4 DECADES OF EARTH, WIND & FIRE’S ‘SEPTEMBER’ What Happened on the 21st Night of September?
“Do you remember the 21st night of September?”
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 interview with NPR, “which was never let the lyric get in the way of the groove.”
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 phrase “ba-dee-ya,” which White included in the
The groove is why “September” has stood the test of time, right from that very first lyric. For decades, people have asked Willis 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.
The truth is that nothing happened on the 21st night of September — except a whole lot of dancing.
Put Down Your Devices Social media is a pretty spectacular thing. It allows us to connect with people and places around the world and stay in touch with loved ones easily. The wealth of information that flows through social media sites is astounding, but that’s exactly why it can be so detrimental to your personal injury case. Check-Ins
HOWSOCIALMEDIA CAN HARM YOUR CASE
Many social media sites allow you to check yourself into a location, like restaurants or parks, but these check-ins can also betray your reliability. If you’re claiming limited mobility due to an accident, you shouldn’t be checking in to your weekly yoga class, so make sure you have those capabilities turned off on your social media profiles.
Contradicting Testimony
If you say something online that works against your claims, it can hurt your chances of compensation. For example, if you claim you suffered a broken arm but post on social media about going bowling, the defense is going to challenge the severity of your injuries. When you make a claim, you have to be completely honest about your injuries. Otherwise you harm your credibility.
Advertising Your Abilities
Social media posts can inadvertently show what you’re physically capable of doing after an injury. If you post a picture of your children skiing and reveal to the opposing side that you took the picture, even though you aren’t skiing, you’re still proving that you were able to get onto a ski slope, which demonstrates mobility that is contrary to your claims.
Harmful Comments
Your family and friends may not be aware of what is or isn’t appropriate to post on social media in relation to your case, so don’t share posts that give them the chance to say anything about it. They may contradict what you’ve said about your injuries, your treatment, or your limited mobility.
If you’re filing a personal injury claim, refrain from posting anything on social media during the process. It’s even better to put your profiles on temporary pause so no one else can post comments either. If you’ve been injured in an accident and want to learn more about the next best steps to take, reach out to Douglass & Runger so we can help.
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