The decade in which I was born has given me a strange perspective on its music. I discovered pretty much all of the 70’s sounds – from prog rock to punk to disco – well after they came into the world. It wasn’t until the late 80’s that I discovered what I was missing. I would characterize the decade as one where budding genres leaped off their inspiration pads and came to fruition. For the month of February, Mental Jukebox will feature some of these gems with a different 70’s song each day. #28DaysOf70sSongs
Music plays such an integral role at weddings. Yet, there’s so much bad wedding music out there. You’ve heard ‘em. You probably danced to them. “Macarena”, “Electric Slide”, “Kung Fu Fighting”. They’ve somehow become wedding classics. But we know there are the real classics that seem to get everyone onto the dance floor. That’s something Earth, Wind & Fire knows a thing or two about. How to get your butt up off the seat. Your spirits up in the air. Your cheesiest dance moves out there for the world to see. They know all this because of the song “September”.
This is the song that launched a million wedding dance floors. It’s universally loved. 8 years old or 80 years old, Single or married, Everyone can appreciate it. As far as disco falsetto vocals and horn arrangements go, it doesn’t get much better. Maurice White added the unforgettable “bah-dee-ya” refrain to the song, When one of his co-songwriters questioned the inclusion of that gibberish, she quickly learned not to let lyrics get in the way of groove. “Bah-dee-ya” just works. The moment “September” plays, you’re in the moment. Ready to celebrate. Ready to cut a rug. Ready to let loose. And, if you’re not, well maybe you should’ve just stayed home.
“Do you remember the 21st night of September? Love was changing the minds of pretenders while chasing the clouds away.”