Earth Wind and Fire September 21 Meaning: Happy September 21st, which survives in the song from November of 1978, when Earth, Wind & Fire released “September” as part of their first compilation album, The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1. The single was preceded by the release of “Got to Get You Into My Life” and followed by the group’s two other great tracks, “Boogie Wonderland”, but “September” transcended the idea of a hit and was actually a became and make a great song.
What will you do to remember the 21st night of September?
What do you remember on the night of 21st September? Probably not, because it is still the morning of 21st September. But the celebrating isn’t over yet because it’s officially Earth, Wind & Fire Day in honor of their iconic “September” song.
Since its release in 1978, “September” has become a universally beloved track, selling millions of copies globally and causing countless people to stop what they’re doing and start booing whenever the horn sounds.
“September?” Who Wrote?
The classic funk song begins with a chord progression written by Earth, Wind & Fire guitarist Al McKay. The lyrics were then composed by the band’s vocalist, Maurice White, with songwriter Eli Willis, who also worked with the group on “Boogie Wonderland”.
White sings, “Do you remember/ The 21st night of September?/ Love was changing the minds of pretenders/ While chasing the clouds away.”
Workshops were conducted on the track over the course of a month. According to a conversation with NPR, Willis originally did not like the hook, saying he thought “ba-di-ya” sounded “vague”.
Why Did Earth, Wind & Fire Select September 21st for their Song “September”?
When it came to the process of choosing the specific date to be sung in “September”, there are a few different versions of the story. One believes that White simply liked the rhythm of the date and how it fits into the song. Meanwhile, Willis also mentions a possible connection to White’s son Cahabran’s original due date. She cites White’s wife Marilyn as the originator of this theory.
Willis remembers being recognized in a restaurant while dining with Marilyn White and a fan asking the significance of that date. In 2018, she told The Wall Street Journal about the conversation: “I told him the same thing I’ve been saying for 40 years: ‘It doesn’t matter. That date sang the best song.
Marilyn stopped me. She said, ‘Are you kidding? The 21st was the day that our son, Kahbran, was supposed to be born.’”
Willis continues, “Maurice never told me that. For decades, I had been disappointing people whose birthdays or weddings were on the 21st of September. Now they know.”
What is the legacy of the song?
“September” soon proved to be one of the biggest hits of the band’s career: the song went gold and multi-platinum worldwide, and many cities across the country celebrated September 21 as “Earth, Wind & Fire Day” declared.
“It has no significance other than that it just sang better than the other dates,” Willis told NPR in 2014.
Whatever the meaning behind it, this 45-year-old song remains relevant largely because it’s a certified banger. But this has also helped to some extent in remaining in the cultural consciousness.
External Link: Earth Wind and Fire September 21st Meaning