Day After Day #238: September

Day After Day is an ambitious attempt to write about a song every day in 2024 (starting on Jan. 4).

September (1978)

Hey, it's September 1 so I couldn't resist writing about Earth, Wind & Fire's signature song. I've always had a soft spot for the song because it mentions my birthday, but the fact remains it's a funky, joyous jam that never gets old. And it made EWF a ton of money to boot.

The group was formed in 1969 in Chicago by Maurice White and has had nearly 40 members in the decades since. Throughout the '70s, they cranked out funk-pop hits like "Serpentine Fire," "Mighty Mighty," "Shining Star," "Boogie Wonderland" and "After the Love Has Gone," but their biggest hit was a throwaway song added to a greatest hits comp in 1978.

Singer Maurice White and songwriter Allee Willis wrote the song using a chord progression developed by EWF guitarist Al McKay, coming up with a tribute to my birthday in the process.

"Do you remember/The 21st night of September?/Love was changing the minds of pretenders/While chasin' the clouds away/Our hearts were ringing/In the key that our souls were singing/As we danced in the night, remember/How the stars stole the night away, year/Hey, hey, hey/Ba-dee-ya, say do you remember?/Ba-dee-ya, dancing in September/Ba-dee-ya, never was a cloudy day."

During the recording process, Willis had concerns about White using "ba-dee-ya," which was a nonsense phrase he'd use when he didn't have lyrics, in the song's chorus. She said she had begged him not to use it, but White stuck to his guns.

Willis told NPR in 2014: "And finally when it was so obvious that he was not going to [rewrite the lyrics], I just said, 'What the fuck does ba-dee-ya mean?' And he essentially said, 'Who the fuck cares?' I learned my greatest lesson every in songwriting from him, which was never let the lyric get in the way of the groove."

And groove it did. Featuring EWF's Phenix Horns (who would later also show up on hits by Phil Collins and Genesis), "September" was a dance floor classic from day 1.

"My thoughts are with you/Holding hands with your heart to see you/Only blue talk and love, remember/How we knew love was here to stay/Now December/Found the love that we shared in September/Only blue talk and love, remember/The true love we share today."

As for why they referenced September 21, Willis said it was just based on the way it sounded.

"We went through all the dates: 'Do you remember the first, the second, the third, the fourth..." and the one that just felt the best was the 21st," she said. "I constantly have people coming up to me and they get so excited to know what the significance was. And there is no significance beyond it just sang better than any other days. So...sorry!"

Clearly, the choice was a good one because the song went to #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Soul Charts. It's been featured in numerous movies and TV shows and has become a staple at wedding receptions and celebrations everywhere. Willis, who was a fledgling songwriter at the time she co-wrote "September," ended up also writing "Neutron Dance" for the Pointer Sisters and the Friends theme "I'll Be There for You," among others. She died in 2019. 

EWF continued having hits in the '80s with "Let's Groove" but then White put the group on hiatus in 1984. He released a solo album and worked as a producer, while singer Philip Bailey also made solo albums and had a huge with Phil Collins, "Easy Lover." The band reconvened in 1987 and continued making albums and touring right through 2016, when Maurice White died. EWF has continued on performing, with Bailey and bassist Verdine White still in the fold. They've sold over 90 million albums worldwide and have made the most of "September."