The Georgians were a jazz and dance band formed in 1921 and led by trumpeter Frank Guarente.[1] It was one of the earliest "bands within a band",[2] being a subset of the Paul Specht Orchestra.[3] Specht's full group played in the ballroom of the Hotel Alamac in New York City beginning in 1920; a subgroup performed in the hotel's cocktail lounge[3] or nightclub[4] under the leadership of Guarente.
The Georgians recorded on Columbia Records. Specht credited Columbia A & R executive Frank Walker with the group's name.[1] The Georgians' first recording was Columbia A3775, containing "I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate" and their rendition of the popular tune "Chicago" on the flip side, recorded in November 1922[5] and released in March 1923.[1] Another record was Columbia 23-D: "Hometown Blues" and "You May Be Fast, But Your Mama's Gonna Slow You Down". Their chief arranger was pianist Arthur Schutt.[2] The group toured Europe from 1922 to 1924, before rejoining the Phil Specht Orchestra.[3]
After the group disbanded, Guarente formed the New Georgians and toured Europe from 1924 to 1927.[4]
A few studio recording groups used the name between 1924 and 1929. According to one source, they were the Georgians without Guarente and with different directors,[1] while Scott Yanow states they were unrelated.[4] Two titles were released in 1925 featuring Red Nichols.[4]