Earth, Wind & Fire Return to Charts After Song Featured in Popular Netflix Show

Earth Wind & Fire
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The ’70s band Earth, Wind & Fire is experiencing a revival of sorts, all thanks to the Netflix show Virgin River. Their hit song “September” appeared during the third episode in the fifth season of the series and started climbing the charts soon after. It reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Top TV Songs chart, ironically enough during the month of September. During the month the song was streamed over 19 million times in the U.S. and had 8,000 downloads.

Even without the boost from the show, the song tends to see higher numbers each year on September 21st, due to the song’s lyrics “Do you remember, the 21st night of September?” In addition, “September” wasn’t the only song to hit the charts in September. Their song “Let’s Groove” was featured on HBO’s Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty and ranked No. 6 on the chart.

Several nostalgic songs have seen a reassurance in popularity due to iconic moments on some of the most popular shows. After decades, Kate Bush‘s song “Running Up That Hill” started rising on the charts again and finding a new audience after being featured in a key scene in Netflix’s Stranger Things.

VIRGIN RIVER, from left: Martin Henderson, Alexandra Breckenridge, The Long Goodbye', (Season 4, ep. 412, aired July 20, 2022)

Netflix/Everett Collection

It seems that Virgin River is one of the top shows helping these kinds of nostalgic songs as well. Just this month, two other songs besides “September” rose to the charts after being featured on the show. “In the Shadows,” by Amy Stroup, came in at No. 3, while Lily Allen’s cover of Keane’s “Somewhere Only We Know,” came in at No. 8.

Here’s the full top 10 list from last month, thanks to Yahoo!

1. “September,” Earth, Wind & Fire, Virgin River (Netflix)
2. “Baker Street,” Gerry Rafferty, The Continental (Peacock)
3. “In the Shadows,” Amy Stroup, Virgin River (Netflix)
4. “Gold,” Kiiara, Wilderness (Amazon Prime Video)
5. “La Grange,” ZZ Top, The Continental (Peacock)
6. “Let’s Groove,” Earth, Wind & Fire, Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty (HBO)
7. “Blue Monday,” New Order, The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon (AMC)
8. “Somewhere Only We Know,” Lily Allen, Virgin River (Netflix)
9. “Sacrilege,” Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Wilderness (Amazon Prime Video)
10. “Crimson and Clover,” Tommy James and the Shondells, The Continental (Peacock)

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July 2023

Return to the days when we boogie-oogie-oogied till we just couldn’t boogie no more!

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