By: Quinton Wood
September means many things. For some, September is piles of leaves, peaceful evenings, and the comforting entrance that is fall. For others, September is a slew of musicians on stage, singing “Da-de-ya! Dancing in September!” with booming brass instruments and a winding baseline.
Who do I speak of?
Why, it’s “Earth Wind and Fire,” a band who revolutionized music by blending genres, travelling the world, and creating magic more than 40 years ago thanks to the efforts of founding member Maurice White.
Bobby Burns, who has been playing trumpet with the band for 14 years, comments,
”Maurice was a jazz drummer, but he wanted to make something that blended Jazz, R&B, and Pop, all into one sort of music.”
His idea was quite revolutionary for music, for Bobby also noted,
“Most musicians of the time leaned towards the jazz side of music.”
Maurice had assembled many musicians for his new band, which has ranged from full orchestras, to a bareboned jam session. He named his group, “Earth, Wind & Fire,” referencing the three elements found in common astrology.
The name is not lost on Burns, who notes that “Maurice was earth wind and fire combined.”
Another key player in EWF was Al Mckay, who helped write the music for the band and played guitar with the band from 1973 to 1981, some of their most popular years.
Bobby stated,
“I met Al when he came back to play when we were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was a great guy, and an amazing musician.”
But, there were many others who helped in the band.
“Maurice was there in the hay day, when their job was to just come in and record every day; and one thing led to another, and they had all sorts of people writing with them, and it became a group effort."
One of EWF’s major hits was a tune called, “September.” Bobby had much to say about the tune.
“I think it’s just a very happy song, it's got a good groove and a good hook to it.”
The song is so popular that even artists like Justin Beiber has helped to record a remake of it.
“He loved the song,” Burns said, adding “It’s just a magical song that people love to sing."
The song references the 21st of september in particular, which Allee Willis, a collaborator with the band, noted in an interview with the business insider, “We went through all of the dates, and the 21st just sounded the best.” But, Bobby had a different reason for why the 21st was chosen,
“Maurice White chose that date because he believed his son was going to be born on the 21st,”
Bobby added,
“Maurice was heavily into astrology and numerology.”
Earth, Wind & Fire had growing popularity. In the 40 or so years that the band has been together, they’ve travelled around the world. Still to this day, they travel throughout most of the year. Bobby stated,
“We’re out for about 108 days a year. We were in Europe for about 26 days this year.” He also explained, “We do tours during the summer, and private shows during the fall.”
Though, they have also been losing some momentum, with bobby noting, “Philip (Bailey) has been calling in other people to write for us.”
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