"Saturday Nite" is a song by R&B band Earth, Wind & Fire which was issued as a single in 1976 by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. The song reached numbers 4 and 21 on ''Billboard'' Hot Soul Songs and

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

charts, respectively. "Saturday Nite" also rose to No. 17 on the UK Singles chart - their first hit in the United Kingdom.

Overview

"Saturday Nite" was written by

Maurice White Maurice White (December 19, 1941 – February 4, 2016) was an American singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer. He was best known as the founder, leader, main songwriter, and producer of the band Earth, Wind & Fire, and served as the ...

with Philip Bailey and

Al McKay AL, Al, Ål or al may stand for: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Al (''Aladdin'') or Aladdin, the main character in Disney's ''Aladdin'' media * Al (''EastEnders''), a minor character in the British soap opera * Al (''Fullmetal ...

. The single's

b-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

is a tune called Departure. Both songs came from EWF's 1976 studio album '' Spirit''.

Critical reception

Blues and Soul ''Blues & Soul'' is a British music magazine, established in 1967 by John Abbey. ''The Independent'' has noted ''Blues & Soul'' as being the equal of magazines such as ''NME'' and '' Q''. ''Billboard'' magazine has called ''Blues & Soul'' "a r ...

'' called Saturday Nite a "gem". '' Cashbox'' noted that "shouting 1,2,3,4 - horns come wailing in followed by a snappy synthesizer. The vocals are full, the group utilizes a winning variety of vocal styles, funky and smooth". Music Week also described Saturday Nite as "easy-paced, and much more of a two hander, with the wonderful Maurice White..trading vocals with (Philip) Bailey, while the backing track is powerful and brassy." ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with '' Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 under the name ''Music Vendor'', but in 1964 it was changed to ''Record Wo ...

'' said it is "in an uptempo groove that is fine for any nite."

Samples

"Saturday Nite" was sampled by the

Spice Girls The Spice Girls are a British girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Melanie Brown, also known as Mel B ("Scary Spice"); Melanie Chisholm, or Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"); Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"); Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"); and Vict ...

on their 1996 single " Say You'll Be There".

Chart positions

References

External links

1976 singles Earth, Wind & Fire songs Songs written by Maurice White Songs written by Al McKay Songs written by Philip Bailey 1976 songs Columbia Records singles Songs about nights {{1970s-single-stub