“Top 5: Here are our favorite September songs” |
| Top 5: Here are our favorite September songs Posted: 30 Aug 2010 01:07 AM PDT By Jim Harrington Click photo to enlarge Three of the original members of Earth Wind and Fire (from left) Verdine White, Ralph Johnson and Philip Bailey perform with other members of the band during their concert at Wente Vineyards in Livermore, Calif., on Tuesday, June 24, 2008. (Doug Duran/Contra Costa Times)  If "April is the cruelest month, " T.S. Eliot once wrote, September seems to be the most lyrical. Countless songwriters have mused on the month, perhaps because it reflects the change of the seasons -- or maybe they just love football. As we get ready to say goodbye to August, we say hello to five of our favorite September songs. -- Jim Harrington 'September Song' First introduced in the 1938 Broadway musical "Knickerbocker Holiday," this Kurt Weill/Maxwell Anderson song is now considered part of the Great American Songbook. The song's initial trip to the top of the charts came in 1950, after being featured in the film "September Affair." Other famous renditions came courtesy of Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and -- our favorite -- Lou Reed. 'Wake Me Up When September Ends' Green Day's album "American Idiot" produced a ton of singles, the most memorable of which was this powerful and gorgeous ballad. Many assumed the somber tune was written in response to 9/11 -- it is, after all, the 11th track on the album. Yet, lead vocalist (and East Bay native) Billie Joe Armstrong has been quoted as saying that the tune was written as a memorial to his father, who died in 1982. 'September in the Rain' This tremendous tune, composed by Harry Warren with lyrics by Al Dubin, debuted in the 1937 film "Melody for Two." The song benefits from some particularly bewitching lyrics: "To every word of love I heard you whisper/The raindrops seemed to play our sweet refrain/Though spring is here, to me it is still September/That September in the rain." It's been recorded by everyone from the Beatles to Willie Nelson -- but many hold Frank Sinatra's version as definitive.'September Gurls' For a three-minute reminder of just what the world lost when Alex Chilton died in March, listen to this moving piece of power-pop perfection. The Chilton-penned track was originally released on his group Big Star's 1974 album "Radio City" and quickly became an indie-rock classic. Rolling Stone magazine once ranked "September Gurls" as one of the 200 greatest songs of all time. The Bangles also covered the song on their 1986 album "Different Light." 'September' Earth, Wind & Fire was at the peak of its powers when it recorded this 1978 single. Philip Bailey's vocals flew so high on this track that producers probably had to notify air traffic controllers during the recording sessions. The rest of the band matched Bailey's performance, and the result was one of EWF's finest moments. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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