What Happened on the 21st Night of September?
4 Decades of Earth, Wind & Fire’s ‘September’
“Do you remember the 21st night of September?”
phrase “ba-dee-ya,”whichWhite included in the chorus. Throughout the songwriting process, Willis begged to change the phrase to real words. At the final vocal session, Willis finally demanded to know what ba-dee-ya meant. White replied, “Who cares?” “I learned my greatest lesson ever in songwriting from him,”Willis recalled in a 2014 interviewwith NPR, “which was never let the lyric get in the way of the groove.” The groove is why “September” has stood the test of time, right from that very first lyric. For decades, people have askedWillis and members of the band about the significance of Sept. 21. As it turns out, there isn’t much beyond the sound. “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 21st,” Willis explained.
In 1978, Maurice White of the band Earth, Wind & Fire first asked this question in the song “September,” a funky disco song that quickly topped the charts. While disco may be dead today, “September” certainly isn’t. The song is still featured in movies, TV shows, and wedding playlists. On Sept. 21, 2019, the funk hit was streamed over 2.5 million times. It’s no wonder that the Los Angeles City Council declared Sept. 21 Earth, Wind & Fire Day. The story behind “September” is almost as enduring as the song itself. It was co-written by White and Allee Willis, who eventually became a Grammy-winning songwriter and Tony nominee. But before any of that, Willis was a struggling songwriter in Los Angeles living off food stamps. When White reached out and asked Willis to help write the next Earth, Wind & Fire hit, it was truly her big break.
White and Willis proved to be excellent songwriting partners, but they clashed over one key element of the song: the nonsensical
The truth is that nothing happened on the 21st night of September — except a whole lot of dancing.
IS IT POSSIBLE TO ERASE YOUR CONVICTION FROM YOUR RECORDS?
Just because you were convicted doesn’t mean it has to haunt your job opportunities for the rest of your life.
Just as Gary Medlin explained on the cover, it’s very possible for our court system to make big, big mistakes. We are the field experts in catching these mistakes, and if we do, it’s possible that you’ll receive post- conviction relief, such as getting an expunction of your criminal records. Expunction is a legal term that refers to your conviction being erased by the court, making your records not accessible through state or federal repositories. Although it deals with criminal charges, the expunction process is civil in nature. The process involves a petitioner asking courts to declare his or her records expunged. Once your record is expunged, criminal charges won’t appear on your background checks conducted by employers, landlords, and others. This can be highly advantageous for jumping back into your life after a conviction. With many employers starting to hire again, now is the best time to get your record expunged. Learn more about this and many other tips in the Medlin Law Firm eBook, “Criminal Defense & The COVID-19 Outbreak: What Police Are Enforcing & How to Protect Your Legal Rights.”
At the Medlin Law Firm, we have extensive experience getting convictions overturned or expunged from your record. For example, during our comprehensive, in-depth look at your case, we will study everything, including the investigation, the pre-trial phase, the trial phase, and the conviction. We will identify all appealable issues and draft arguments on those to present in court. Depending on your case, we may be able to get you relief, such as:
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Immediate release from incarceration
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A new trial
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Sentence reduction or modification
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Writ of habeas corpus
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Other appropriate measures
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