Earth, Wind & Fire ‘September’ ends epic 47-year chart wait
The Earth, Wind & Fire “September” comeback is official. The 1978 hit reentered the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 45 on the chart dated Oct. 3, its first appearance since the chart dated March 10, 1979, when it sat at No. 83, Billboard reported.
It is also the band’s first Hot 100 entry of any kind since “Sunday Morning” in 1993.
Why Earth, Wind & Fire ‘September’ surges every year
The song opens with the line “do you remember the 21st night of September,” and that lyric has turned Sept. 21 into an annual online ritual. Fans post the line, streams spike around the date, and Billboard notes the yearly bump is well established. This year, the spike was big enough to carry the track back onto the main chart.
The numbers behind the return
In the U.S. tracking week of Sept. 18-24, “September” drew 6 million official streams, up 51 percent from the week before, according to Luminate data cited by Billboard. Sales jumped 236 percent to 3,000, and radio airplay audience rose 137 percent to 3.3 million. The streaming total also put the song on the Streaming Songs chart at No. 46.
The surge reached beyond the U.S. On the Billboard Global 200, “September” climbed from No. 185 to No. 69, close to its No. 60 peak from 2024. It also returned to the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart at No. 140; its best showing there is No. 96, set two years ago.
The rest of the catalog got a lift, too
“Let’s Groove,” which reached No. 3 on the Hot 100, rose 13 percent to 2.6 million streams. The band’s 1998 “Greatest Hits” album earned 13,000 equivalent album units, a 40 percent gain, Billboard reported. That pushed it back onto Top R&B Albums at No. 14, to No. 27 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and from No. 192 to No. 98 on the all-genre Billboard 200.
Earth, Wind & Fire ‘September’ by the numbers
Written by Maurice White, Al McKay and Allee Willis, “September” first appeared on the 1978 compilation “The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1,” which reached No. 6 on the Billboard 200. The single peaked at No. 8 on the Hot 100, and this week’s reentry gives it 18 total weeks on the chart.
Across their career, Earth, Wind & Fire have charted 33 Hot 100 hits, including seven top 10s and one No. 1, “Shining Star,” in 1975.
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