*(1970) RCA ''What'd I Say'' (Rehearsal) Elvis Presley

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Description

''What'd I Say'' (Rehearsal) (CPA5-5187) (2:00 PM - 5:00 AM)
Recorded Wednesday July 29, 1970 at MGM Sound Stage 1, Culver City, California

Name (Or. No of Instruments)
Elvis Presley - Vocals & Guitar
James Burton - Guitar
John Wilkinson - Guitar
Charlie Hodge - Guitar
Jerry Scheff - Bass
Ronnie Tutt - Drums
Glen D. Hardin - Piano

Artist & Repertoire/Producer: Felton Jarvis
Recording Engineer: Al Pachucki

"What'd I Say" (or "What I Say") is an American rhythm and blues song by Ray Charles, released in 1959. As a single divided into two parts, it was one of the first soul songs. The composition was improvised one evening late in 1958 when Charles, his orchestra, and backup singers had played their entire set list at a show and still had time left; the response from many audiences was so enthusiastic that Charles announced to his producer that he was going to record it.

After his run of rhythm and blues hits, this song finally broke Charles into mainstream pop music and itself sparked a new subgenre of R&B titled soul, finally putting together all the elements that Charles had been creating since he recorded "I Got A Woman" in 1954. 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 rhythm and blues and rock and roll history. For the rest of his career, Charles closed every concert with the song. It was added to the National Recording Registry in 2002 and appeared in the 2003 and 2021 versions of Rolling Stone's "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list: at number 10 in 2003 and at number 80 in 2021.

"What'd I Say" has been covered by many artists in many different styles. Jerry Lee Lewis found particular success with his rendition in 1961, which peaked at number 30 and spent eight weeks on the charts. The following year, Bobby Darin's version reached number 21 in Canada. Elvis Presley used the song in a large dance scene in his 1964 film ''Viva Las Vegas'' and released it on the B-side of the title song. Cliff Richard, Eric Clapton with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, Rare Earth, Eddie Cochran, Nancy Sinatra, and Sammy Davis, Jr., all put their own style on the song. Charles noticed, later writing "I saw that many of the stations which had banned the tune started playing it when it was covered by white artists. That seemed strange to me, as though white sex was cleaner than black sex. But once they began playing the white version, they lifted the ban and also played the original''.

Source and more information see: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

*- Digitally Remastered

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