Cowboy Carter Tour. (As the wife of rapper Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Corey Carter, Beyoncé has sometimes billed herself as "Mrs. Carter.")

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March 17, 1962 was a Saturday. Kalpana Chawla was born. She was the 1st native of India to fly in space, but was killed in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003.

This was also the day that pharmaceutical company Richardson-Merrell at last withdrew their FDA application to market the drug thalidomide. I have a separate entry for that event.

Baseball was in Spring Training. Football was out of season. There was 1 game played in the NBA: The Cincinnati Royals beat the Detroit Pistons, 129-107 at the Cincinnati Gardens. Oscar Robertson scored 33 points.

There were 2 games played in the NHL. The Montreal Canadiens beat the New York Rangers, 2-0 at the Montreal Forum. And the Chicago Black Hawks beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-1 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. The Boston Bruins and the Detroit Red Wings were not scheduled.

And in English soccer, Arsenal and Cardiff City played to a 1-1 draw at the Arsenal Stadium, a.k.a. Highbury, in North London.