S.O.D. "What'd I Say" by Ray Charles

12/2/2015     Finally, Mr. Charles huh?  This R&B/soul tune was a doozy and single-handedly, as many believe, added to music the genre of soul.  Aside from that, it's controversy, going from "In the church to in the bed," angered many black audiences and was banned from many radio stations and geographical areas.  

     During the song, Charles would do different kinds of shout outs and his back up singers, the  Raelettess would do the same followed by the horn section copying it.  This, along with the song sounding extraordinarily fresh and new, with even some pop showing through and one of the first times an electric piano was featured, made the song one of one of the most influential songs in history. Rolling Stone placed it at #10 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and in 2002 it made the National Recording Registry.  

     The song inspired many artists including Steve Winwood, Brian Wilson, Mick Jagger and The Beatles.  Paul McCartney was so inspired that he decided music would be his career. In 1959, George Harrison was at an all night party where he remembered the song being played for eight hours nonstop.  The Beatles would perform  the song and see how long they could keep it going.  

     Charles passed on to music heaven in 2004 after 54 active years in music.  He recorded his first live album at the Newport Jazz Festival which began in 1954 and is held every year in Newport, Rhode Island in the summer.  As you can imagine, this icon has received many awards which you should really read about, among other things, so look him up and enjoy.