Tag: #EarthWindAndFire

The Top 500 Songs in Modern Music History…Song #94: September by Earth, Wind and Fire (KEXP)

This list of songs is inspired by lists published by radio station KEXP-FM from Seattle in 2010, as well as the latest poll taken in 2021 by Rolling Stone Magazine. For the most part I will faithfully countdown from their lists, starting at Song #500 and going until I reach Song #1. When you see the song title listed as something like: Song #XXX (KEXP)….it means that I am working off of the official KEXP list. Song XXX (RS) means the song is coming from the Rolling Stone list. If I post the song title as being: Song #xxx (KTOM), it means I have gone rogue and am inserting a song choice from my own personal list of tunes I really like. In any case, you are going to get to hear a great song and learn the story behind it. Finally, just so everyone is aware, I am not a music critic nor a musician. I am a music fan and an armchair storyteller. Here is the story behind today’s song. Enjoy.

KEXP: The Top 500 Songs in Modern Music History.

Song #94: September by Earth, Wind and Fire.

As a writer, one of the risks that you face when you centre your story around an event or a particular date in time, is that the date/event ends up becoming the focus of your piece of writing and will detract from whatever message your story may have contained otherwise. Sometimes, fixating on a specific moment in time may cause your work to feel “dated” at some future time. However, there are some songs in which the inclusion of a specific date adds to the allure of the song; especially, when that date is left unexplained. Such is the case of “September” by Earth, Wind and Fire. By now, in this Age of Information that we live in, whether you are a fan of the band or not, you get inundated with references to this song as we approach “the 21st night of September”. But, what, exactly, is the deal with September 21st, that caused a whole song to be built around it? The truth is that September 21 was not just some random date nor was it a date chosen because of how the words/syllables sounded when they were sung (although there is some truth to that last part). The real reason for choosing September 21st had something to do with lead singer, Maurice White; a secret that he took to the grave with him when he died a few years ago. It was only upon his death that he allowed the real reason to become known. If you want to find out what it was, read on, my friends, for all shall be revealed.

The song, “September” was written specifically as a new, original song to be added to an album called, “Earth, Wind and Fire: Greatest Hits, Volume #1”. The song was written by White, along with a songwriter named Allee Willis. At the time Willis met up with White, it was the early 1970s and, like many bands of the day, the members of Earth, Wind and Fire were dabbling in the “Mysteries of the East”. Before working with Willis (which White had never done before), he gave her a book called, “The Greatest Salesman in the World”, as well as, leads on where to find other books on Eastern philosophy and then, he sent her away, telling her to read up and then come back when she had absorbed this new knowledge. So, she left White and began her homework. By the time she was finished, Willis claims that a sense of Joyfulness was filling her heart and mind. When she returned to where the band was rehearsing, White played a bit of the instrumental structure that would become, “September” and, from there, they wrote the lyrics to the song.

At one point on the song, the nonsense word, “Ba-dee-ya” repeats itself, over and over again. As Willis and White were writing, Willis claimed to have asked White to change “Ba-dee-ya” because it sounded silly. He replied that the syllables matched the notes of the song in such a way that it made perfect sense to him. But, more than that, Willis learned that in an Earth, Wind and Fire song, White never let the lyrics get in the way of the groove of the song and so, “Ba-dee-ya” stayed and has become a joyous mantra to be sung/chanted as the song, September” is played.

Now, as for the significance of the date…..for years and years, as “September” grew in popularity and became a staple of all live Earth, Wind and Fire shows, members of the band were constantly being asked what the significance was to the date of “September 21st”. For almost four decades, the answer given was always the same, “September 21st is just a date that sounds good when it is sung with the groove of the song”. And, while there was some truth to that line, it was not the real reason. In an interview with Maurice White’s widow, Marilyn, in 2016, she revealed that September 21st held tremendous personal significance for her and for Maurice. As she stated, she was pregnant and expecting their first child around the time that Maurice was thinking of writing this song. The due date she was given by her family doctor was, you guessed it, September 21st! Marilyn White said that Maurice was filled with Joy at the prospect of becoming a father for the first time and wrote “September” specifically to commemorate the birth of his child. She said that every single time he performed that song live, he did so as a way of signalling to his son (as the baby turned out to be) that his arrival had changed his life for the better and that he was loved unreservedly.

For most people, “September” strikes them as a happy song. The lyrics lead you to believe it is about falling in love or else, celebrating the love that you have with your partner. To a point, that is correct but, as you now know, the message of the song is not just about loving your partner, it is about “Family” and the completeness that having a family brings. So, let this date, “the 21st night of September” be forever remembered for Family and for Love!

So, without further delay, let’s all enjoy one of the most positive and upbeat songs of all-time. Here is “September” by Earth, Wind and Fire. Enjoy!

The link to the video for the song, “September” by Earth, Wind and Fire, can be found here.

The link to the official website for Earth, Wind and Fire, can be found here.

Thanks, as always, to KEXP for supporting all manner of artists and bands. The link to their wonderful website can be found here.

The Top 500 Songs in Modern Music History…Song #321: Boogie Wonderland by Earth, Wind and Fire and the Emotions (KTOM)

This list of songs is inspired by lists published by radio station KEXP-FM from Seattle in 2010, as well as the latest poll taken in 2021 by Rolling Stone Magazine. For the most part I will faithfully countdown from their lists, starting at Song #500 and going until I reach Song #1. When you see the song title listed as something like: Song #XXX (KEXP)….it means that I am working off of the official KEXP list. Song XXX (RS) means the song is coming from the Rolling Stone list. If I post the song title as being: Song #xxx (KTOM), it means I have gone rogue and am inserting a song choice from my own personal list of tunes I really like. In any case, you are going to get to hear a great song and learn the story behind it. Finally, just so everyone is aware, I am not a music critic nor a musician. I am a music fan and an armchair storyteller. Here is the story behind today’s song. Enjoy.

KTOM: The Top 500 Songs in Modern Music History.

Song #321: Boogie Wonderland by Earth, Wind and Fire and the Emotions.

“Earth, Wind and Fire” were one of the world’s top Soul and R&B groups of the 1970s and 80s. They had a continuous string of hits such as “September”, “Reasons”, “Shining Star”, “That’s the Way of the World”, “Sing a Song” and many more. Because of their funky sound, the orchestra section they performed with and the oft-choreographed dance moves they employed while singing, “Earth, Wind and Fire” fit right in with the emerging Disco/dance-oriented scene that was so prevalent in the US at the time. Going to Disco clubs was a big thing and “Earth, Wind and Fire” had a ring-side seat for the entire spectacle.

There are many reasons why people frequent dance clubs; some just want to dance and move to the music, some enjoy all of the “seeing and being seen” that goes on among the dance crowd and some go there hoping to make a human connection with someone (whether that turns out to be sexual in nature or more long-term and loving). But, dance clubs are not unlike any other place where social rules apply. There tends to be a social pecking order in clubs that revolves around how a person looks and/or how well they dance. Often times, those with the confidence that comes with smooth moves and head-turning looks, dictate how things go at the club. Think about how John Travolta’s character took over the dance floor at the Disco he frequented in “Saturday Night Fever”. As well, I am sure we all know women whose good looks meant that they never paid for a drink the whole time they were at their club, too. Whatever the case, in the social hierarchy of Disco Clubs, you were a mover and a shaker or else, you were someone who watched the movers and shakers from the sidelines and fought over whatever scraps they chose to leave behind on their way out of the door. To quote Bruce Springsteen, “There are winners and losers and you don’t want to get caught on the wrong side of that line.”

“Boogie Wonderland” is a song about life in Disco clubs during the height of the Disco boom but, it is most definitely not about dancing. It is a song about those who find themselves “…on the wrong side of that line.” As such, this song is, easily, one of the saddest and most misunderstood songs of all-time. Not everyone who goes to the Club owns the dance floor or is fussed over because of their looks. “Boogie Wonderland” chronicles those people, for whom, a trip to the Club (which seemed to be an irresistible pull for them) was often an exercise in disappointment. This song is about the men who ask the beautiful women for a dance, only to be rejected. It is for the women who are looked over and deemed to be physically-wanting and who are never asked to dance or have a drink purchased for them. It is a song about the desperation that sets in as closing time approaches and the bids for dubious unions take place. It is a song for those who leave with someone they know is wrong for them but, in their minds, it is better than leaving alone. It is a song for those on the social fringes who come back to the club, again and again and again, even though they realize the outcome will probably be the same as it always is.

The song opens with the following lines that let you know, right off of the bat, that this song is about more than the bright lights and fancy clothes of those who rules the Disco lifestyle.

“Midnight creeps so slowly into hearts of men who need more than they get.

Daylight deals a bad hand to a woman who has made too many bets.

The mirror stares you in the face and says,

“Baby Uh Uh, It don’t work.”

You say your prayers, though you don’t care.

You dance and shake the hurt.”

The song ends with the realization by these folks that they are slaves to the pull of the Club, no matter how damaging it may be to their self-worth.

“All the love in the world can’t be gone.

All the need to be loved can’t be wrong.

All the records are playing and my heart keep saying

Boogie Wonderland…..Wonderland!!!”

The song, “Boogie Wonderland” is sung by “Earth, Wind and Fire” in partnership with three sisters who call themselves, “The Emotions”. Their participation in this song helps fuel the notion that the desire to be wanted is a dynamic that works within genders and across genders, too. Male and female voices alternate and combine in ways that mimic the real, social interactions that occur in the Club. Casual listeners often mistake the careful analysis being offered by EWF/The Emotions as being a celebration of the Disco-lifestyle. It is anything but.

As I have lived my life, one of my greatest strengths was in knowing who I really was and being true to that person. One aspect of knowing who I was, was knowing who I wasn’t. I was never someone who frequented Dance clubs because I was never someone with strengths that applied in that world. I may be a lot of things in this world but, one of the things I never was, was a Player. For those who are, living the Club lifestyle may work out for you. But, for people like me, we have been given a warning in the form of a catchy song by a mighty group called “Earth Wind and Fire, with The Emotions”. It is a warning worth heeding because it will save you a lot of heartbreak and self-doubt in the end. “Boogie Wonderland” is one of those songs that I cannot tell you to “enjoy”, as I usually do at the end of these posts. Instead, listen and hear the words being sung and think long and hard about how and where you wish to spend the currency that is your self-worth.

Here are “Earth, Wind and Fire, with The Emotions”, with one of the saddest songs of them all, “Boogie Wonderland”.

PS: I am going to include a link to the animated movie, “Happy Feet”. In this clip, this movie that is aimed at children tosses a bone to those of us who are adults. The song, “Boogie Wonderland” is played during a scene that illustrates exactly what Earth, Wind and Fire, with The Emotions, were talking about in this song. I highly recommend this scene. It is most instructive.

The link to the video for the song, “Boogie Wonderland” by Earth, Wind and Fire, with The Emotions, can be found here.

The link to the video clip of “Boogie Wonderland” in the movie, “Happy Feet” can be found here.

The link to the official website for Earth, Wind and Fire, can be found here.

The official website for The Emotions is, unfortunately, not up and running so no link is available.

Thanks, as always, to KEXP, for helping to inspire the writing of this post. A link to their website can be found here.