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WE ARE THE WORLD

Watched the Greatest Night in Pop this weekend.  Got 98/88 ratings from Rotten Tomatoes.  Never heard of it?  Released as a documentary to limited audiences on 31January2024, and now streaming on Netflix.

This is the largely untold story of the making of We Are The World--the most magnanimous song of all-time for charity, earning more than the equivalent of $200 million today--when 46 pop music stars showed up late at night on 28January1985 and all through the morning until the sun rose put worked together an epic recording to make a difference for Humanity.

  1. Michael Jackson
  2. Lionel Richie
  3. Stevie Wonder
  4. Paul Simon
  5. Kenny Rogers
  6. James Ingram
  7. Tina Turner
  8. Billy Joel
  9. Michael Jackson
  10. Diana Ross
  11. Dionne Warwick
  12. Willie Nelson
  13. Al Jarreau
  14. Bruce Springsteen
  15. Kenny Loggins
  16. Steve Perry
  17. Daryl Hall
  18. Huey Lewis
  19. Cyndi Lauper
  20. Kim Carnes
  21. Bob Dylan
  22. Ray Charles
  23. Stevie Nicks
  24. Harry Belafonte
  25. Lindsay Buckingham
  26. Donna Summer
  27. LaToya Jackson
  28. Bob Geldof
  29. Quincy Jones (as a conductor)

At an adjoining soundstage, 500 guests had a party and watched, including Christie Brinkley, who had come with Billy Joel (they married a couple weeks later), plus Brooke Shields, Jane Fonda, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Steve Martin....I could go on.

The story of how all this happened deserves to be re-told, although you too can watch the making on Netflix.

  • In 1985, almost forty years ago, Harry Belafonte observed the British Band Aid's effort to fight famine in Africa, so thought this was something the USA should also do, and contacted Ken Kragen, American music manager, who at that time represented Lionel Richie.  
  • Quincy Jones was recruited, so they contacted Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson to help co-write a song for charity with Richie.  
  • Essentially, they had picked the night of the American Music Awards, 28January1985, because a lot of singers would be in Los Angeles anyway, and they only had 26 days to do all this.  
  • Wonder was busy, so Richie and Jackson wrote the song, with Jones becoming the conductor.
  • Beginning on January 22, tracks were laid down and planning proceeded, for a lot of stars had been invited, and soloists had to be selected, small groups next each other for the proper harmony, etc.
  • Recording began the night of January 28 and people drifted in.
  • Prince did not show up, and a replacement was necessary, which turned out to Huey Lewis (who said his legs were shaking during his few seconds contribution) and many stayed around until 8AM.
  • Song was released on March 7 and sold 20 million.
  • Ten of the 46 have since passed away, including Belafonte, Kragen, Tina Turner, two Pointer sisters, Waylon Jennings, Ray Charles, Al Jarreau, James Ingram and Kenny Rogers.
The documentary, directed by Bao Nguyen, features Lionel Richie, who that night was the MC of the American Music Awards, and had already sung a couple of songs at the event.  He was the story teller, and still today, at the age of 74 is now a judge for American Idol.

On 1February2010, the same studio was used to re-shoot We Are The World for Haiti, again produced by Quincy Jones and Lionel Richie.  Yesterday I lamented what was occurring in Haiti.  Back in 2010 Haiti had a 7 magnitude earthquake, where the death toll might have been as high as 200,000.  This recording session lasted 14 hours and involved 85 musicians, all in town for the 52nd Grammy Awards.  Among the singers were 83-year old Tony Bennett and 9-year old Ethan Bortnick.  There was a rap part involving LL Cool J, will.i.am, Snoop Dog and seven others.  Others included Janet Jackson, Celine Dion, Justin Bieber, Nicole Scherzinger, Jennifer Hudson, Josh Groban, Barbara Streisand...you can see the list.

Watch the 35th anniversary video of We Are The World.  So long after that eventful enterprise, the song is still raising money for famine relief.  On 28January2020, Studio A of that same location hosted a gathering.  The result was a 53-minute We Are The World:  The Story Behind the Song.  

Lionel Richie is still singing, and extended his Sing A Song All Night Long Tour with Earth, Wind & Fire.  On August 31, he will be at Hollywood Park with Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson and more.  Those tickets start at $320

Here is a cartoon released today by Mike Luckovich.

With the fate of Trump's Georgia trial awaiting judgement, here are two more from Luckovich.

- 

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