By Brian Boone
Ba-dee-ya, we hope that you remember / bad-dee-ya, these facts about Earth, Wind & Fire’s enduring autumnal smash, “September.”
THE VERY FIRST PART OF “SEPTEMBER”
“September” began life as a riff and chord structure, devised and mapped out by Earth, Wind & Fire guitarist Al McKay. He brought that skeleton of the song to co-bandleader (and singer and percussionist) Maurice White, who demanded McKay play the bits over and over. Finally, he blurted out what would become the first line of the song: “Do you remember…”
THE BIRTH OF THE BA-DEE-YA
To help him write the lyrics, White called up Allee Willis, a failed solo artist and for-hire songwriter his brother and bandmate Verdine White had befriended. She took what Maurice White had written, added huge swaths, and punched up what was already there. Willis struggled to come up with better lyrics for the first line of the chorus, wanting to replace the nonsense of “ba-dee-ya!” White couldn’t think of anything more cohesive, nor did he want to; he eventually convinced Willis to let the “ba-dee-ya” stand, reportedly telling her, “never let the lyrics get in the way of the groove.”
TRUTH IN ADVERTISING
“September” was not released in September — it wasn’t made available to record buyers or radio stations until November 1978 for some reason. However, the band did record, mix, and master the song in September 1978.
A SHINING STAR YOU CAN GROOVE AND BOOGIE TO
Probably because so many people come back to it every year, right around the 21st night of September, “September” is by far Earth, Wind & Fire’s most listened-to song in the 2020s. It’s racked up more than 1.6 billion listens on Spotify, about three times more than the band’s second-most popular song, “Let’s Groove.” As far as the charts go, “September” did pretty well when it came out, topping the Billboard R&B chart and peaking at #8 on the pop chart. Overall, it’s only the band’s sixth-biggest hit, trailing “Let’s Groove,” “Shining Star,” “After the Love Has Gone,” “Sing a Song,” and “Boogie Wonderland.”
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SUCCESSFULLY TROLL-ED
The song was revived in the 2000s and beyond because of its frequent use in media. It appeared on the soundtracks of The Ringer, Babel, Night at the Museum, and Trolls, and was the subject of annual, viral videos made by comedian and TV writer Demi Adejuyigbe.
GREATEST HIT
“September” wasn’t a cut on any Earth, Wind & Fire studio album. Instead, it was a new song included on The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire Vol. 1, a way to entice fans of the band to buy a greatest hits collection of songs they likely already owned. This was one of the first, trial attempts at the new-song-on-the-best-of-album, which would become record industry standard practice in the 1990s.
WHY SEPTEMBER 21st?
As for why the song commemorates September 21st (or rather “the 21st night of September) specifically, co-writer Maurice White claimed in interviews and in conversations throughout his life that the date had no significance, that it just sounded correct when he sang it. But it was actually a secret, sweet, coded message to his family. Co-lyricist Allee Willis revealed that when White and his wife, Marilyn, were awaiting the birth of their son, Kahbran, the initial due date was September 21.