Several years behind one album title
Released in 1959, What’d I Say gathers recordings reaching back to 1952. Alongside its new title performance are earlier selections including “Roll with My Baby” and “Jumpin’ in the Mornin’”. The album is therefore a view across several stages of Ray Charles’ Atlantic work, rather than a document of one concentrated studio session.
Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler are the producers associated with the material. Songs previously issued as singles gain a shared setting on the LP. Their different recording dates provide another way into the programme: listen for connections between the earlier performances and the 1959 title track, while allowing each recording its own place in that history.
Music to fill the remaining time
Charles recalled creating “What’d I Say” onstage in December 1958 when the prepared programme had run out before the engagement was over. He started a figure and had the band follow. Developed further through touring, the piece reached Atlantic’s New York studio in February 1959, with Tom Dowd handling the recording.
The opening figure comes from a Wurlitzer electric piano. Charles carried the instrument partly to avoid depending on the varying condition of pianos at different venues. A practical touring decision became part of the identity of one of his best-known recordings. Remembering that background gives the keyboard a role in the story beyond simply supplying an unusual instrumental colour.
Listen to the answers
The Raelettes are essential to “What’d I Say”. Lead voice, accompanying singers and instruments participate in a sequence of calls and responses. Follow the replies while Charles prepares the next entrance. The structure becomes easier to understand through that collaboration, rather than solely through its famous opening figure.
Elsewhere, the album includes “Rockhouse”, “My Bonnie”, “You Be My Baby” and “Tell All the World About You”. The span of recording dates makes those neighbours worth exploring. The title song may be the first attraction, but the other performances show several of the forms through which Charles and his musicians were working during his Atlantic years.
The mono Atlantic 75 edition
Analogue Productions AAPA 048-45 presents the album in mono on two 180-gram LPs playing at 45 RPM. It comes in a Stoughton tip-on gatefold. The publisher does not identify a mastering engineer or tape source for this particular edition. Its mono presentation is an important part of identifying the release among other versions of the album.
Michael 45 holds the goods in Germany and ships from Hilden, so buyers in Germany and the EU can avoid arranging a personal US import or waiting for customs clearance.
More from the series: Atlantic 75 Series
Also on SACD: What’d I Say
More by Ray Charles: Genius + Soul = Jazz · “Ray Charles”
Customer questions: Atlantic 75: which titles are worth buying? · Buying Analogue Productions records in Europe
Series: Atlantic 75 Series – all 75 albums, time journey and the people behind Atlantic
Musicians
Documented selection of participating musicians. Personnel may vary by track; this list does not claim to be complete.
| Name | Instrument / role |
|---|---|
| Ray Charles | Vocals, Piano, Organ |
| The Raelettes | Backing vocals |
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