It’s September!

It’s Earth, Wind & Fire Day!

Maurice:
“September” was the American Recording Company’s first release, and an across-the-board smash. It would be the leadoff single to our first greatest hits package, The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1, and it continues to be one of Earth, Wind & Fire’s most memorable songs. Al McKay’s distinctive guitar-string pulling in the introduction, coupled with Tom-Tom Washington’s horn arrangement, gave the song a Latin fanfare appeal that perfectly complemented the nonsense ba-de-ya melody. It has all the feel-good, anthemic qualities that we were working hard to achieve in song and on the stage.

…I can’t let a bulky lyric get in the way of a melodic groove.

– Maurice White. My Life With Earth, Wind & Fire, by Maurice White with Herb Powell, 2016.

In 2019, “September” was added to the National Recording Registry (U.S. Library of Congress).

“The National Recording Registry honors the music that enriches our souls, the voices that tell our stories and the sounds that mirror our lives.” – Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden.