I looked up “September” by Earth, Wind & Fire on Spotify, prior to writing this, strictly out of curiosity. I wanted to see how many times it had been streamed. The answer, over seven hundred and eighty two million times. So yeah, people love this song! For me it breeds nostalgia. Beach days when I was young, with it playing on the radio, while my Mom passed out the sandwiches she made for us while we sat on the blanket and listened. I feel like it does that for a lot of people. It brings them to a happy place in the past that they remember fondly.
Every Black Person on the planet knows the first line of this song! It’s like it’s some sort of required learning material you must know to be fully immersed and accepted in the culture. “Do you remember, the 21st night of September?” Am I the only one who ever wondered why they chose that date? Was it his Boo’s birthday, the day they got their record deal, or just a random day on the calendar. One of the great mysteries of life…
What’s crazy about this song, is that the hook, probably the most memorable part outside of the first line, is literally only 12 real words. Yup. 12 words and a bunch of “Ba Dee ya”s strung together magically to create one if the most memorable and easily recognized songs of all time. Goes to show you that when the voices singing are seasoned, you can make almost anything work.
“September” gets the party started. When you have voices like Philip Bailey and Maurice White, it’s a win-win. Auntie’s, Uncles, Moms, Dads, Grandmas and Grandpas all grooved to this song, which means they taught it to the next generation, who now groove to it and will pass it on to the next. “September” is just one of many Earth, Wind and Fire songs that cemented their spot in musical history, but it is by far their most well known, down to the last “Ba Dee ya” and because of that you’re gonna sing it from top to bottom every time you hear it.
“September” was released in 1978 and featured on the album, The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1. The song was produced by lead singer Maurice White, and co-written by band members White and Al McKay, along with songwriter Allee Willis.
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