The Scorpions - What'd I Say (Ray Charles Cover)

From '' Hello Josephine! ''
Released: 1965

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The Scorpions are a 1960s British beat group, originally from Manchester in England, that became popular notably in the Netherlands.
They should not be confused with the hard rock band Scorpions from Germany, or the London-based outfit The Scorpions.
Their most important hit was "Hello Josephine", a song written by Fats Domino.

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"What'd I Say" (or "What I Say") is a song by American rhythm and blues (R&B) musician Ray Charles, released in 1959 as a single divided into two parts.
It 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.
It was added to the National Recording Registry in 2002 and ranked at number 10 in Rolling Stone's "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

Legacy

The song's impact was not immediately seen in the U.S.; it was particularly popular in Europe.
Paul McCartney was immediately struck by the song and knew that when he heard it he wanted to be involved in making music.
George Harrison remembered an all-night party he attended in 1959 where the song was played for eight hours non-stop: "It was one of the best records I ever heard."
While The Beatles were developing their sound in Hamburg, they played "What'd I Say" at every show, trying to see how long they could make the song last and using the audience in the call and response, with which they found immense popularity.

When Mick Jagger sang for the first time with the band that would become The Rolling Stones, he performed a duet of "What'd I Say".
Eric Burdon from The Animals, Steve Winwood of The Spencer Davis Group, Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, and Van Morrison counted the song as a major influence on why they were interested in music and incorporated it into their shows.
Music historian Robert Stephens attributes the birth of soul music to "What'd I Say" when gospel and blues were successfully joined; the new genre of music was matured by later musicians such as James Brown and Aretha Franklin.
"In an instant, the music called Soul comes into being. Hallelujah!" wrote musician Lenny Kaye in a retrospective of Atlantic Records artists.

In the late 1950s, rock and roll was faltering as its major stars dropped from public view. Elvis Presley was drafted, Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran died in 1959 and 1960 respectively, Chuck Berry was in jail, and Jerry Lee Lewis had been disgraced by press reports that he married his 13-year-old cousin.

"What'd I Say" has been covered by many artists in many different styles.
Elvis Presley used the song in a large dance scene in his 1964 film Viva Las Vegas and released it as a single with the title song on the B-side.
Cliff Richard, Eric Clapton with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, The Big Three, Eddie Cochran, Bobby Darin, Nancy Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Johnny Cash all put their own style on the song.
Jerry Lee Lewis found particular success with his rendition in 1961, which peaked at number 30 and spent eight weeks on the charts.

Charles closed every show he played for the rest of his career with the song, later stating, "'What'd I Say' is my last song onstage. When I do 'What'd I Say', you don't have to worry about it—that's the end of me; there ain't no encore, no nothin'. I'm finished!"
It was ranked tenth on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time", with the summary, "Charles' grunt-'n'-groan exchanges with the Raeletts were the closest you could get to the sound of orgasm on Top Forty radio during the Eisenhower era".
In 2000, it ranked number 43 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs in Rock and Roll and number 96 on VH1's 100 Greatest Dance Songs, being the oldest song in the latter ranking.
The same year it was chosen by National Public Radio as one of the 100 most influential songs of the 20th century.
A central scene in the 2004 biopic Ray features the improvisation of the song performed by Jamie Foxx, who won an Academy Award for his portrayal of Charles.
For its historical, artistic, and cultural significance, the Library of Congress added it to the U.S. National Recording Registry in 2002.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame featured it as one of 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll in 2007.

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