Crazy in September

Today is September Day, the day where Earth, Wind, and Fire fans get together and celebrate the song September, the group's 1978 hit song. 

In the first line, lead singer Maurice White asks the question, "Do you remember the 21st night of September?" which is why this is "September Day" for Earth, Wind and Fire fans. 

The song is an upbeat, joyous celebration of a time when "love was changing the minds of pretenders" and how "hearts were ringing in the key that our souls were singing".  An NPR article calls the first line "the one question that can get the whole family on the dance floor." 

Kenny Davis, photographer and blogger, wrote this wonderful tribute to "September" on his blog in a style I can only hope to duplicate someday.  When I told him that I wanted to write like him when I grew up, he said, "No you don't, because you don't want the deranged mind that creates this nonsense."  (I reminded him that all writers are somewhat deranged. :-) ) 

When the song's co-writer, Allee Willis, asked Maurice White, "What does 'ba-de-yah' (in the chorus) mean?  White's answer:  "Who cares?"

Apparently, the majority of fans couldn't have cared less.  The song peaked at number 8 on the Billboard charts in February of 1979.  Allee Willis said that Maurice White taught her her greatest lesson in songwriting:  never let the lyric get in the way of the groove. 

"September" is an original song included on The Best of Earth, Wind and Fire, Vol. 1.  I played that album in heavy rotation on my sister's stereo as a teenager.  (Even then, I had a writing playlist.  I would type on a manual typewriter while listening to a set of albums that would drop, one by one, onto the turntable.  Since vinyl and record players are now making a comeback, I no longer have to explain what a "record player" is.) 

In 2018, "September" landed on the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry as a "culturally, aesthetically, or historically significant recording". 

So, since today was "September Day," I found the video on YouTube and played the song.   I can always use something upbeat and infectious (especially since I need to catch up on dishes, laundry, and other stuff today). 

Afterwards, I sat down at the computer to do some work and do some play (not necessarily in that order) and while on the computer, I watched the latest episode of Ken Burns' "Country Music". 

When I see the name "Ken Burns" on a documentary, I know I am in for a treat, and I have not been disappointed so far with "Country Music". 

The episode I just finished watching ends with the death of Patsy Cline.  She was 30 when she and three other stars of the Grand Old Opry died in a plane crash in March of 1963.  Over photos of her funeral, the soundtrack played her signature song, "Crazy", and the narrator, at the end, said that it was the number one jukebox recording of all time.

And after hearing it, in its entirety, for the first time, I understand why.

It is a heart-wrenching lament for a lost love, a woman who knew she'd lose him but just can't get over him . . . and she knows she's crazy for it.  If you are a person pining for a lost love, this is the go-to song.   

When I finished listening, I wanted to go cry.  And I am not even lamenting a lost love that I know I will never get back, but who I still love.

It, too, is on the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry.

From a song that celebrates the joy of a memory of a night in September, that leaves you wanting to dance on a dance floor . . .

To a song that will leave you weeping on that same dance floor . . .

Yes, today is a "crazy" day in September. 

Just my .04, adjusted for inflation.