"September" by Earth, Wind & Fire

Ba de ya! Say that you remember! Ba de ya! Dancing in September! Ba de yah! Musical analysiiiis!

It's finally time for Strong Songs to take on one of the strongest bands of all, the great Earth, Wind & Fire. In honor of September 21, Kirk does a deep dive on EWF's timeless tribute to the end of summertime - those layered grooves, those funky bass parts, and those glossy, effortless vocals.

Written by: Maurice White, Al McKay & Alee Willis
Produced by: Maurice White

Album: The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire Vol. 1, 1978

Listen/Buy: Apple Music | Amazon | Spotify

FEATURED/DISCUSSED:

• “Shining Star” and “Way of the World” by Earth, Wind & Fire from That’s The Way of the World, 1975
• “Serpentine Fire” by Earth, Wind & Fire from All N’ All, 1977
• “In The Stone” by EWF from I Am, 1979
• “Easy Lover” by Phillip Bailey, Phil Collins and Nathan East, 1990
• “Neutron Dance” by Alee Willis performed by the Pointer Sisters on Break Out, 1984
• “Celebration” by Kool & The Gang, 1980
• “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” by Elton John and Bernie Taupin from Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, 1973

OUTRO SOLOIST: Erik Elligers

Erik is a Connecticut-based multi-instrumentalist and music educator. He plays saxophone with the New London Big Band and sings and plays guitar for the fabulous band Goodnight Blue Moon - check them out, you won't regret it: https://www.goodnightbluemoon.com/

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SEPTEMBER 2021 WHOLE-NOTE PATRONS

Rob Bosworth
Josh Pearson
Kyle Cooke
Donald Mackie
Melissa Osborne
Christopher Miller
Tim Byrne
Jamie White
Christopher Kupski
Christopher McConnell
Joshua Jarvis
Niko
Joe Laska
Laurie Acreman
Ken Hirsh
Jez
Jenness Gardner
Simon Cammell
Guinevere Boostrom
Narelle Horn
Nathaniel Bauernfeind
Bill Rosinger
Anne Britt
David Zahm
Erin
Aidan Coughlan
Jeanneret Manning Family Four
Doug Paton
Robert Paul
Viki Dun
Dave Sharpe
Christer Lindqvist
Sami Samhuri
AccessViolation
Ryan Torvik
Merlin Mann
Glenn
Jim Chokey
Andre Bremer
Mark Schechter
Dave Florey
Dan Apczynski

SEPTEMBER 2021 HALF-NOTE PATRONS

kurt wendelken
Adam Stofsky
Zak Remer
Rishi Sahay
Stefan Niebrügge
Jason Reitman
Karen Liu
Greg Burgess
Ailie Fraser
Simon Prieto
Breck Jones
Paul McGreal