Boogie Wonderland - Earth, Wind & Fire w/The Emotions (1979) 8/10/21

Songwriter Alee Willis was deeply affected by the 1977 film "Looking for Mr. Goodbar." Diane Keaton starred as a lost soul who would go to the disco every night to dance away her misery.

When Alee sat down with Jon Lind to write today's "Great Song of 1979," she wanted to accomplish two things:

#1: Write a song that gave people on the edge of the abyss a tiny glimmer of hope that finding love was still a possibility.

#2: Use the title "Boogie Wonderland." Alee was amazed at how many songs of the disco era had "Boogie" in the title and yet had no real "story" to them. She felt the title would not only TELL a story, but FIT the story she was telling.

When the song was completed, Alee took it to Earth, Wind & Fire front man Maurice White, who didn't like the song very much and passed it off to another group.

But Alee was positive that EW&F was the perfect group to perform it, and after a lot of begging, was finally able to convince Maurice to reclaim and record the song.

In one final touch, Maurice added The Emotions (known for their 1977 hit "Best of my Love") to the mix...then released it as a single off EW&F's 1979 album, "I Am."

Music critics LOVED the song, with kudos from Rolling Stone and several other publications. (Alee was ecstatic!)

Before long, "Boogie Wonderland" was a Top 10 record in 9 countries. In the US, it reached #2 on Billboard's Soul Chart, #6 on the Hot 100 and #14 on the Disco Chart.

It was also Grammy nominated for "Best R&B Instrumental" and "Best Disco Recording."

In 2005, it was used in the film "Madagascar."

"Boogie Wonderland" by Earth, Wind & Fire, with the Emotions: A "Great Song of 1979!)