Song Of The Day #283

Ranch Radio will get your heart started and your feet tappin' this Monday morning with that good old dance tune South.

I've danced many a mile to this tune, always as an instrumental and usually with a fiddle taking the lead. I later discovered there were words to the song, and just recently discovered the lyrics were written by the great Ray Charles. He wrote them in 1947, two years before his first recordings, and were reportedly some of the first lyrics written by him.

The original jazz instrumental was written by Bennie Moten and Thamon Hayes, and was recorded by Moten's band in 1924.

When I started this feature back in March of last of last year I wrote:

I like old-time country, bluegrass, string band, western, western swing and dixieland jazz. I also like modern artists who honor the traditional sound.

So here is the dixieland jazz version of the tune, with Ray Charles' lyrics, as recorded by Bob Scobey. It is available on Scobey's 12 track CD The Scobey Story (Vol.1)

Better clear a path, cuz I'm getting ready to jump up out of this wheelchair, grab a little unit and trod the boards!