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)

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)