"Serpentine Fire" is a single by

Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (abbreviated as EW&F or EWF) is an American band formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1969. Their music spans multiple genres, including jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, Latin and Afro-pop. They are among the best-selling ba ...

that was issued in October 1977 by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

. The single rose to numbers 1 and 13 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Hot Soul Songs and

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the 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), o ...

charts, respectively.

Overview

"Serpentine Fire" spent seven weeks atop the ''

'' Hot Soul Songs chart and was named the R&B single of the year by ''

''. The song was produced by bandleader

Maurice White Maurice White (December 19, 1941 – February 4, 2016) was an American musician, best known as the founder, leader, main songwriter and chief producer of the band Earth, Wind & Fire, also serving as the band's co-lead singer with Philip Bailey. ...

for Kalimba Productions and arranged by Tom Tom 84. "Serpentine Fire" was composed by Maurice,

Verdine White Verdine Adams White (born Verdine Adams Jr.; July 25, 1951) is an American musician, best known as a founding member and bassist for the band Earth, Wind & Fire. White was placed at No. 19 on Rolling Stone's list oThe 50 Greatest Bassists of Al ...

and Reginald 'Sonny' Burke. An instrumental version of "Serpentine Fire" was the

b-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

of this single. "Serpentine Fire" came off of EWF's 1977 album ''

All 'n All ''All 'n All'' is the eighth studio album by the American band Earth, Wind & Fire, released in November 1977 by Columbia Records. The album peaked at No. 1 on the US Billboard (magazine), BillboardTop R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and No. 3 on the Bil ...

''. During October 1977, the

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for "Serpentine Fire" was issued by Columbia.

Critical reception

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' declared "songs such as Serpentine Fire and Jupiter run on sheer

adrenaline Adrenaline, also known as epinephrine, is a hormone and medication which is involved in regulating visceral functions (e.g., respiration). It appears as a white microcrystalline granule. Adrenaline is normally produced by the adrenal glands a ...

". Ed Hogan of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

called the tune "a poppin mid-tempo jam". Joe McEwen of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' 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." Phyl Garland of ''

Stereo Review ''Sound & Vision'' was an American magazine, purchased by AVTech Media Ltd. (UK) in March 2018, covering home theater, audio, video and multimedia consumer products. Before 2000, it had been published for most of its history as ''Stereo Review' ...

'' also described the song as "a high stepper guaranteed to set even the most sluggish soul into motion". ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' said that "The sound is the thing here, with percussion, guitars and brass creating an infectious rhythmic environment for a basic, frequently-repeated lyric."

Charts

Accolades

(*) designates lists that are unordered.

Cover versions

Nathan East version featuring Philip Bailey, Verdine White and Ralph Johnson

In December 2016, bass guitarist

Nathan East Nathan Harrell East (born December 8, 1955) is an American jazz, R&B, and rock bass guitarist and vocalist. With more than 2,000 recordings, East is one of the most recorded bass players in the history of music. East holds a Bachelor of Arts ...

released a cover of "Serpentine Fire" featuring

Philip Bailey Philip James Bailey (born May 8, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and percussionist, best known as an early member and one of the two lead singers (along with group founder Maurice White) of the band Earth, Wind & Fire. Noted for his fo ...

and Ralph Johnson as a single via Yamaha Entertainment Group. The song reached No. 17 on the ''Billboard''

Smooth Jazz Songs The ''Billboard'' Smooth Jazz Airplay chart measures airplay spins on 15 smooth jazz radio stations in the United States. Chart history Artists with most number-one hits ;Artists with most Smooth Jazz Airplay No. 1s ''(as of May 31, 2025)'' :2 ...

chart.

Critical reception

Andy Kellman of

proclaimed "Serpentine Fire" gets an ornate update with Bailey and EW&F partners

and Ralph Johnson.

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis (band), Genesis and had a successful solo career, ac ...

' drums and

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...

's guitar are dredged from the master recording of an abandoned project, lost for 25 years, that was found in

Patti Austin Patti Austin (born August 10, 1950) is an American Grammy Award-winning R&B, pop, and jazz singer and songwriter best known for " Baby, Come to Me", her 1982 duet with James Ingram, which topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 after its re-release ...

's basement by East's engineer."

Charts

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 Brian Culbertson (born January 12, 1973) is an American smooth jazz/ R&B/funk musician and producer. His instruments include the synthesizer, piano and trombone. Early life and career Culbertson was born in Decatur, Illinois. As a child, he wa ...

covered the song on his 2003 album '' Come On Up'' and

Jack DeJohnette Jack DeJohnette (born August 9, 1942) is an American jazz drummer, pianist, and composer. Known for his extensive work as leader and sideman for musicians including Charles Lloyd (jazz musician), Charles Lloyd, Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett, B ...

recorded another version with

Ravi Coltrane Ravi Coltrane (born August 6, 1965) is an American jazz saxophonist. Co-owner of the record label RKM Music, he has produced music for pianist Luis Perdomo, guitarist David Gilmore, and trumpeter Ralph Alessi. Biography Ravi Coltrane is t ...

and

Matthew Garrison Matthew Justin Garrison (born June 2, 1970) is an American jazz bassist. Since 2011, he has run ShapeShifter Lab in Brooklyn, New York, with Fortuna Sung. Described by ''the New York Times'' as "an electric bass virtuoso", he has toured with ...

for his 2015 album '' In Movement''.

References

{{Authority control 1977 songs 1977 singles Earth, Wind & Fire songs Columbia Records singles Songs written by Verdine White Songs written by Maurice White Songs with music by Sonny Burke