WHAT'D I SAY!?!?!? It's time to chop it all out on these instruments.

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Identifying Musical Instrumentation
“What’d I Say” (1959) - Ray Charles
Mary M. Hoard, Full Sail University
This is an interesting recording because Ray Charles was trying to recapture a moment
from a Brownsville PA show he performed a WHOLE YEAR prior. It is a scary feat to execute,
but Ray Charles pulled it off. This record started out hot from the gate. The sound of the
Wurlitzer e piano effected with a boat load of reverberation lead this highly charged song.
Starting with that low, bouncy riff on electric piano, the drummer pulls in with this tattering

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cymbal-heavy, up tempo groovy, rumba drive, along with the double bass. I am a child of the
church house, and it does sound like Ray Charles wanted to improvise on a childhood flashback.
I am feeling a very emotionally driven pulse in the track. The guitar is so tangy and
piercing that it grasped my attention right away. Ray’s band was in full range with the piano
riffing and the drum and bass driving. Then the blaring horn section right at the hook, perfection.
The order of entry to each instrument is significant because you can tell it was a freestyle groove.
So, having the separate instruments highlighted was needed to stretch the timeframe. Doing this
maintained the spirit of “What’d I Say” origin.
As is right to any song, you must have an established pattern within the composition, and
I think that Ray Charles contributed the groove of “What’d I Say.” He gave the tone of the
tempo, pitch, and mood. Edgar Willis was on double bass. He and Milt Turner, who was on
drums set that groove in stone. After the intro they sealed what this song was going to be. Milt
gave such a variation of rhythm yet maintained a bright driving force that gave momentum to the
song. He gripped that “pocket” so tight and showed that you can have a high-altitude swing that
will not give place to dragging. The instruments were definitely appropriate for the era and
genre. The Wurlitzer electric piano was pretty new and gave a nice feel to the record. Drums and
bass are forever a staple in R&B, rock, Gospel. Ray Charles had a certain familiarity with them
as well.

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The Raelettes (Darlene McCrea, Margie Hendricks, Patricia Lyles, and Gwendolyn
Berry) contributed backing vocal tracks. They gave sex appeal to the call and response part in the
song. Their panting and moaning “Uhs” and “Ahs” gave an impression of lovemaking. The
Raelettes gave off sexual tension and a sensual wooing of sorts. The horns David Newman
(tenor/alto saxophone) and Bennie Crawford (baritone/alto saxophone) provided the brass
section, and they were dynamic. I am a lover of the horn section. They gave the flare and release
of the orgasmic peak of the song. This song is quite sexual however based either on the melodies
of gospel standards "My Jesus Is All the World to Me" or an up-tempo "I Got a Savior (Way
Across Jordan)". It is almost sacrilegious the way sex is infused and oozing through the veins of
this song. It is quite suggestive and maybe that was Ray Charles’ head space at the end of his
performance in Brownsville PA.
This song continues to resonate because of the raw emotions of its origin. I am a stickler
for honesty and this record had all the makings of pure honesty. Even in certain interviews” Ray
recalled years later, “’Look, I don’t know where I’m going, so y’all follow me.’ Then I turned to
the Raelettes and said, ‘Whatever I say, just repeat after me.” Even the story of its inception is
intriguing! Sometimes, the power of that curiosity is enough for someone to dive into that rabbit

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hole and get inspiration. The label needed a dance track and found it in an improvisational tune
to fill time.
The elements of this song are rich in excitement, pushing your adrenaline to a dance
craze all while surging in arousal. It’s a moral dilemma, of sorts. The call-and-response began to
crescendo of its own accord until it sounds like a man and woman losing themselves in
lovemaking. All while there is this church drive riding heavy in the background. It is fascinating.
And people love illusions. And in that illusion, the sensuality sells. This song exploits your
emotions, even the lyrics are generic, but they hit a nerve. There’s truth in the feel of the record.
It’s a miraculously contagious rock-soul-pop tune that speaks with direct, forceful, and humorous
energy across all barriers of age, taste, and style.
REFERENCES

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Kahn, B. (2019, July 1). Flashback: Ray Charles Strikes accidental gold with 'what'd I say'.
Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 8, 2023, from
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/ray-charles-whatd-i-say-origin-842880/
The Raelettes lineup, Biography. Last.fm. (n.d.). Retrieved January 8, 2023, from
https://www.last.fm/music/The+Raelettes/+wiki
Rider, C. C. (2020, September 23). 'what'd I say' by Ray Charles: The accidental evolution of a
song. American Blues Scene. Retrieved January 8, 2023, from
https://www.americanbluesscene.com/2020/09/c-c-rider-venerator-ray-charles/
What'd I say - ray Charles album review. It's All About Ray. (2017, February 10). Retrieved
January 8, 2023, from https://www.itsallaboutray.com/album-reviews/whatd-i-say-1959