Piano Lessons

irocku is pulling no punches this week as we bring you an American Treasure, Ray Charles and one of his signature songs, What'd I Say. Released as a single in July of 1959, "What'd I Say" is a fusion of soul, blues, gospel and rock and roll, representing the first crossover hit by Charles and the top selling record of all-time for Atlantic Records. Read more »

Produced by the legendary Jerry Wexler, the song begins with a hypnotic keyboard riff and solo that draws the listener into an intoxicating rhythm of instant swing. The momentum of the song is relentless, pulsating with every key stroke and brought to full life by the haunting soulful vocals of the greatest of them all, Ray Charles. What'd I Say is a musical celebration of joy and human emotion. It's crazy to think that What'd I Say was so controversial when it was released, many radio stations both white and black refused to play it, adding to its popularity by challenging cultural standards of the time period. The problem for many was that the hook of the song includes a break that has Charles moaning phrases that are repeated by the Raeletes (his female back-up singers); this call and response style was straight out of the church and many felt the song pushed the limits of morality. Regardless of the controversy, What'd I Say, catapulted Ray Charles to international stardom, Rolling Stone Magazine places Charles as the number 10 greatest artist of all-time as well as the number 2 singer of all-time. It is important to note, that when this song was released, rock and roll was dying; Elvis was drafted into the army, Chuck Berry was in prison, Buddy Holly was dead, Little Richard quit and became a preacher and Jerry Lee Lewis lost his immense popularity after marrying his 13 year-old cousin. What'd I Say, filled a huge void and kept the music alive in a period when popular music was altering its course. In the words of Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles was "the only real genius of music”

What'd I Say is another song that every rock keyboardist MUST have in their repertoire. It's got a left hand groove that can turn any song into a rocker and right hand riffs that can spice up any song.

Written by Ray Charles
Administered by Warner/Chappell
All Rights Reserved   Used by Permission

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