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What'd I Say
Studio album by Ray Charles
Released	October 19, 1959
Recorded	September 11, 1952 – February 18, 1959, New York City
Genre	Rhythm and blues
Length	30:07
Label	Atlantic
Producer	Ahmet Ertegün, Jerry Wexler
Ray Charles chronology
Ray Charles at Newport (1958) What'd I Say (1959) The Genius of Ray Charles (1959)
Singles from What'd I Say
"That's Enough" Released: 1959 "What'd I Say" Released: July 1959

What'd I Say is an album by American musician Ray Charles, released by Atlantic Records in late 1959. His sixth album since the debut Ray Charles in 1957, What'd I Say compiled a range of Charles' material, including his first top 10 hit, the title track "What'd I Say". The album became his first gold record., and is included in Robert Christgau's "Basic Record Library" of 1950s and 1960s recordings, published in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981).

Though routinely classified as a standard album, at the time of its 1959 release, it was more of a compilation of previously uncollected Charles material. It included recent singles ("That's Enough", "Tell Me How Do You Feel", "What'd I Say", all from 1959; and "My Bonnie", "Rockhouse", "What Kind Of Man Are You", "You Be My Baby", "Tell All The World About You" all issued in 1958), and tracks that had initially been issued as singles as far back as 1952 ("Roll With My Baby") and 1953 ("Jumpin' In The Mornin'").

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic

Upon its release, a reviewer for Billboard referred to What'd I Say as "A fine, swinging album," and wrote that Charles "is at his best here."

Track listing

All music is composed by Ray Charles, except where indicated

Notes

• On later reissues and some digital platforms, "What'd I Say" is listed as being in two parts: "What'd I Say – Part I" and "What'd I Say – Part II", or "What'd I Say (Pts. 1 and 2)"; "Rockhouse" is similarly listed as "Rockhouse – Part I" and "Rockhouse – Part II", or "Rockhouse (Pts. 1 and 2)".

Personnel

Technical

• Marvin Israel – cover design
• Lee Friedlander – cover photography

References

1. Brackett, Nathan (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). New York: Fireside. pp. 155. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
2. Rolling Stone Staff (1989). The Rolling Stone Interviews: 1967-1980. MacMillan. p. 260. ISBN 0-312-03486-5.
3. Christgau, Robert (1981). "A Basic Record Library: The Fifties and Sixties". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 0899190251. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
4. What'd I Say on AllMusic
5. "Reviews of This Week's LP's". Billboard. Vol. 71, no. 41. October 12, 1959. p. 26. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
6. Burgess, Richard James (2014). The History of Music Production. Oxford University Press. p. 76. ISBN 978-0-19-938501-0.
7. jazzdisco.org link

External links

• What'd I Say at Discogs (list of releases)

• Ray Charles albums
• 1959 albums
• Albums produced by Jerry Wexler
• Albums produced by Ahmet Ertegun
• Atlantic Records albums