Serpentine Fire

"Serpentine Fire" is a single by Earth, Wind & Fire which was issued in October 1977 by Columbia Records.[1] The single rose to Nos. 1 & 13 on the Billboard Hot Soul Songs and Hot 100 charts respectively.[2][3]

"Serpentine Fire"
Single by Earth, Wind & Fire
from the album All 'N All
B-side"Serpentine Fire (Instrumental)"
ReleasedOctober 15, 1977
Recorded1977
GenreFunk, disco
Length3:50
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)Maurice White, Verdine White, Reginald Sonny Burke
Producer(s)Maurice White
Earth, Wind & Fire singles chronology
"On Your Face"
(1977)		 "Serpentine Fire"
(1977)		 "Fantasy"
(1978)
Music video
"Serpentine Fire" on YouTube

Overview

"Serpentine Fire" spent seven weeks atop the Billboard Hot Soul Songs chart and was named the R&B single of the year by Billboard.[2][4]The song was produced by bandleader Maurice White for Kalimba Productions and arranged by Tom Tom 84. "Serpentine Fire" was also composed by Maurice, Verdine White and Reginald 'Sonny' Burke. An instrumental version of "Serpentine Fire" was the b-side of this single. "Serpentine Fire" came off of EWF's 1977 album All 'n All.[1]

During October 1977, the music video for "Serpentine Fire" was issued by Columbia.[5]

Critical reception

The Guardian declared "songs such as Serpentine Fire and Jupiter run on sheer adrenaline".[6] Ed Hogan of Allmusic called the tune "a poppin mid-tempo jam".[7] Joe McEwen of Rolling Stone exclaimed "Serpentine Fire, a song about the spinal life-center philosophy of many Eastern religions, is a simple tango spiced by a subtle funk base and the incessant clanging of a cowbell."[8] Phyl Garland of Stereo Review also described the song as "a high stepper guaranteed to set even the most sluggish soul into motion".[9]

Charts
Year Chart Peak
position
1977 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 13
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B Singles 1
New Zealand Pop Songs[10] 32
1978 RPM Top Canadian Singles[11] 13

Accolades

The information regarding accolades attributed to "Serpentine Fire" is adapted from Acclaimed Music.[12]

Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
Dave Marsh U.S. The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made 1989 307
Bruce Pollock U.S. The 7,500 Most Important Songs of 1944-2000 2005 *
pc muñoz U.S. Verse-Chorus-Verse: A Column Dedicated to Great Songs 2005 *
Mark Ellingham U.S. The Rough Guide Book of Playlists: 5,000 Songs You Must Download 2007 *

(*) designates lists that are unordered.

Cover versions

Nathan East version featuring Philip Bailey, Verdine White and Ralph Johnson
"Serpentine Fire"
Single by Nathan East featuring Philip Bailey, Verdine White and Ralph Johnson
from the album Reverence
Released2017
LabelYamaha Entertainment Group
Songwriter(s)Maurice White, Verdine White, Reginald "Sonny" Burke

In December 2016, guitarist Nathan East released a cover of "Serpentine Fire" featuring Philip Bailey, Verdine White and Ralph Johnson as a single on Yamaha Entertainment Group.[13][14] The song reached No. 17 on the Billboard Smooth Jazz Songs chart.[15]

Critical reception

Andy Kellman of Allmusic proclaimed "Serpentine Fire" gets an ornate update with Bailey and EW&F partners Verdine White and Ralph Johnson. Phil Collins' drums and Eric Clapton's guitar are dredged from the master recording of an abandoned project, lost for 25 years, that was found in Patti Austin's basement by East's engineer."[16]

Charts
Year Chart Peak
position
2016 US Billboard Smooth Jazz Songs 17[15]

Other covers

"Serpentine Fire" has also been covered by artists such as Jimmy Smith on his 1978 album Unfinished Business and Tom Scott on his 1990 album Them Changes. Brian Culbertson covered the song on his 2003 album Come On Up and Jack DeJohnette recorded another version with Ravi Coltrane and Matthew Garrison for his 2015 album In Movement.[14]

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gollark: You forgot a }, I think.
gollark: There's some website where you can practice writing the TeX code corresponding to some maths it shows you, but I forgot the name.
gollark: Ah.
gollark: Good, goooood.

References
  1. Earth, Wind & Fire: Serpentine Fire. Columbia Records. October 1977.
  2. "Earth, Wind & Fire: Serpentine Fire (Hot Soul Songs)". billboard.com.
  3. "Earth, Wind & Fire: Serpentine Fire (Hot 100)". billboard.com.
  4. "Billboard.com - Year End Charts - Year-end Singles - Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs". web.archive.org. 2007-12-11. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
  5. "Earth, Wind & Fire: Serpentine Fire". imdb.com.
  6. "Artists beginning with E". theguardian.com. The Guardian. November 19, 2007.
  7. Hogan, Ed. "Earth, Wind & Fire: Serpentine Fire". allmusic.com. Allmusic.
  8. McEwen,Joe (January 26, 1978). "Earth, Wind & Fire: All n' All". rollingstone.com. Rolling Stone.
  9. Garland, Phyl (March 1978). "Earth, Wind & Fire: All 'n All" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com. Vol. 40 no. 3. Stereo Review. p. 77.
  10. Earth, Wind & Fire: Serpentine Fire. charts.nz. RIANZ.
  11. "RPM Top 100 Singles". bac-lac.gc.ca. Vol. 28 no. 22. RPM. February 25, 1978.
  12. "Earth, Wind & Fire: Serpentine Fire". acclaimedmusic.net.
  13. Nathan East featuring Philip Bailey, Verdine White and Ralph Johnson: Serpentine Fire. Yamaha Entertainment Group. December 2016.
  14. "Serpentine Fire by Earth, Wind & Fire". secondhandsongs.com.
  15. "Nathan East featuring Philip Bailey, Verdine White and Ralph Johnson: Serpentine Fire (Smooth Jazz Songs)". billboard.com. Billboard.
  16. Kellman, Andy. "Nathan East: Reverence". allmusic.com. Allmusic.
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