WE ARE THE WORLD

“Check your egos at the door.” That was Quincy Jones’ special instruction that he sent out to the several dozen pop stars on this day in 1985. He invited them to participate in the recording of “We Are the World”.

Jones was the producer of a record that would eventually go on to sell more than 20 million copies—it’s the eighth best-selling physical single of all time—and raise more than $60 million for African famine relief. But before “We Are the World” could achieve those feats, it had to be captured on tape—no simple feat considering the number of major recording artists slated to participate. With only one chance to get the recording the way he and songwriters Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie wanted it, Jones convened the marathon recording session of “We Are the World” at around 10 p.m. on the evening of 28 January 1985, immediately following the conclusion of the American Music Awards ceremony held just a few miles away.

Singer/actor/activist Harry Belafonte was the initiator of the events that led to the recording of “We Are the World”. Inspired by the recent success of “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”—the multimillion-selling charity record by the British-Irish collective Band Aid—Belafonte talked Richie, Jackson and Jones into helping him organise an American response under the name USA for Africa.

Among the 45 stars who sang on “We Are the World” that night were Cyndi Lauper, Kenny Rogers, Willie Nelson, Smokey Robinson, Tina Turner, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, & Bob Dylan.

“Most of us who were there didn’t like the song, but nobody would say so. I think Cyndi Lauper leaned over me & said, ‘It sounds like a Pepsi commercial.’ And I didn’t disagree,” said Billy Joel to Rolling Stone in 2005.

Meanwhile, according to Quincy Jones, Lauper was the only artist who caused a disruption during the recording. “She was fucking up every take because her necklace or bracelet was rattling in the microphone.”

Oh, the biggest star not to get an invite to “We Are the World” was Madonna. According to Nile Rodgers she was not invited because some of her peers felt that she did not deserve a spot on its lineup.

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Featured image via Totally 80s.