Talk:What'd I Say

Overhaul

I did an overhaul on much of this page. However, I'd like to add a link to the location of these quotes you used. If they can't be verified, then maybe someone can take a look at an auto-biography for a similar attribution. More specifically, quotes from Ray don't qualify as primary sources. WesleyPinkham 06:00, 23 January 2006 (UTC)

Acclaimedmusic.net

I'm questioning the validity of this source. According to its Q & A page, this is a site run by a guy who compiles his own lists, though he claims they are based on other sources. If the other sources which are widely recognized (Billboard, Rolling Stone, Vh1, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame) are in this article, why is his list also included? --Moni3 (talk) 17:35, 27 May 2009 (UTC)

Apostrophe Dee

I came here curious to find out whether "What'd" meant "did" or "would" in this context:

Is it: a) What would I say? or b) What did I say? or c) Something else?

I've heard both meanings in conversation, but the Lyrics here don't make it clear to me.

I have a hunch that the only way to know for sure would be to ask him, but I thought I'd ask. Even speculation would interest me. But if this is knowable, it'd be important information to add to the article. Chrisrus (talk) 03:41, 29 May 2009 (UTC)

Charles said he initially preferred the "What I Say" title, but when I see "What'd" it generally means "what did". Please keep in mind rock and roll is not known, particularly in this era, for having profound lyrics per bee bop-a-lula and a whomp bomp-a-loo bomp a whomp bam boom. Also, I get the idea that "What I say" sounds like something shouted in a raucous church service akin to "Can I get an amen?" --Moni3 (talk) 12:50, 29 May 2009 (UTC)

Hey Moni3! Fancy meeting you here! I see you’ve been doing a great job with that article I was working on.

Yes, of course, why didn’t I think of it before? I’d’ve thought it’d been more obvious to me. Given the context, he is clearly calling for a response from the background singers/audience, so it’d be strange for him to be using a conditional. “What’d I say?” here clearly means “What did I (just) say?” parsed as “Recall my words!” or "Repeat!" For example, “What’d I say?” also often has this meaning when used with an angry tone, as you’d say to your child if she’d just done something that you’d just told her not to do. In this case, apostrophe dee clearly means “did”, even though, I’d like to note, however, that, of the meanings “would”, “had”, and “did”, the latter is most probably the least common in modern General American English. Chrisrus (talk) 13:44, 29 May 2009 (UTC)

Charles said his song is called "What I Say." This is how he spoke. It may be grammatically correct as What'd I Say, but given his southern speech patterns, What is correct. Please cite African American Vernacular English and Southern American English.Ben414 (talk) 15:12, 20 July 2010 (UTC)

Additional sources

See Mix Online, The AP obit, and NPR stories for possible adds.LeadSongDog come howl 17:59, 22 July 2009 (UTC)

The Mix article is already used as a source. The AP obit does not mention the song. I will listen to the NPR stories. Thanks for posting this. --Moni3 (talk) 18:08, 22 July 2009 (UTC)

Presumed typos in quote

I presume the typographical errors in the block quote below (in the Legacy section of the article) were introduced by the wiki editor that entered the quote (and are not part of the published quote in Mr George's book). I could be wrong though - I do not have access to the original source. In any case, I have corrected the three spelling / typo errors I saw in the wiki article. But in case these errors are, in fact, part of the original text, I reproduce them here so that the original quote (with misspellings) can be re-inserted into the article if necessary.

By breaking down the division between pulpit and bandstand, recharging blues concerns with transcendental fervor, unashamedly linking the spiritual and the sexual, Charles made pleasure (physical satisfatction) and joy (divine enlightenment) seem the same thing. By doing do he brought the realities of the Saturday-night sinner and Sunday-morning worshipper—so often one and the same—into raucous harmony.

Pugetbill (talk) 14:26, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

References

Reversion in the lead

WesleyDodds (talk · contribs) has removed the acronym for R&B and the Rolling Stone mention of the song on the The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in the lead.

R&B, [1], [2], [3], [4]

• WP:LEAD states that what is notable about the song should be included. Rolling Stone, while the pioneer publication of rock and roll journalism, merely sponsored and published this ranking. WesleyDodds has stated that it is a critics list and therefore should not be included as would be an award. While I disagree in that a notable critics' list should certainly have a place in the lead, this is not a critics list: 172 musicians, writers, and producers voted on these rankings, very similar to how the Academy Awards are voted on by actors, directors, and other film professionals. What seems to be the difference is an overhyped show and a statuette. The song is ranked 10th out of 500 45 years after being released. That is a notable designation from a body of music professionals. There is no Wikipedia policy that forbids its inclusion from the lead. Therefore, I believe removing it is misguided and unsupported by reason or policy. If WesleyDodds is aware of a policy that states this sentence can not be used in the lead, he has not provided it. It is my impression that it is his sole opinion and he is imposing it on the article.
• The MOS states that the first instance of an acronym should be spelled out. Not everyone is familiar with the term R&B. Not everyone has a lifelong familiarity with English, and although WesleyDodds may consider it "pretty obvious" per an edit summary, that is not a good reason to leave it up to readers.

Lastly, reversions without discussion do not improve content. When I warned WesleyDodds of edit warring [5], he used a technicality of 3 reversions within 24 hours [6]. I find this 24-hour technicality to be faulty and distinctly unhelpful. By that logic, I can revert WesleyDodds every 48 hours and we can continue until one of us just gets bored. Unless someone else steps in and makes it worse, which happens frequently enough to exacerbate the problem. The object of editing is to improve content, not skirt the 3RR policy.

Options:

• Leave the information in
• Provide solid justification from Wikipedia policy--other than WesleyDodds' own opinions of what is appropriate for a lead and what is not--that the information should not be included
• Attract attention through an RfC for more opinions
• Settle this at WP:LEAD or some other policy-making forum
• Compromise

I welcome a discussion. If none takes place within 24 hours, per my reasoning above, I will revert once again and if it gets reverted, I'll report this to WP:EW. --Moni3 (talk) 15:36, 6 November 2009 (UTC)

I Got A Woman

I thought this is based on "It must be Jesus" by The Southern Tones? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.239.22.114 (talk) 15:58, 26 November 2009 (UTC)

Location of first performance

This article once said this was first performed impromptu in a Milwaukee nightclub to fill the remaining minutes of a show. It now shows Brownsville, Pennsylvania, as the original showplace. The remnants of that claim I found here: http://www.worldlingo.com/ma/enwiki/en/What%27d_I_Say_%28song%29. This is in dispute and needs to be fully confirmed, or have alternate possibilities listed. Ben414 (talk) 15:20, 20 July 2010 (UTC)

Well, hm. When I wrote the article I read no other reference to where the concert was located. In Charles' own biography he says he doesn't recall. But I also read in an interview I think printed in the New York Times somewhere between 1970 and 1975 that Charles says it might have taken place in another city. Now I can't find that interview again. It didn't have any more detail about the song's composition, so I didn't cite it for this article. But it was anyway a very interesting interview that may have been conducted by Ben Fong Torres. And I can't find it.

The worldlingo source isn't reliable. It's actually an old version of the Wikipedia article. --Moni3 (talk) 15:56, 20 July 2010 (UTC)

Lenght

Does anybody know each side's lenght? --BMonkey (talk) 23:49, 22 October 2010 (UTC)

• Atlantic ‎– 45-2031 shows:
  • A-side: What'd I Say (Part I) = 3:05
  • B-side: What'd I Say (Part II) = 1:59 --Dg.de (talk) 20:08, 14 February 2017 (UTC)

References

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Release date

The currently stated release date of July 1959 (uncited) can't be right, since the single was reviewed in the June 15 issue of Billboard, page 33. Could be May or June but I'll change it to June. I'm not going to change the article where it says a sanitized 2nd version was released in July. PatConolly (talk) 06:01, 31 January 2021 (UTC)

Dubious Paul McCartney reference.

"Paul McCartney was immediately struck by the song and knew when he heard it that he wanted to be involved in making music." Lydon's Ray Charles biography is cited for this statement, but really - what had Paul been doing with the Quarrymen for the previous 2 years if not music - juggling, stand-up comedy? Lewisohn's massive Beatles book doesn't mention this as a turning point in Pauls' life - just that the band liked the record very much. PatConolly (talk) 06:28, 31 January 2021 (UTC)

use by elvis

did not Elvis Presley use this song? that should be worthy of a mention!

pga1965 (talk) 14:41, 18 June 2023 (UTC)

Recent edits

Recently I made an edit that removed text cited to Discogs as it is unreliable. It ended up being reverted. In addition, another unreliable source (Rateyourmusic) was added, which I reverted. As it will likely be reverted again, I decided to post this message in the talk page. 2601:806:8200:ECF0:5E3:3020:D0F2:5A01 (talk) 01:12, 23 November 2023 (UTC)