“Put some South in your mouth!”

“Put some South in your mouth!” (also “Put a little South in your mouth!” or “Put the South in your mouth!) is a phrase that has been popularized by restaurants selling Southern food. Food Network television cook Paula Deen sells an apron with the saying on it. Brother Jimmy’s BBQ in New York City has trademarked “Put Some South in yo’ Mouth” since 1989. The Blues City Cafe (Memphis, TN) and Mama Dip’s Country Kitchen (Chapel Hill, NC) have both used the phrase.
 
The phrase “The South in your mouth” is cited in print from at least 1944, but most of the print citations date from the early 1980s. The Old Hickory House restaurant in Atlanta (GA) possibly popularized “Put some SOUTH in your MOUTH!” in 1972.
 
     
Old Hickory House Restaurants (GA)
In 1953, Bill Black and his son, Jack, opened the first Old Hickory House Restaurant at 1527 Northside Drive in Atlanta.  They had no idea what he was starting!  FIFTY years and MILLIONS OF POUNDS of Bar B Q later, we know that was the beginning of a great Atlanta Tradition.  Jack, along with his brother, Don, his sister, Mary Frances, and his parents, Bill and Frances Black and other family members have been putting “Some South in the Mouth” of our customers for four generations.
     
The Paula Deen Store
Put Some South In Your Mouth - Apron
Down here in Savannah, good Southern cookin’ is what it’s all about. And apparently people from all over the country agree, because they travel here to eat at The Lady & Sons, or Uncle Bubba’s or they watch me on TV. If you like a little butter, if you like a little mayo, if you love a taste of the South, y’all want to get this apron. 
 
Brother Jimmy’s BBQ (New York City)
Put Some South in yo’ Mouth
   
27 February 1944, Los Angeles (CA) Times, pg. 6:
The South in your mouth
Here’s real Southern-style Buttermilk Corn Bread:...
GOLDEN STATE
(Buttermilk and various products—ed.)
 
30 January 1952, Washington (DC) Post, pg. B9:
Original recipes from old New Orleans. If you want the taste of the south in your mouth you’re invited to the Jazzland, Washington’s newest club at 3135 K st. nw.
 
30 August 1953, Washington (DC) Post, “Jeeter’s Got Jimself a Factory Job” by Relman Morin, pg. B3:
How is the newly arrived Northerner getting along in this changing South?  “You get the South in your mouth in a hurry,” most of them tell you.
 
Google Books
17 December 1964, Jet magazine, pg. 42:
One of Britain’s oldest eateries, the veddy, veddy staid Stone Chop House and how it is making a bid for American Dixie tourists. After a bot of soul-searching, Stone’s announced that it is ready to put the South in your mouth by serving some good ol’ hominy grits.
   
30 September 1983, Wall Street Journal, “Washington Wire,” pg. 1:
Alabama Sen. Heflin inserts in the Congressional Record the complete lyrics of “Put Some South in Your Mouth” by George “Goober” Lindsay.
 
Google News Archive
2 July 1984, St. Petersburg (FL) Times, pg. 7B, col. 3:
BUT PINTER claims to have stolen the secret, and the copycat sauce is now the star attraction at The Southern Kitchen in Tappan, N.Y. The restaurant’s motto is “Put a Little South in Your Mouth.”
 
26 June 1985, New York (NY) Times, “Sophistication Spices Southern Food” by Craig Claiborne, pg. C8:
An advertisement for Dip’s (Mama Dip’s in Chapel Hill, NC—ed.) promises to “Put a Taste of the South in Your Mouth.”
 
28 November 1986, Chicago (IL) Daily Herald, section 1A, pg. 11, col. 2 ad:
“Put some South in your Mouth”
(The Sports Page bar & Grill, Arlington Heights—ed.)
   
16 June 1990, Atlanta (GA) Journal and Constitution, pg. WL29:
Put Some (New) South in Your Mouth
By Eliiott Mackle
   
16 January 1994, Atlanta (GA) Journal and Constitution, pg. A3:
North, East, South in your mouth
By Al Levine
   
Google Books
Film Junkie’s Guide to North Carolina
By Connie Nelson and Floyd Harris
Published by John F. Blair, Publisher
2004
Pg. 203:
They’re fond of saying, “Put a taste of the South in your mouth,” at Mama Dip’s Country Kitchen in Chapel Hill. Crowds have been doing so for over 25 years.
 
Google Books
It Still Moves:
Lost Songs, Lost Highways, and the Search for the Next American Music
By Amanda Petrusich
New York, NY: Macmillan
2008    
Pg. 27:
Beale Street does house a handful of saltier pseudothrowbacks: the Blues City Cafe, with its blinking BEST MEAL ON BEALE! and PUT SOME SOUTH IN YOUR MOUTH! signs, opened in 1991, quickly becoming the top-earning business on Beale and boasting an impressive client roster, from Ike Turner to Al Green to R. Kelly to Jerry Seinfeld.

(Trademark)
Word Mark “PUT SOME SOUTH IN YOUR MOUTH”
Goods and Services (CANCELLED) IC 042. US 100. G & S: Restaurant Services. FIRST USE: 19720713. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19720713
Mark Drawing Code (1) TYPED DRAWING
Serial Number 73357172
Filing Date March 29, 1982
Current Filing Basis 1A
Original Filing Basis 1A
Published for Opposition February 15, 1983
Registration Number 1237818
Registration Date May 10, 1983
Owner (REGISTRANT) Black; T. Jack INDIVIDUAL UNITED STATES Old Hickory House, Suite 9 480 E. Paces Ferry Road Atlanta GEORGIA 30305
(LAST LISTED OWNER) OLD HICKORY HOUSE PROPERTIES, INC. CORPORATION ASSIGNEE OF GEORGIA 480 EAST PLACES FERRY ROAD ATLANTA GEORGIA 30305
Assignment Recorded ASSIGNMENT RECORDED
Attorney of Record Julius R. Lunsford, Jr.
Type of Mark SERVICE MARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Affidavit Text SECT 15. SECT 8 (6-YR).
Live/Dead Indicator DEAD
Cancellation Date February 14, 2004
 
(Trademark)
Word Mark PUT SOME SOUTH IN YO’ MOUTH
Goods and Services IC 025. US 022 039. G & S: Short-sleeved or long-sleeved t-shirts; T-shirts. FIRST USE: 19890401. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19890401
IC 030. US 046. G & S: Barbecue sauce; Ready-made sauces; Sauces; Sauces for barbecued meat. FIRST USE: 19950805. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19950805
IC 043. US 100 101. G & S: Restaurant services; Restaurants; Restaurants featuring home delivery; Take-out restaurant services. FIRST USE: 19890401. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19890401
Standard Characters Claimed
Mark Drawing Code (4) STANDARD CHARACTER MARK
Serial Number 78685028
Filing Date August 3, 2005
Current Filing Basis 1A
Original Filing Basis 1A
Published for Opposition May 2, 2006
Registration Number 3120310
Registration Date July 25, 2006
Owner (REGISTRANT) Brother Jimmy’s NYC Restaurant Holdings, LLC LTD LIAB CO DELAWARE 2nd Floor 544 West 27th Street New York NEW YORK 10001
Attorney of Record Joshua D. Saviano
Type of Mark TRADEMARK. SERVICE MARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator LIVE
 
(Trademark)
Word Mark PUT SOME SOUTH IN YO’ MOUTH
Goods and Services (ABANDONED) IC 042. US 100. G & S: RESTAURANT SERVICES. FIRST USE: 19890907. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19890907
Mark Drawing Code (1) TYPED DRAWING
Serial Number 73832178
Filing Date October 18, 1989
Current Filing Basis 1A
Original Filing Basis 1A
Owner (APPLICANT) LETTUCE ENTERTAIN YOU ENTERPRISES, INC. CORPORATION DELAWARE 5419 NORTH SHERIDAN ROAD CHICAGO ILLINOIS 60640
Attorney of Record LARRY L. SARET
Type of Mark SERVICE MARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator DEAD
Abandonment Date July 3, 1990
 
(Trademark)
Word Mark THE ORIGINAL GOURMET GRITS “A TOUCH OF THE SOUTH TO PUT IN YOUR MOUTH”
Goods and Services (ABANDONED) IC 030. US 046. G & S: mixture of corn grits and other grains
Mark Drawing Code (5) WORDS, LETTERS, AND/OR NUMBERS IN STYLIZED FORM
Serial Number 74325326
Filing Date October 26, 1992
Current Filing Basis 1B
Original Filing Basis 1B
Owner (APPLICANT) Teate, Thomas Luten INDIVIDUAL UNITED STATES 3969 Marianna Rd Jacksonville FLORIDA 32217
Type of Mark TRADEMARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator DEAD
Abandonment Date August 20, 1993