Soul Music

The song “What’d I Say” was a signature song for Ray Charles. Ah, Ray Charles. Charles was a superb musician and a huge influence in the U.S. and abroad.  It’s like opening a bottle of musical fine wine — flavors of classical training plus elements of gospel, blues, rhythm & blues, rock & roll, soul, and a little bit of country. In 1959, the song was #1 on the R&B Chart and #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was Charles’ first RIAA gold record and is on Rolling Stone’s list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Charles closed his shows with the song. He said that “‘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!”

Ray Charles  was born on September 23, 1930, in Albany, Georgia. His pioneering in music as a musician, singer, songwriter, composer and arranger helped to develop the genre of soul music. It earned him the title of The High Priest of Soul. He contributed to the country, jazz, pop, gospel, and rock and roll genres as well. Rolling Stone magazine has Ray Charles on the list of “The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.” Charles died at the age of 73 on June 10, 2004.

Here are the lyrics to “What’d I Say” by Ray Charles:

“Hey mama, don’t you treat me wrong
Come and love your daddy all night long
All right now, hey hey, all right
See the girl with the diamond ring
She knows how to shake that thing
All right now now now, hey hey, hey hey
Tell your mama, tell your pa
I’m gonna send you back to Arkansas
Oh yes, ma’m, you don’t do right, don’t do right
Aw, play it boy
When you see me in misery
Come on baby, see about me
Now yeah, all right, all right, aw play it, boy
When you see me in misery
Come on baby, see about me
Now yeah, hey hey, all right
See the girl with the red dress on
She can do the Birdland all night long

Yeah yeah, what’d I say, all right
Well, tell me what’d I say, yeah
Tell me what’d I say right now
Tell me what’d I say
Tell me what’d I say right now
Tell me what’d I say
Tell me what’d I say yeah

And I wanna know
Baby I wanna know right now
And-a I wanna know
And I wanna know right now yeah
And-a I wanna know
Said I wanna know yeah

[Spoken:] Hey, don’t quit now! (c’mon honey)
Naw, I got, I uh-uh-uh, I’m changing (stop! stop! we’ll do it again)
Wait a minute, wait a minute, oh hold it! Hold it! Hold it!
Hey (hey) ho (ho) hey (hey) ho (ho) hey (hey) ho (ho) hey
Oh one more time (just one more time)
Say it one more time right now (just one more time)
Say it one more time now (just one more time)
Say it one more time yeah (just one more time)
Say it one more time (just one more time)
Say it one more time yeah (just one more time)

Hey (hey) ho (ho) hey (hey) ho (ho) hey (hey) ho (ho) hey
Ah! Make me feel so good (make me feel so good)
Make me feel so good now yeah (make me feel so good)
Woah! Baby (make me feel so good)
Make me feel so good yeah (make me feel so good)
Make me feel so good (make me feel so good)
Make me feel so good yeah (make me feel so good)
Huh (huh) ho (ho) huh (huh) ho (ho) huh (huh) ho (ho) huh
Awh it’s all right (baby it’s all right)
Said that it’s all right right now (baby it’s all right)
Said that it’s all right (baby it’s all right)
Said that it’s all right yeah (baby it’s all right)
Said that it’s all right (baby it’s all right)
Said that it’s all right (baby it’s all right)

Woah! Shake that thing now (baby shake that thing)
Baby shake that thing now now (baby shake that thing)
Baby shake that thing (baby shake that thing)
Baby shake that thing right now (baby shake that thing)
Baby shake that thing (baby shake that thing)
Baby shake that thing (baby shake that thing)
Woah! I feel all right now yeah (make me feel all right)
Said I feel all right now (make me feel all right)
Woooah! (make me feel all right)
Tell you I feel all right (make me feel all right)
Said I feel all right (make me feel all right)
Baby I feel all right (make me feel all right)”

For another song by Ray Charles: “Hit the Road Jack.”

For More Golden Oldies Music       

The Daily Doo Wop Rec Room has daily featured doo wop, rock and roll, R&B, or rockabilly songs that were hits during the first era of rock and roll (that is, from about 1952 until the British invasion in 1964). After a song is featured, it then goes into the juke box. You are welcome to listen to any of the 40+ selections there. Every weekend, there is a Juke Box Saturday, and the juke box is full of song requests from the 1950s and 1960s.

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