Uploaded July 2023 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
"Sweet Georgia Brown" is a jazz standard composed in 1925 by Ben Bernie and Maceo Pinkard, with lyrics by Kenneth Casey.
History
Reportedly, 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 House of Representatives, told Bernie about his daughter, Georgia Brown, and how subsequent to her 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 Bernie, resulting in five-weeks at number one for Ben Bernie and his Hotel Roosevelt Orchestra.
"Sweet Georgia Brown" is a jazz standard composed in 1925 by Ben Bernie and Maceo Pinkard, with lyrics by Kenneth Casey.
History
Reportedly, 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 House of Representatives, told Bernie about his daughter, Georgia Brown, and how subsequent to her 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 Bernie, resulting in five-weeks at number one for Ben Bernie and his Hotel Roosevelt Orchestra.
