"South" is a jazz composition by Thamon Hayes and Bennie Moten.William Emmett Studwell and Mark Baldin: The Big Band Reader: Songs Favored by Swing Era Orchestras and Other Popular Ensembles. Haworth Press, 2000. . p.222 It was introduced by Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra in 1924 and recorded again in 1928, when it became a national hit. It was Moten's most popular composition.Vladimir Bogdanov, Chris Woodstra and Stephen Thomas Erlewine: All Music Guide to Jazz: The Definitive Guide to Jazz Music. Backbeat Books, 2002. . p. 917
Originally an instrumental piece, Ray Charles (a pseudonym for Charles Carpenter) later wrote lyrics for the tune.
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