Serpentine Fire

"Serpentine Fire"
Single by Earth, Wind & Fire
from the album All 'N All
B-side	"Serpentine Fire (Instrumental)"
Released	October 15, 1977
Recorded	1977
Genre	Funk[1]
Length	3:50
Label	Columbia
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

"Serpentine Fire" is a single by Earth, Wind & Fire that was issued in October 1977 by Columbia Records.^[2] The single rose to numbers 1 and 13 on the Billboard Hot Soul Songs and Hot 100 charts, respectively.^[3][4]

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.^[3][5] The song was produced by bandleader Maurice White for Kalimba Productions and arranged by Tom Tom 84. "Serpentine Fire" was 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.^[2]

During October 1977, the music video for "Serpentine Fire" was issued by Columbia.^[6]

Critical reception

The Guardian declared "songs such as Serpentine Fire and Jupiter run on sheer adrenaline".^[7] Ed Hogan of AllMusic called the tune "a poppin mid-tempo jam".^[8] 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."^[9] Phyl Garland of Stereo Review also described the song as "a high stepper guaranteed to set even the most sluggish soul into motion".^[10] Record World said that "The sound is the thing here, with percussion, guitars and brass creating an infectious rhythmic environment for a basic, frequently-repeated lyric."^[11]

Charts

Year	Chart	Peak position
1977	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	13
	U.S. Billboard Hot R&B Singles	1
	New Zealand Pop Songs[12]	32
1978	RPM Top Canadian Singles[13]	13

Accolades

Publication	Country	Accolade	Year	Rank
Dave Marsh	U.S.	The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made^[citation needed]	1989	307
Bruce Pollock	U.S.	The 7,500 Most Important Songs of 1944-2000^[citation needed]	2005	*
pc muñoz	U.S.	Verse-Chorus-Verse: A Column Dedicated to Great Songs^[citation needed]	2005	*
Mark Ellingham	U.S.	The Rough Guide Book of Playlists: 5,000 Songs You Must Download^[citation needed]	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
Released	2016
Label	Yamaha Entertainment Group
Songwriter(s)	Maurice White, Verdine White, Reginald "Sonny" Burke

In December 2016, bass guitarist Nathan East released a cover of "Serpentine Fire" featuring Philip Bailey, Verdine White and Ralph Johnson as a single via Yamaha Entertainment Group.^[14][15] The song reached No. 17 on the Billboard Smooth Jazz Songs chart.^[16]

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."^[17]

Charts

Year	Chart	Peak position
2016	US Billboard Smooth Jazz Songs	17[16]

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.^[15]

References

1. Holtje, Stephen (January 1, 1998). "Earth, Wind & Fire/Maurice White". In Graff, Gary; du Lac, Josh; McFarlin, Jim (eds.). MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide. Detroit: Visible Ink Press. pp. 189–190.
2. Earth, Wind & Fire: Serpentine Fire. Columbia Records. October 1977.
3. "Earth, Wind & Fire: Serpentine Fire (Hot Soul Songs)". Billboard.
4. "Earth, Wind & Fire: Serpentine Fire (Hot 100)". Billboard.
5. "Billboard.com - Year End Charts - Year-end Singles - Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. 2007-12-11. Archived from the original on 2007-12-11. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
6. "Earth, Wind & Fire: Serpentine Fire". imdb.com.
7. "Artists beginning with E". The Guardian. November 19, 2007.
8. Hogan, Ed. "Earth, Wind & Fire: Serpentine Fire". allmusic.com. Allmusic.
9. McEwen,Joe (January 26, 1978). "Earth, Wind & Fire: All n' All". rollingstone.com. Rolling Stone.
10. Garland, Phyl (March 1978). "Earth, Wind & Fire: All 'n All" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com. Vol. 40, no. 3. Stereo Review. p. 77.
11. "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. October 8, 1977. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
12. Earth, Wind & Fire: Serpentine Fire. RIANZ – via charts.nz.
13. RPM Top 100 Singles. Vol. 28. RPM. February 25, 1978 – via bac-lac.gc.ca.
14. Nathan East featuring Philip Bailey, Verdine White and Ralph Johnson: Serpentine Fire. Yamaha Entertainment Group. December 2016.
15. "Serpentine Fire by Earth, Wind & Fire". secondhandsongs.com.
16. "Nathan East featuring Philip Bailey, Verdine White and Ralph Johnson: Serpentine Fire (Smooth Jazz Songs)". Billboard.
17. Kellman, Andy. "Nathan East: Reverence". allmusic.com. Allmusic.