HISTORY's Moment in Media: The Biggest Names in Music Gather to Record "We Are the World"

quotWe Are the Worldquot written by Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson and produced by Quincy Jones was released on March 7 1985 39 years ago this month and quickly broke all sales expectations Time magazine reported that 1000 copies sold out in two days at Tower Records in West Hollywood Nationwide the entire initial run of 800000 sold out within days And the record would go on to raise at least 60 million and by some later estimates as much as 75 or 80 millionIt all started with an idea borrowed from the BritsIn late November of 1984 the Irish musician and producer Bob Geldof assembled a group of British and Irish rockers to record a song he39d written years earlier called quotDo They Know It39s Christmasquot He39d been inspired by a BBC documentary on the devastating famine in Ethiopia It was the first time a musical benefit like this had been envisioned as a recording session not a huge concert and that made it logistically easier to gather toptier artists for the effort he ended up calling Band Aid Sting was there plus Bono George Michael and some members of Duran Duran among others David Bowie and Paul McCartney were invited but couldn39t make it Released within days to capitalize on the holiday season it spent five weeks atop the British charts and went on to raise 28 millionHarry Belafonte the legendary musician and actor and a committed humanrights activist admired the project But he thought the Americans could do it even better He took the idea to his manager Ken Kragen who turned to Richie Jackson and Jones to make it happenKragen39s genius was to set the recording session for the night of the American Music Awards in Los Angeles in late January of 1985 nearly every big musician was already set to be in town Kragen scheduled the session to start at AampampM Studios originally built by Charlie Chaplin as his own movie studio and today home to the Jim Henson Recording Studios just after the end of the awards ceremony at the Shrine Auditorium across townIt was a big night for Richie Not only was his quotAll Night Long All Nightquot a huge hit but he also served as host of the American Music Awards Still he Jackson and Jones had spent several weeks working on the song The three would be the guiding forces of the recording session even though Jackson39s Thriller would lose out to Purple Rain by Prince a noshow at AampampM Studios for favorite poprock album at that night39s awardsA delightful Esquire feature captured what it was like inside that studio complete with recollections from many who were there Among the 45 vocalists on the track were many of the biggest names in music Not just Jackson and Richie but also Bruce Springsteen Billy Joel Diana Ross and Dionne Warwick Bob Dylan was there and so was Ray Charles For some reason Dan Aykroyd was there tooThe Esquire piece paints a portrait of the vibe in the room They were all worldfamous names but many didn39t previously know one other quotEverybody had to figure out how to relate to each otherquot said Daryl Hall of ampamp Oates fame quotSo everybody started to act like they were in the eighthgrade chorus All these superstars whatever you want to call them we all turned into juniorhigh kids in chorusquot And though they39d all been sent demo tapes not everyone had listened to them so some were hearing the song for the first time quotI don39t think anyone liked itquot Billy Joel recalled quotI remember Cyndi Lauper saying 39It sounds like a Pepsi commercial39quotFamously Jones hung a sign on the entrance that night quotCheck your egos at the doorquot The admonition worked As the group wound their way through the song it turned into something else quotThe heavenly choirquot a photographer there to capture the night described it to Esquire They recorded the big chorus first then worked their way through the solos It was after 8 am when they finishedJust five weeks later We Are the World credited to USA for Africa that39s United Support of Artists for Africa was in stores Since its founding the group has raised more than 100 million dollars for poverty relief in Africa and the United States And it inspired a wave of similar musical efforts for other causes Within a few years there was quotTears Are Not Enoughquot by a Canadian supergroup which was part of the We Are the World album quotHear 39n Aidquot by heavymetal rockers to combat famine came soon after The single quotThat39s What Friends Are Forquot benefiting amfAR became a No 1 hit Later would come Farm Aid additional Band Aid concerts and eventually the One World concertsIf you want to remember that great night back in 1985 the documentary The Greatest Night in Pop includes neverbeforeseen footage from the song39s creation And thanks to the doc last month quotWe Are the Worldquot once the biggest hit in the world returned to the Billboard pop chartsPhoto courtesy of The Greatest Night in Pop documentaryClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillageorgMyersBizNet

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