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Ba-dee-ya — The go-to phrase used by Maurice White of Earth Wind and Fire in every song he wrote that needed a filler phrase. The most popular use of this phrase was in the song September where he sings:

“'Ba-dee-ya, say, do you remember / Ba-dee-ya, dancing in September…”

The co-writer of the song September, Allee Willis, asked:

“'We are going to change 'ba-dee-ya' to real words, right?' " But, this never happened.

In the final vocal session Allee Willis got desperate and begged Maurice White to rewrite that part of the song.

Finally when it was so obvious that he was not going to do it, she yelled:

“'What the fuck does 'ba-dee-ya' mean?'

And, White said:

“Who the fuck cares?'"

She said of that moment:

“I learned my greatest lesson ever in songwriting from him: never let the lyric get in the way of the groove”

The rest is 21st of September history.

As a result of taking that lesson to heart, Allee Willis went on to write: Earth, Wind & Fire’s “Boogie Wonderland,” the Pointer Sisters’ “Neutron Dance,” Pet Shop Boys with Dusty Springfield’s “What Have I Done to Deserve This” and The Rembrandts’ “I’ll Be There for You (Theme from Friends).”

She has collaborated with: Bob Dylan, James Brown, Patti LaBelle, Deniece Williams, Herbie Hancock, Lamont Dozier; and, co-authored the Broadway musical The Color Purple.

She is also the first woman--and fifth person ever--to have written music for two shows opening on Broadway in the same season.

Ba-dee-ya!

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