“September” was composed by Maurice White, Al McKay, and Allee Willis.
White was the founder and main songwriter of Earth, Wind & Fire, and
sang the lead in “September.” McKay was a guitarist for the
band at the time “September” was recorded. Willis was
a prolific songwriter, composing or co-composing songs recorded
by many artists (including the theme song for Friends).
“September” reached No. 1 on the Billboard R&B chart, No. 8
on the Billboard Hot 100, and was a top-20 song in
Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Ireland, the Netherlands,
New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
In the US alone, it’s gone platinum six times, meaning six
million copies of the song have been sold.
The significance of the twenty-first night of September is
uncertain, with a number of differing assertions made by those
involved. Perhaps the most likely comes from co-composer Allee
Willis: “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 twenty-first.”
In 2018, “September” was added to the National Recording Registry
by the Library of Congress. Among the twenty-four other recordings inducted that
year were “Minnie the Moocher” by Cab Calloway, “La Bamba” by Ritchie
Valens, “Soul Man” by Sam & Dave, “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond,
and the “Hair” Broadway Cast Recording.
