Earth, Wind & Fire's ‘September’ mystery solved in new documentary

The music of Earth, Wind & Fire has always contained another element: transcendence.

But the level of mysticism within the band and the exploration of the musical threads pulled from jazz, funk and R&B to create an enduring meditation such as “That’s the Way of the World” or the silken groove that fuels “Fantasy,” has never really been excavated.

That changes with their new documentary, “Earth, Wind & Fire (To Be Celestial vs. That's the Weight of the World),” which premiered at the Tribeca Festival in New York June 3 and arrives on HBO June 7.

Directed by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, the two-hour film is a kaleidoscopic joyride, weaving through memories of one of the most influential bands – both musically and visually – and also solidifying their presence in the hall of greats.

“It’s nice to get your flowers while you’re still alive,” the band’s percussionist Ralph Johnson says in an interview with EWF singer Philip Bailey and bassist Verdine White a day before the documentary’s Tribeca bow.

Along with riveting archival footage, Questlove, a skilled documentarian (“Summer of Soul,” “Sly Lives!”) as well as an ace drummer with The Roots, corralled a heady lineup of outside voices (former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama, Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie) and family members to offer insights.

The blissful undercurrents stitched into EWF’s music are always prevalent, but so is the reality of founder Maurice White’s mercurial nature.

Among longtime partner Marilyn White, longtime EWF engineer George Massenburg and band members themselves, stories about White being “aloof” and “slow to give credit to anyone” are rife.

Kahbran White recognizes that between his father’s musical obsessions and own abandonment issues from childhood, “He didn’t know how to be a dad. Earth, Wind & Fire was the most important thing to him all the time.”

Still, the core EWF trio believes Maurice, who died in 2016 from Parkinson’s disease, would have approved of the film.

“That’s a credit to Quest and KB that the story was told honestly, but without trying to disrupt the unity of the history of the band. We still work together tightly,” Bailey tells USA TODAY. “Some people could have taken this story and done some things that weren’t so savory. Sometimes people are looking for the scuttlebutt because that sells, too.”

Here are some of the highlights and revelations from the documentary.

The real meaning behind Earth, Wind & Fire’s '21st night of September' lyric

Every fall, without fail, the memes come out.

The opening line of Earth, Wind & Fire’s intoxicating 1978 hit “September” – “Do you remember/the 21^st night of September?” – has always included the lingering question of the meaning of the date.

Even White’s cowriters Allee Willis and Al McKay went along with White’s assertion that it was just a random date.

But as Marilyn White reveals, the famous date was the expected arrival of Kahbran. Though their son arrived prematurely in August, the date stuck and is now part of music history.

Marilyn also talks about her partner’s infidelity and White’s response when she confronted him about it: “I’m a star,” she recalls White saying. “I can do whatever the (expletive) I want.”

What is the origin of that ‘ba-dee-ya’ chorus in ‘September’?

Another hallmark of “September” is the gleeful chant coupled with the chorus that still launches fans out of their seats at live shows.

When asked in the documentary the meaning of the memorable “ba-dee-ya-dee-ya-ba,” Johnson laughs and says, “It means whatever you want it to be.”

 In their interview, the trio is slightly more explanatory.

“I always think of Philip when I hear it,” Johnson says.

Bailey elaborates.

“Ba-dee-ya is really a Brazilian scat that me and Maurice used to always listen to with (Sérgio Mendes’ band) Brasil ’66. So if we didn’t have lyrics for certain things, we’d ‘ba-dee-ya’ it. Certain songs, like (EWF’s) ‘Brazilian Rhyme’ just sounded good doing that alone. It just became one of those signature things that we do in melodies.”

Adds Verdine White, “It’s the gift that keeps on giving,” he says, and live, “it’s upbeat, it’s happy, everybody just smiles.”

Maurice White blindsided the band when he abruptly announced a hiatus

Following years of mega-success on the charts and on stage, it would have been expected for EWF to keep the momentum going.

Instead, in 1983, White summoned the band to their headquarters to tell them he was putting EWF “on the back burner,” ostensibly to foster a solo career.

Bailey, Johnson and Verdine White were stunned enough, but then White continued the insult to injury and told them to remove their wardrobes from their lockers immediately or they would be sold.

“It was definitely a shaker,” Verdine says in the film.

The financial whiplash caused Bailey to sell his California property and move to Denver.

“My credit card bounced,” he recalls.

Johnson, as he details further in his recent book “Rhythm & Fire,” turned to jobs in construction and at a local stereo shop to pay his bills.

Philip Bailey apologizes if you thought 'Reasons' was a love song

That slinky groove, Bailey’s aching falsetto and lyrics about “craving your body” and “longing to love you” all seem like a recipe for seduction.

But, Bailey explains in the documentary, "Reasons" was born after a fling with a fan following a show. After a night of fling-with-a-fan activities, Bailey awoke the next morning to find his bedmate in another room and “on the phone with her guy.”

Turns out, he says, “it was just a sex call.”

He also offers a humorous apology to fans who misinterpreted the lyrics.

“If you played it at your wedding, I’m sorry.”