"What'd I Say" (or "What I Say") is an American rhythm and blues song by Ray Charles. It was released in June 1959. The song was divided into two parts and was one of the first soul songs. Charles created the song on the spot during a performance in late 1958. After finishing their set, Charles and his group had extra time. The audience loved the song so much that Charles told his producer he wanted to record it.
After many successful R&B songs, "What'd I Say" helped Ray Charles become popular in mainstream pop music. The song started a new type of R&B called soul, combining elements Charles had used since 1954 in "I Got a Woman." The mix of gospel music, rhumba, and suggestive lyrics made the song very popular but also controversial among both white and Black listeners. It earned Ray Charles his first gold record and is considered one of the most important songs in R&B and rock and roll history. Charles ended every concert with this song for the rest of his life. In 2002, the song was added to the National Recording Registry. It was listed in Rolling Stone's "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2003 (number 10) and 2021 (number 80).
Background
Ray Charles was 28 years old in 1958 and had 10 years of experience making rhythm and blues music. His style was similar to artists like Nat King Cole and Charles Brown. In 1952, he signed with Atlantic Records. Producers Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler helped him expand the types of songs he recorded. Wexler later said that Atlantic Records succeeded because of the excitement for music, not the artists' experience: "We didn't know much about making records, but we were having fun." Ertegun and Wexler found that letting Charles work independently was the best way to support him. Wexler later explained, "I realized the best thing I could do with Ray was leave him alone."
During the 1950s and 1960s, Charles was most successful. He toured for 300 days each year with a seven-piece orchestra. He hired a singing group called the Cookies and later renamed them the Raelettes to perform with him on tour. In 1954, Charles began combining gospel music with songs about everyday life topics. His first attempt was the song "I Got a Woman," which used melodies from gospel songs like "It Must Be Jesus" or "I Got a Savior (Way Across Jordan)." This record gained attention from white audiences but made some black audiences uncomfortable because it used gospel music styles. Charles later said that blending gospel and rhythm and blues was not a deliberate choice.
In December 1958, Charles had a hit song on the R&B charts called "Night Time Is the Right Time." The song, which focused on sensual themes, was sung by Charles and a Raelette named Margie Hendricks, with whom he was in a relationship. Since 1956, Charles had also used a Wurlitzer electric piano during his tours because he did not trust the quality of the pianos provided at venues. Other musicians often mocked him when he played the Wurlitzer.
Composition and recording
According to Ray Charles' book about his life, "What'd I Say" was created by accident when he made it up on the spot to fill time at the end of a concert in December 1958. He said he usually did not test songs on audiences before recording them, but "What'd I Say" was an exception. Charles did not remember where the concert took place, but a writer named Mike Evans in the book Ray Charles: The Birth of Soul placed the event in Brownsville, Pennsylvania. These concerts, called "meal dances," lasted about four hours with a short break and ended around 1 or 2 a.m. Charles and his band had finished their planned songs after midnight but had 12 minutes left. He told the Raelettes, "I’m going to improvise, and you just follow me."
Charles began on the electric piano, playing short musical phrases, then switched to a regular piano for four choruses. The drum section added a unique Latin rhythm. The song changed when Charles started singing simple, made-up lines ("Hey Mama don’t you treat me wrong / Come and love your daddy all night long / All right now / Hey hey / All right"). He used gospel-style elements within a twelve-bar blues structure. Some early lines ("See the gal with the red dress on / She can do the Birdland all night long") were influenced by a boogie-woogie style linked to musician Clarence "Pinetop" Smith, who often told dancers what to do through his lyrics. Later, Charles told the Raelettes to repeat his lines, turning the song into a back-and-forth between him, the Raelettes, and the orchestra, with shouts, moans, and loud horn sounds.
The audience responded immediately. Charles felt the room shaking as people danced. Many asked where they could buy the record after the show. Charles and his band performed the song again for several nights, with the same strong reaction each time. He called Jerry Wexler to say he had a new song to record, later writing, "I don’t usually give advance notice, but I thought this song was special."
Atlantic Records had just bought an 8-track recorder, and engineer Tom Dowd was learning how to use it. On February 18, 1959, Charles and his band recorded "What’d I Say" at Atlantic’s small studio. Dowd said the song did not seem special at the time. It was the second of two songs recorded that day, and the first one, "Tell the Truth," impressed everyone more. Charles, the producers, and the band recorded it quickly, with only a few takes. In later years, Ahmet Ertegun’s brother Nesuhi said the song’s clear sound came from the small studio size and the advanced recording equipment. The sound was so clear that listeners could hear Charles tapping his leg in time with the music during the call-and-response parts. The song was recorded in only a few takes because Charles and his band had already perfected it during their performances.
Dowd faced two challenges during the recording. "What’d I Say" was over seven and a half minutes long, while most radio songs were about two and a half minutes. Also, the sounds Charles and the Raelettes made during the call-and-response parts worried Dowd and the producers. A previous song by Clyde McPhatter, "Money Honey," had been banned in Georgia, and its release had risked legal trouble. Charles knew the song might be controversial: "I don’t usually explain my songs, but if you can’t understand 'What’d I Say,' then something’s wrong. Either that, or you’re not used to the sweet sounds of love."
Dowd solved the problems by mixing three versions of the song. Some parts, like "Shake that thing!," were removed. The song was split into two three-and-a-half-minute sides of a single record, titled "What’d I Say Part I" and "What’d I Say Part II." The recording includes a false ending where the orchestra stops, and the Raelettes and orchestra members beg Charles to continue, leading to a final, energetic ending. Dowd later said not releasing the record was never an option: "We knew it was going to be a hit, no question." The song was held until summer and released in June 1959.
Personnel
The following musicians participated in the recording session for the song "What'd I Say":
- Ray Charles – played piano, Wurlitzer electronic piano, and provided lead vocals
- David Newman – played tenor saxophone and alto saxophone
- Bennie Crawford – played alto saxophone and baritone saxophone
- Edgar Willis – played double bass
- Milt Turner – played drums
- The Raelettes – performed backing vocals
Reception
Billboard magazine first gave the song "What'd I Say" a lukewarm review, saying, "He shouts out in percussive style… Side two is the same." However, the secretary at Atlantic Records began receiving calls from distributors. Radio stations avoided playing the song because it was seen as too sexually suggestive, but Atlantic Records refused to remove the records from stores. In response to complaints, a slightly edited version of the song was released in July 1959. It initially reached number 82 on the charts, then climbed to number 43, followed by number 26. Weeks later, Billboard magazine changed its opinion, stating the song was "the strongest pop record that the artist has done to date." Soon after, "What'd I Say" reached number one on Billboard's R&B singles chart and number six on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was Ray Charles' first gold record and became Atlantic Records' best-selling song at the time.
Many radio stations, both black and white, banned the song due to the "dialogue between himself and his backing singers that started in church and ended up in the bedroom," as one critic described. While the song's erotic nature was clear to listeners, some black audiences were troubled by the blending of black gospel music with R&B. At the time, music, like much of American society, was segregated, and some critics argued that gospel music was being used by secular musicians and marketed to white audiences. During several concerts in the 1960s, crowds became so enthusiastic that performances of "What'd I Say" resembled revival meetings. Police were called when organizers worried riots might occur. The song's popularity sparked moral controversy, and Ray Charles later said in an interview that while the beat was catchy, the suggestive lyrics were what attracted listeners: " 'See the girl with the diamond ring. She knows how to shake that thing.' It wasn't the diamond ring that got 'em."
"What'd I Say" was Ray Charles' first crossover hit into the growing genre of rock and roll. He used his newfound success to tell Ertegun and Wexler he was considering signing with ABC-Paramount Records (later renamed ABC Records) later in 1959. While negotiations with ABC-Paramount were ongoing, Atlantic Records released an album of his hits titled What'd I Say.
Legacy
In an instant, the music called Soul comes into being. Hallelujah!
Michael Lydon, another of Charles' biographers, summarized the impact of the song: " 'What'd I Say' was a very successful song that had a huge impact. Daringly different, wildly sexy, and fabulously danceable, the record captivated listeners. When 'What'd I Say' played on the radio, some people turned it off in disgust, but millions turned up the volume and sang 'Unnnh, unnnh, oooh, oooh' along with Ray and the Raelets. [It] became the highlight of many parties, the start of many romances, and a song that people used to mark the summer."
The song also had a big influence in the United Kingdom. Paul McCartney was immediately impressed by the song and knew when he heard it that he wanted to be involved in making music. George Harrison remembered an all-night party in 1959 where the song played for eight hours straight: "It was one of the best records I ever heard." While the Beatles were developing their sound in Hamburg, they performed "What'd I Say" at every show, trying to see how long they could make the song last and using the audience in the call and response, which helped them gain popularity. The opening electric piano in the song was the first John Lennon had ever heard, and he tried to copy it with his guitar. Lennon later said that Charles' opening of "What'd I Say" inspired songs that focused on guitar riffs.
When Mick Jagger first sang with the band that would become the Rolling Stones, he performed a duet of "What'd I Say." Eric Burdon from the Animals, Steve Winwood of the Spencer Davis Group, Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, and Van Morrison said the song influenced them to become interested in music and included it in their shows. Music historian Robert Stephens said that "What'd I Say" helped create the soul music genre by combining gospel and blues. Later musicians like James Brown and Aretha Franklin helped develop this new genre. "In an instant, the music called Soul comes into being. Hallelujah!" wrote musician Lenny Kaye in a review of Atlantic Records artists.
In the late 1950s, rock and roll was struggling as its major stars left the public eye. Elvis Presley was drafted into the military, and Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran died in 1959 and 1960, respectively. Music and culture critic Nelson George disagreed with historians who said the last two years of the 1950s had no talent, pointing to Charles and this song as exceptions. George wrote that the themes in Charles' work were similar to the young rebels who popularized rock and roll.
"What'd I Say" has been performed by many artists in different styles. Jerry Lee Lewis had success with his version in 1961, which reached number 30 and stayed on the charts for eight weeks. The next year, Bobby Darin's version reached number 21 in Canada. Elvis Presley used the song in a dance scene in his 1964 film Viva Las Vegas and released it as a B-side. Cliff Richard, Eric Clapton with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, Rare Earth, Eddie Cochran, Nancy Sinatra, and Sammy Davis Jr. all performed their own versions of the song. Charles noticed that radio stations which had banned the song started playing it again when white artists covered it. He later wrote, "That seemed strange to me, as though white sex was cleaner than black sex. But once they began playing the white version, they lifted the ban and also played the original."
Charles made fun of this double standard on the television show Saturday Night Live in 1977. He hosted an episode and brought his original 1950s band with him. In one skit, he told a producer he wanted to record the song, but the producer said a white band called the "Young Caucasians" would record it first. The white band performed a clean, unexciting version on the show. When Charles and his band played the original version, Garrett Morris told them, "Sorry. That'll never make it."
Charles ended every concert he performed with the song, later saying, " 'What'd I Say' is my last song onstage. When I do 'What'd I Say,' you don't have to worry about it—that's the end of me; there ain't no encore, no nothin'. I'm finished!"
The song was ranked tenth on Rolling Stone’s list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time," with the description, "Charles' grunt-'n'-groan exchanges with the Raeletts were the closest you could get to the sound of orgasm on Top Forty radio during the Eisenhower era." In 2000, it ranked number 43 on VH1’s 100 Greatest Songs in Rock and Roll and number 96 on VH1’s 100 Greatest Dance Songs, being the oldest song in the latter list. That same year, it was chosen by National Public Radio as one of the 100 most influential songs of the 20th century. The song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2000. Bruce Conner’s 1962 collage film Cosmic Ray used a live recording of "What'd I Say" as its soundtrack. A key scene in the 2004 film Ray shows the improvisation of the song performed by Jamie Foxx, who won an Academy Award for his portrayal of Charles. For its historical, artistic, and cultural importance, the Library of Congress added it to the U.S. National Recording Registry in 2002. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame included it as one of 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll in 2007.