September (song)
Encyclopedia
"September" is a song by Earth, Wind & Fire
which was written by Maurice White
, Al McKay
and Allee Willis
. It was recorded during the I Am
sessions and released as a single in 1978
. Featured on the band's album The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1
, September reached number one on the U.S. R&B
chart, number eight on the Billboard Hot 100
, and number three on the UK singles chart.
" and "Let's Groove
". "September" sold over a million copies and it has been certified gold as up until the RIAA lowered the sales levels for certified singles in 1989, a Gold single equaled 1 million units sold. "September" was later certified Gold for digital sales by the RIAA.
does a gospel
version of "September" on the Earth, Wind and Fire tribute album Interpretations: Celebrating The Music Of Earth, Wind & Fire
. Australian R&B group Past To Present
briefly charted with a cover of the song in October 1996. In 1999 the song was remixed by Phats & Small
and was titled "September 99" becoming a dance hit. The song was covered by Sisqo
and Vitamin C during the credit roll of the movie Get Over It
. The song was covered by musical duo, Pomplamoose
, on September 30 as a birthday present to Nataly's father. Jazz bassist Brian Bromberg
performs a mostly instrumental version of the song on the album 'You Know That Feeling.
Samples of the song are also found in Filipino
singer Regine Velasquez
's 1997 dance single "Fly" as part of the mashup album Feed the Animals
by Girl Talk
. Gordon Goodwin
arranged the song for his 18-piece big band "Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band
" on his album Act Your Age
. In the Netherlands, X-Factor
's second finalist Richy sung this in one of the broadcasts. The song has been performed twice on American Idol
, by Anwar Robinson
and Danny Gokey
. House
singer Crystal Waters
sampled "September" in her 1997 single "Say... If You Feel Alright."
Italian DJ X-Treme
recorded a remix of the song, "September", which appeared on his 1998 album X-Treme and another remix, "September (Rap Mix)", which appeared on the 1999 compilation album Dancemania X1
.
Japanese singer Asako Toki covered "September" on her 2004 album "Standards".
, Lost & Found, Get Over It
and Night at the Museum
. The song's remix, "September 1999," is played in the Japanese nightclub
in the film Babel
.
This song has also been featured in NBC's Chuck
.
The song also appears on television shows such as the American Dad episode "Finances with Wolves" and the song also appears on the promo of ABC
for their hit shows premiering in the Fall 2008. On December 14, 2007, the song was covered during Fox Television's reality-competition The Next Great American Band
by Nashville big-band group Denver and the Mile High Orchestra
.
September has also been used in video games like the European release of Donkey Konga
and in the Xbox 360
game Dance Dance Revolution Universe
a remix called "September 1999" is playable. A cover version
of the song also appears in the Nintendo DS
video game Elite Beat Agents
and the Wii
game Wii Music
. The song is in GuitarFreaks V4
and DrumMania V4. The song also appears in the video game Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore.
Earth, Wind & Fire sang a special TV-related version of the song with The Black Eyed Peas
at the 57th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards.
The song served as Al Gore
's campaign theme during his 2000 US Presidential campaign.
Ruff Ruffman parodied the song for Season 3 of FETCH! as "The 29th of September".
It was used as the theme song for the 2002 Japanese drama Zoku-Heisei Meotojawan.
The song was used as the entry theme for boxing champion Thomas "Hit Man" Hearns in the late 1970s. Hearns said in an interview he liked the song's reference to September 21, which was the date of one of his early victories as an up and coming fighter in the Detroit area and also the birthday of Alexis "Eastland" Cherniak, one of his early mentors.
Earth, Wind & Fire performed this song (as well as Pure Gold) with the Japanese idol group SMAP
in a 2006 episode of the group's variety program, SMAP×SMAP
.
It is featured at the season finale of The Cleveland Show You're the Best Man, Cleveland Brown.
Japanese comedic
performer, Smelly
, parodied the song with his promotional video "Suki Suki Smelly".
The song was sampled by Polish musician Norbi in his hit single Kobiety są gorące (Women are hot).
It is also featured on a stereo test disc that came with some 2003 models of the Toyota Avalon
.
Pomplamoose
released their version of the song on the 2010 album Tribute to Famous People.
The song appeared in the end of the movie, Night at the Museum
.
(*) designates lists that are unordered.
Earth, Wind & Fire
Earth, Wind & Fire is an American soul and R&B band formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 1969 by Verdine and Maurice White. Also known as EWF, the band has won six Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards. They have been inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Vocal Group Hall of...
which was written by Maurice White
Maurice White
Maurice White is a Grammy Award–winning American singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, arranger. He is the older brother of Verdine White and Fred White and the leader and founder of the band Earth, Wind & Fire...
, Al McKay
Al McKay
Al McKay is a guitarist, songwriter, producer and former member of the American funk band Earth, Wind & Fire. Al used to lead his own group Al McKay's L.A...
and Allee Willis
Allee Willis
Allee Willis is an American songwriter, artist, set designer, multimedia artist, writer, collector and director.-Overview:...
. It was recorded during the I Am
I Am (Earth, Wind & Fire album)
I Am is the ninth studio album by the R&B band Earth, Wind & Fire, released in 1979 on Columbia Records. The album features the singles "Boogie Wonderland" with The Emotions and "After the Love Has Gone". Also recorded in the I Am sessions were "September" and "Love Music" which were both included...
sessions and released as a single in 1978
1978 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1978.-January–April:*January 14 – The Sex Pistols play their final show at San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom....
. Featured on the band's album The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1
The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1
The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1 is a 1978 compilation album collecting the charting singles of Earth, Wind & Fire. In addition to collecting previously charting songs, the album also presented two tracks which were a cover of the Beatles' song "Got to Get You Into My Life" and the original...
, September reached number one on the U.S. R&B
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
chart, number eight on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, and number three on the UK singles chart.
Reception
The song was one of their top three most famous in the UK, next to "Boogie WonderlandBoogie Wonderland
"Boogie Wonderland" is a 1979 hit single by Earth, Wind & Fire featuring The Emotions. Boogie Wonderland was written by Allee Willis and Jon Lind, and included on the album I Am...
" and "Let's Groove
Let's Groove
"Let's Groove" is a 1981 song from the album Raise! by the R&B act Earth, Wind & Fire. The song peaked at #3 in the U.S. and in the UK. It also spent eight weeks at number one on the Hot Soul Singles chart in late-1981/early-1982 and was the second R&B song of 1982 on the year end charts...
". "September" sold over a million copies and it has been certified gold as up until the RIAA lowered the sales levels for certified singles in 1989, a Gold single equaled 1 million units sold. "September" was later certified Gold for digital sales by the RIAA.
Covers and samples
Kirk FranklinKirk Franklin
Kirk Dwayne Franklin is an American Gospel music musician, choir director, and author, and is most notably known for leading urban contemporary gospel choirs such as The Family, God's Property and One Nation Crew .- Early years :...
does a gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
version of "September" on the Earth, Wind and Fire tribute album Interpretations: Celebrating The Music Of Earth, Wind & Fire
Interpretations: Celebrating The Music Of Earth, Wind & Fire
Interpretations: Celebrating the Music of Earth, Wind and Fire is a tribute album to the R&B band Earth, Wind & Fire. The album was the first album to be released on the revived Stax label.-Reception:...
. Australian R&B group Past To Present
Ilanda
Ilanda was a 3 piece band that was formed in Melbourne, Australia. The members, however originate from Auckland, New Zealand, though their heritage is Samoan....
briefly charted with a cover of the song in October 1996. In 1999 the song was remixed by Phats & Small
Phats & Small
Phats & Small are a dance music duo from the UK. The duo consists of Jason "Phats" Hayward and Russell Small, they are best known for their 1998 hit "Turn Around"-Career:...
and was titled "September 99" becoming a dance hit. The song was covered by Sisqo
Sisqó
Mark Durrell Andrews , known by his stage name Sisqó, is an American R&B singer and actor. He is best known as the lead singer of R&B group Dru Hill, and also for "Thong Song", a song from his first solo LP, Unleash the Dragon, that became an international hit. - Biography :Sisqó was born Mark...
and Vitamin C during the credit roll of the movie Get Over It
Get Over It (film)
Get Over It is a 2001 American romantic comedy film about a teenage boy whose girlfriend ends their relationship. The film was directed by Tommy O'Haver for Miramax Films. The film stars Ben Foster, Kirsten Dunst, Melissa Sagemiller, Sisqó, Colin Hanks, Shane West, and Martin Short. R. Lee Fleming,...
. The song was covered by musical duo, Pomplamoose
Pomplamoose
Pomplamoose is an American indie music duo consisting of multi-instrumentalists Jack Conte and Nataly Dawn. The band formed in the summer of 2008 and sold approximately 100,000 songs online in 2009.-Etymology:...
, on September 30 as a birthday present to Nataly's father. Jazz bassist Brian Bromberg
Brian Bromberg
Brian Bromberg is an American jazz bassist and record producer who performs on both electric and acoustic instruments...
performs a mostly instrumental version of the song on the album 'You Know That Feeling.
Samples of the song are also found in Filipino
Filipino people
The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....
singer Regine Velasquez
Regine Velasquez
Regina Encarnacion Ansong Velasquez , better known as Asia's Songbird, Regine Velasquez, is a Filipino singer, actress, record producer and TV host...
's 1997 dance single "Fly" as part of the mashup album Feed the Animals
Feed the Animals
Feed the Animals is the fourth album by Girl Talk , released on Illegal Art in 2008. It is composed almost entirely of samples taken from other artists' songs, plus minor original instrumentation by Girl Talk...
by Girl Talk
Girl Talk (musician)
Gregg Michael Gillis , better known by his stage name Girl Talk, is an American musician specializing in mashups and digital sampling. Gillis has released five LPs on the record label Illegal Art and EPs on 333 and 12 Apostles....
. Gordon Goodwin
Gordon Goodwin
Gordon L. Goodwin is a Grammy award-winning American studio pianist, saxophonist, composer, arranger and conductor. He now lives in Southern California with his wife Lisa, daughter Madison and two sons, Trevor and Garrison.- Early years :...
arranged the song for his 18-piece big band "Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band
Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band
Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band, or simply The Big Phat Band, is an 18-piece jazz ensemble based in California and led by Gordon Goodwin. Goodwin composes most, and arranges all, of the group's performance pieces, as well as playing piano and occasionally tenor saxophone...
" on his album Act Your Age
Act Your Age (Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band album)
Act Your Age is the fourth album recorded by Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band. Gordon Goodwin's 18-piece big band have already had critical acclaim with their albums XXL and The Phat Pack...
. In the Netherlands, X-Factor
X Factor (Netherlands)
X Factor is a Dutch television music talent show contested by aspiring pop singers drawn from public auditions. It is shown Friday evenings on the RTL4 Network in the Netherlands. The first series of the show aired from October 2006 through to February 2007, while the second series of the show...
's second finalist Richy sung this in one of the broadcasts. The song has been performed twice on American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
, by Anwar Robinson
Anwar Robinson
Anwar Farid Robinson is an American singer/songwriter/musician who was the 7th place finalist on the fourth season of American Idol.-American Idol:...
and Danny Gokey
Danny Gokey
Daniel Jay "Danny" Gokey is an American country music singer and church music director from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was the third place finalist on the eighth season of American Idol...
. House
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
singer Crystal Waters
Crystal Waters
Crystal Waters is an American dance music singer and songwriter.-Childhood and young adult life:Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Waters is the daughter of Betty and Junior Waters, a famed jazz musician; her great aunt, Ethel Waters, was one of the first African-American vocalists to appear in...
sampled "September" in her 1997 single "Say... If You Feel Alright."
Italian DJ X-Treme
Agostino Carollo
Agostino Carollo, also known as Spankox, is an Italian musician, disc jockey, singer and producer who is currently signed with EMI. Originally a classical violinist, he specializes in pop and dance music, including remixes of songs such as KC and the Sunshine Band's That's the Way...
recorded a remix of the song, "September", which appeared on his 1998 album X-Treme and another remix, "September (Rap Mix)", which appeared on the 1999 compilation album Dancemania X1
Dancemania X1
Dancemania X1, a.k.a. Dancemania 11, is the eleventh set in the Dancemania series of dance music compilation albums, released in 1999 by EMI Music Japan....
.
Japanese singer Asako Toki covered "September" on her 2004 album "Standards".
Appearances in other media
The song has been featured in movies such as The Ringer, Soul Food, Dan in Real LifeDan in Real Life
Dan in Real Life is a 2007 American comedy-drama film directed by Peter Hedges, starring Steve Carell and Juliette Binoche.-Plot:Dan Burns is a newspaper advice columnist, a widower, and a controlling father to his children Jane, Cara and Lilly in the New Jersey suburbs. His column is in...
, Lost & Found, Get Over It
Get Over It (film)
Get Over It is a 2001 American romantic comedy film about a teenage boy whose girlfriend ends their relationship. The film was directed by Tommy O'Haver for Miramax Films. The film stars Ben Foster, Kirsten Dunst, Melissa Sagemiller, Sisqó, Colin Hanks, Shane West, and Martin Short. R. Lee Fleming,...
and Night at the Museum
Night at the Museum
Night at the Museum is a 2006 fantasy adventure-comedy film based on the 1993 children's book The Night at the Museum by Milan Trenc. It follows a divorced father trying to settle down, impress his son, and find his destiny...
. The song's remix, "September 1999," is played in the Japanese nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
in the film Babel
Babel (2006 film)
Babel is a 2006 international drama film directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu and written by Guillermo Arriaga, starring an ensemble cast. The multi-narrative drama completes Iñárritu's Death Trilogy, following Amores perros and 21 Grams....
.
This song has also been featured in NBC's Chuck
Chuck (TV series)
Chuck is an action-comedy/spy-drama television program from the United States created by Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak. The series is about an "average computer-whiz-next-door" named Chuck, played by Zachary Levi, who receives an encoded e-mail from an old college friend now working for the Central...
.
The song also appears on television shows such as the American Dad episode "Finances with Wolves" and the song also appears on the promo of ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
for their hit shows premiering in the Fall 2008. On December 14, 2007, the song was covered during Fox Television's reality-competition The Next Great American Band
The Next Great American Band
The Next Great American Band is a reality television talent show. The show premiered on October 19, 2007 and aired on FOX at 8 p.m. Eastern and Pacific times Friday nights...
by Nashville big-band group Denver and the Mile High Orchestra
Denver and the Mile High Orchestra
Denver and the Mile High Orchestra is a horn-driven band based out of Nashville, Tennessee. DMHO was formed by a group of friends at Belmont University in 1999. They have traveled across the world, playing at churches, conferences, and festivals...
.
September has also been used in video games like the European release of Donkey Konga
Donkey Konga
is a GameCube rhythm video game starring the ape Donkey Kong, developed by Namco and published by Nintendo. Instead of the standard GameCube controllers, the game is intended to be played with a special controller called the DK Bongos that resemble two small bongo drums.Donkey Konga was developed...
and in the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
game Dance Dance Revolution Universe
Dance Dance Revolution Universe
Dance Dance Revolution Universe is the thirteenth home version of Dance Dance Revolution released in the United States. It was released by Konami on February 27, 2007, for the Microsoft Xbox 360 video game console - the first DDR game on a seventh generation console. About 65 songs are available...
a remix called "September 1999" is playable. A cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of the song also appears in the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
video game Elite Beat Agents
Elite Beat Agents
Elite Beat Agents is a music video game developed by iNiS and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld game console. It was first released in North America, and has since been released in Europe and South Korea . It is the spiritual sequel to Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan, a Japanese rhythm game...
and the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
game Wii Music
Wii Music
is a free form music game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii video game console. The game was released in Japan and North America in October 2008, and in Europe and Australia in the following month...
. The song is in GuitarFreaks V4
GuitarFreaks
is a music video game series produced by Konami. The player uses a controller to simulate the playing of an electric guitar. The game consists of music predominantly from rock and roll and J-Pop genres, and is now in its 19th version, GuitarFreaks V8, which was released in March 28, 2011...
and DrumMania V4. The song also appears in the video game Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore.
Earth, Wind & Fire sang a special TV-related version of the song with The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas are an American pop group , formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1995. The group includes rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo, and singer Fergie. Since the release of their third album Elephunk in 2003, the group has sold an estimated 56 million records worldwide...
at the 57th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards.
The song served as Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
's campaign theme during his 2000 US Presidential campaign.
Ruff Ruffman parodied the song for Season 3 of FETCH! as "The 29th of September".
It was used as the theme song for the 2002 Japanese drama Zoku-Heisei Meotojawan.
The song was used as the entry theme for boxing champion Thomas "Hit Man" Hearns in the late 1970s. Hearns said in an interview he liked the song's reference to September 21, which was the date of one of his early victories as an up and coming fighter in the Detroit area and also the birthday of Alexis "Eastland" Cherniak, one of his early mentors.
Earth, Wind & Fire performed this song (as well as Pure Gold) with the Japanese idol group SMAP
SMAP
SMAP is a Japanese boy band formed by Johnny & Associates. While originally consisting of six members, the current group members are Masahiro Nakai, Takuya Kimura, Goro Inagaki, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, and Shingo Katori...
in a 2006 episode of the group's variety program, SMAP×SMAP
SMAP×SMAP
SMAP×SMAP is an ongoing weekly Japanese variety show on Kansai TV and Fuji TV starring the members of SMAP. The show began on April 15, 1996 and it airs from 22:00 to 22:54 every Monday...
.
It is featured at the season finale of The Cleveland Show You're the Best Man, Cleveland Brown.
Japanese comedic
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
performer, Smelly
Smelly (performer)
, more commonly known by his stagename , is a Japanese comedic performer and former manga artist. Dai Okazaki is a relative of Takashi Okazaki, the creator of Afro Samurai.-Career:...
, parodied the song with his promotional video "Suki Suki Smelly".
The song was sampled by Polish musician Norbi in his hit single Kobiety są gorące (Women are hot).
It is also featured on a stereo test disc that came with some 2003 models of the Toyota Avalon
Toyota Avalon
The Toyota Avalon is a full-size car produced by Toyota in the United States, and is the flagship sedan of Toyota in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and the Middle East. It was also produced in Australia from 2000 until July 2005 when it was replaced in November 2006 by the Toyota Aurion...
.
Pomplamoose
Pomplamoose
Pomplamoose is an American indie music duo consisting of multi-instrumentalists Jack Conte and Nataly Dawn. The band formed in the summer of 2008 and sold approximately 100,000 songs online in 2009.-Etymology:...
released their version of the song on the 2010 album Tribute to Famous People.
The song appeared in the end of the movie, Night at the Museum
Night at the Museum
Night at the Museum is a 2006 fantasy adventure-comedy film based on the 1993 children's book The Night at the Museum by Milan Trenc. It follows a divorced father trying to settle down, impress his son, and find his destiny...
.
Chart positions
| Chart (1978) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
8 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... |
1 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
3 |
| Chart ("September 1999") | Peak position |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
25 |
Accolades
The information regarding accolades attributed to September ' is adapted from AcclaimedMusic.net.| Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bruce Pollock | U.S. | The 7,500 Most Important Songs of 1944-2000 | 2005 | * |
| Gary Mulholland | U.K. | This Is Uncool: The 500 Best Singles Since Punk Rock | 2002 | * |
(*) designates lists that are unordered.