Hello,
everybody, and welcome to the first day of September!
And
you know something? I'm very optimistic about this month. The
August of hell is finally over!
I'll
tell you something. Maybe it's the fact that the humidity of August
is getting to me, or maybe it's because the kids out of school were
making me spend half my salary on extra strength Advil all summer
long, or maybe it's because I've had a rough month. Whatever the
reason, I'm welcoming the month of September in with open arms.
September
is the time of year in which schools let back in, when temperatures
cool down, when leaves start changing colour, and when you can
finally start putting on layers instead of having to take stuff off.
And, since we're kicking off the ninth month of the year, I thought
that I would make the Sunday Jukebox entry September themed.
Today's
song is all about the month of September, and you know something?
I'm just going to go ahead with it and post the video.
ARTIST:
Earth, Wind & Fire
SONG:
September
ALBUM:
The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1
DATE
RELEASED: November 18, 1978
PEAK
POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS:
#8
Doesn't
that song just make you want to strap on your roller skates and go
zooming around the roller disco, bathing you in simulated laser
beams, mirror balls, and ever-changing coloured beams of magenta,
cyan, and yellow strobe lights?
Well,
okay, I missed out on the roller-disco era of the late 1970s.
Whatever the case, it's a September song for all of you, courtesy of
the band Earth, Wind & Fire.
I'll
be the first one to admit that I've never really been a big fan of
disco music. I mean, sure, I have the odd single by the Bee Gees and
ABBA (yes, ABBA) programmed into my iPod, but I would hardly consider
myself to be the kind of guy who would suit up in a pristine white
leisure suit staying alive on a multi-coloured dance floor.
But
you know, there was something special about Earth, Wind & Fire.
There was just something about them that made your feet tap, and your
body move to the music as you ventured towards a “Boogie
Wonderland” to become the ultimate “Shining Star”, long “After
The Love Has Gone”.
Ahem...sorry.
I got a little bit carried away there.
Anyway,
would you like to learn more about the band before we talk about the
song that happens to be a celebration of September?
Okay,
so it's fairly impossible to name off every single member that has
been a part of the band Earth, Wind & Fire over the past
forty-four years. Since the band was founded in Chicago in 1969 by
Maurice White, there have been a total of FIFTY-FIVE band members
that have come and gone. As of 2013, there are currently fourteen
people affiliated with the band. They are...
Maurice
White
Verdine
White
Philip
Bailey
Ralph
Johnson
Reggie
Young
Gary
Bias
B.
David Whitworth
Myron
McKinley
John
Paris
Bobby
Burns Jr.
Greg
“G-Mo” Moore
Kim
Johnson
Morris
O'Connor
Philip
Bailey Jr.
Now,
the accomplishments and accolades that Earth, Wind & Fire have
accumulated over the years has been nothing short of astonishing.
(Alliteration.
Gotta love it.)
Just
have a listen to some of the statistics related to the band.
Would
you believe that the band has been nominated for a total of twenty
Grammy Awards? It's true. As a band, Earth, Wind & Fire won six
Grammy Awards, while Philip Bailey and Maurice White each have won
one award as solo artists.
The
band also collected four American Music Awards out of a dozen
nominations. They received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in
the early 1990s. And when they received an induction into the Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame in the year 2000, they were greeted with a
standing ovation. At the 2000 ceremony, original Earth, Wind &
Fire members Maurice White, Philip Bailey, Verdine White, Ralph
Johnson, Al McKay, Larry Dunn, Andrew Woofolk, Fred White, and Johnny
Graham attended the gala, and they wowed the crowd with a rousing
performance – the first time that the original line-up of the band
had played together since 1980. Now, there were talks after the
ceremony of the entire band reuniting to tour and possibly release
new material, but for whatever reason, the 2000 Hall of Fame
performance would be the last time they would play together. Of
course, Earth, Wind & Fire continued touring with a mix of old
and new members (including Philip Bailey's own son), and although
their last Top 10 hit single was 1981's “Let's Groove Tonight”,
the band is still touring and releasing music (their latest single
being 2013's “My Promise”, which was a Top 30 Adult Contemporary
hit).
But
we're not going to talk about the present. Let's talk about the
past. Like, the twenty-first night of September that the band kept
singing about despite the fact that the single was actually released
in mid-November.
This
single peaked at #8 on the Billboard Charts. However, the single
also hit the top of the R&B charts. And, in the United Kingdom,
it peaked at #3. “September” was certified a gold single, not
once, but twice! Not only was it certified gold in record sales, but
in digital downloads as well.
(And,
just for the record, I am one of the millions who has downloaded
“September” onto their iPod.)
I
mean, just listen to the lyrics. They're lyrics that are filled with
happiness, joy, love, and soul. And, admittedly a lot of ba dudu, ba
dudu's, but those words aren't important.
Now,
the song itself is a love song of epic proportions, filled with lots
of images of stars shining in the sky, and how the clouds stayed away
to let the sunshine in when the daylight poked through, and how you
danced the day and night away with the person you love the most?
It's a rich tapestry of retrospect and passion all blended into a
cornucopia of beauty and light.
(And,
that sounded a little bit too New Agey for me. I apologize...but not
too much because I kind of like how that description flowed.)
The
point is that the song is filled with lots of positive imagery, and
at the risk of sounding like one of those teeny-boppers on the set of
“American Bandstand”, I'll say that the record has a nice beat
and you can dance to it. It was one of the most memorable songs of
the 1970s and I think the song itself takes people back to a simpler
time. It takes us back to the days before mobile phones turned
people into walking zombies and before seven-year-old boys started
playing “Call of Duty” to a simpler time when love was all we
really had to go on, and when the world was generally a happier
place.
I
kind of think that I was born in the wrong decade at times. Oh, to
be a thirty-something thirty years ago. That would have been so much
fun.
So,
anyway...that's our brief look back on “September”. And, did you
know that “September” is featured in a number of pop culture
references?
Al
Gore used the song in his 2000 US Presidential campaign.
A
Japanese dramatic series which aired in 2002 actually used this song
as part of its opening credits!
Crystal
Waters sampled this song in her 1997 single “Say...If It Feels
Alright”.
The
song can be heard on the video games Dance Dance Revolution Universe
and Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore.
And
that's not counting the cover versions of the song performed by Kirk
Franklin, Australian group Past to Present, Sisqo and Vitamin C, and
Asako Toki.
How's
that for a September song?
Happy
September, everyone! I'm hoping that it's good to me. Not like that
awful, awful August.
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