Week 7 Blog Post

What'd I Say 

Ray Charles 

This song is a new song to me, I had never heard it before. I was surprised by the long intro and 'vibe' of the song. The introduction is an only instrumental introduction that lasts for nearly the first minute of the piece. After the first minute, the singer comes in and has a very unique voice. In my opinion, I do not think his voice matches the tone that the band puts on in the introduction. After a little while, some more singers come in to join the main male singer and this balances out the piece well. I think these other singers (mostly in the background) help balance out the band and his voice so that everything blends much better.

The second group singers are hard to understand as they are mostly in the background, but they do add to the noise. One thing I noticed about the piece is the increase in volume throughout the entire song, it just keeps being added and added. I think this is a cool part to the song because listeners can't get bored, it keeps surprising and adding new things to the song. I think this song was most likely written for older listeners, not really focusing on the new generation. Overall, I liked listening to the whole song and not just one specific part because it never stops surprising listeners. 

Comments

  1. Jace LaswellOctober 27, 2021 at 10:25 AM

    I love your opinion on this song, and I can completely see how, and why you think the way you do about ray Charles. He kinda has a raspier voice like Louis Armstrong, however I live his voice and the depth it adds to all of his music. Ray Charle's voice sounds like someones who has gone through a lot and has many wise, and interesting stories to tell through his music. I also noticed how the song seems like it keeps getting louder and louder, as they keep adding more and more people to the background. I also love the little bits of call and response between Ray and his backup singers. I think that you are definitely right that this song was probably for the older generation and probably not the younger generation.

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  2. Aspen CarterOctober 27, 2021 at 11:00 AM

    I love this song, my grandma showed it to me so long ago. So I do agree it was meant for older generations as opposed to the younger generations. I also really liked the way the backup singers added to this song by balancing out the music and Ray Charles' voice.

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