A column dedicated to great songs, old and new.
May 17, 2005
Written by Maurice White, Verdine White, and Sonny Burke
From All n All, Columbia Records, 1977
"Serpentine Fire" was an extremely important piece for me as a young musician. I can trace my affinity for this song directly to a jazz-funk bassist named Skylark, who lived across the street from me when I was a child in San Jose.
In the late 70s, when I knew him best, Skylark was a Berklee student and struggling musician. He spent his California summers bouncing around between local bands and working a curious car-upholstery day-job. I would often watch him rehearse with his bands, or hang around while he practiced the bass.
All n All
Earth, Wind & Fire
1977 was the year I began taking free drum lessons at my public elementary school. Whenever I saw Skylark that year, I would excitedly blather on about my drum lessons, and we usually ended up talking about music in general. He knew that I had started to buy 45s (singles on vinyl), and he was very interested in monitoring my burgeoning collection. He was impressed with some of the records I had amassed (Stevie Wonder, Hall & Oates), but was clearly distressed by others (Shaun Cassidy). He vowed to bring me some music that would upgrade my collection significantly.
I was playing football with my brothers on a weekday afternoon when Skylark rode up to our house on his 10-speed, with a copy of the "Serpentine Fire" 45 in his hand.
"You need to hear this," he said. "I think you'll really like it, and it will help you with your drums."
I took the 45 inside and placed it on my mother's turntable. I distinctly remember being unimpressed with the brief, 8-bar instrumental intro to the song, but when the layered vocals came in, singing
"Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!",
I was riveted. I then heard a beat and drum sound which engaged me in a way no music had before. The experience was visceral and immediate. I played it over and over for weeks, listening closely to the conga and vocal break right before the last verse, which is still my favorite part of the song. There's no doubt that this song's heavy emphasis on voice and rhythm helped shape my ideas about music, and my approach to songwriting. Certainly, Maurice White's culturally inclusive blending of R&B music with instruments from world cultures (such as the African Kalimba), and his spiritually-informed approach became an influence later, as I investigated their work. Skylark subsequently supplied me with additional EWF albums, as well as records by Stanley Clarke, Lenny White, and others.
Skylark went on to much success in the music industry. In the 80s, he composed a string of songs for Deniece Williams, Hiroshima and Michael Cooper. To bring things full circle, in 1987 Skylark wrote and played on Earth Wind and Fire's hit "System of Survival", which I'll eventually profile here (the story about how he got his tape to Maurice is hilarious). I haven't spoken to him in years, but I know he is currently the bassist for the touring incarnation of the Doobie Brothers, and he lives in Las Vegas. He knows I became a big EW&F fan, and he knows I am now a recording artist.
He doesn't know I still have my Shaun Cassidy records.
pcm
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