Ray Charles inspired Soundwave print.Framed and ready-to-hang. 11" x 17" black wood frame. Limited quantity is hand-numbered by the artist. One of only 50 ever printed. American made.The call-and-response style of this song was inspired by church music Charles grew up with. When the preacher said something, the congregation shouted it back. "What'd I Say" was improvised one evening in 1958 when Charles, his orchestra, and backup singers had played their entire set list at a show and still had time left. He told his backing singers (The Raeletts) to simply repeat whatever he said. Ray remembered, "I had sung everything I could think of. So I said to the guys, 'Look, I'm going to start this thing off, I don't know where I'm going, so y'all just follow me.' And I said to the girls, 'Whatever I say, just repeat after me.'"The gospel and rhumba influences combined with the sexual innuendo in the song made it not only widely popular but very controversial to both white and black audiences. It earned Ray Charles his first gold record and has been one of the most influential songs in R&B and rock and roll history. When asked about the song's meaning, Ray Charles responded, "I'm not one to interpret my own songs, but if you can't figure out 'What I Say', then something's wrong. Either that, or you're not accustomed to the sweet sounds of love."It ranks at number 10 on Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list. The sound quality is clear enough to hear Charles slapping his leg in time with the song when the music stops during the calls and responses. The song was recorded in only a few takes because Charles and the orchestra had perfected it while touring.
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