Song by Song: "What'd I Say" Trivia Quiz

Answer: 1959

The song was released in June of 1959 by Atlantic Records. It was produced by Jerry Wexler and Ahmet Ertegun. "What'd I Say" (also known as "What I Say") is considered one of the earliest songs of the "soul" genre.

Answer: true

Ray Charles broke into the top ten on the U.S. R&B charts with "(Night Time) Is the Right Time," but that song only reached number 95 on the U.S. Billboard Top 100. "What'd I Say," however, catapulted Ray Charles into the mainstream of pop music. The song spent fifteen weeks on the U.S. Billboard Top 100, where it peaked at number six. It peaked at number one on the R&B charts.

Answer: false

Ray Charles won his first Grammy in 1960 at the 3rd Annual Grammy Awards for "Georgia On My Mind." For much of his career, Ray Charles routinely closed every concert with "What'd I Say," which had earned him his first gold record.

Answer: It was improvised at the end of a concert to fill leftover time

The song was initially improvised in December of 1958 at a live performance by Ray Charles and his orchestra when they had twelve minutes left over after completing their set, but the response was so positive, that Charles determined to record it. Ray Charles recounts this story in his 1978 autobiography, "Brother Ray: Ray Charles' Own Story," which he wrote with David Ritz. To fill the time, Charles decided to "fool around" and told his orchestra "just follow me." To his backing singers, the Raelettes, he said, "Whatever I say, just repeat after me."

Answer: Wurlitzer electric piano

Ray Charles began the song with left-handed riffs on a Wurlitzer electric piano but then switched to a regular piano for the choruses. Charles was rumored to have brought an electric piano on tour because he didn't trust the tuning of the pianos at the venues where he would play. The song also includes a Latin conga rhythm played on drums.

Answer: mama, daddy

"Hey mama, don't you treat me wrong
Come and love your daddy all night long
All right now, hey hey, all right."

This song was first released as a single from the album "What'd I Say" in two parts, with the second part on the B-side. American guitarist and composer Lenny Kaye of the Patti Smith Group has described the song as the "instant" the genre of "soul comes into being."

Answer: diamond

"Woah! Shake that thing now (baby shake that thing)," Ray Charles sings, and its not the ring he's singing about.

"King of Rock and Roll" Elvis Presley used "What'd I Say" as part of a major dance scene in "Viva Las Vegas." In 1964, he released it as a single, and his version peaked at number 21 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Answer: Arkansas

The song continues:

"When you see me in misery
Come on baby, see about me
Now yeah yeah, all right, all right, aw play it boy."

Blind musician Ray Charles was born in Albany, Georgia on September 23, 1930. He won 17 Grammy Awards, including one for Lifetime Achievement, and died in Beverly Hills, California at the age of 73. Ray Charles were his first and middle name at birth, and his last name was Robinson.

Answer: red

National Public Radio called "What'd I Say" one of the "100 most influential songs of the 20th century," and it was ranked number 43 on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs in Rock and Roll." Nancy Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr. performed the song live on television in 1967. According to Songfacts, "the call-and-response style" of the song "was inspired by church music Charles grew up with."

Answer: Jerry Lee Lewis

Jerry Lee Lewis, also known as "The Killer," is famous for such songs as "Great Balls of Fire" and "Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On." His 1961 cover of "What'd I Say" made it to number thirty. Bobby Darin also covered the song with a version that peaked at number 24 on the U.S. Billboard Top 100. Rare Earth, a funk rock band, recorded its own version of "What's I Say" in 1972.