"What'd 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. After his run of R&B hits, this song finally broke Charles into mainstream pop music and itself sparked a new sub-genre 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 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 R&B 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 ranked at number 10 in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What%27d_I_Say

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1772:

Under the command of explorer James Cook, HMS Resolution set sail from Plymouth, England, along with HMS Adventure. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Resolution_%281771%29

1787:

The Northwest Ordinance was passed by the Congress of the Confederation, creating the Northwest Territory as the first organized territory of the United States. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northwest_Territory

1793:

Charlotte Corday assassinated Jean-Paul Marat, a leader in both the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror, in his bathtub. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_Corday

1830:

The Scottish Church College, the oldest continuously running Christian liberal arts and sciences college in India, was founded as the General Assembly's Institution. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_Church_College%2C_Calcutta

1863:

Three days of rioting began in New York City by opponents of new laws passed by the United States Congress to draft men to fight in the ongoing American Civil War. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Draft_Riots

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

divest (v): 1. (archaic) To remove all of one's clothing; to strip. 2. To strip, deprive, or dispossess oneself of something (such as a right, passion, privilege, or prejudice) http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/divest

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

O how I feel, just as I pluck the flower

And stick it to my breast — words can't reveal; But there are souls that in this lovely hour

Know all I mean, and feel whate'er I feel. --John Clare http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Clare