“We are the world”, that brilliant piece of music in which nearly fifty singers and musicians participated, was recorded on January 28, 1985 thanks to the combination of several established talents, mostly American artists, such as Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder , Tina Turner and Bob Dylan. Initially, “USA for Africa” It was the idea of composer Harry Belafonte, shocked by the images of hungry children exposed in the media.
With this objective, he began to summon music stars starting in December 1984 for what he himself projected as a benefit concert, conceived with the aim of alleviating hunger in Africa. One of the first people consulted for this purpose was Ken Kragen, manager of almost half of the artists who were, at that time, at the top of the American charts.
That historic event in which musical stars of enormous magnitude participated inspired a Netflix documentary this year entitled “The Big Night of Pop”, which examines behind the scenes of the musical collective that revolutionized the artistic scene for a humanitarian cause.
The biggest surprise was when Michael Jacksonwho had achieved unparalleled success with his album Thrillernot only wanted to participate in the project, but also writing the song with Stevie Wonder and Lionel Richie. Ultimately, Richie co-wrote the song over a week in Jackson’s bedroom at his family’s Encino home and it was finished on January 21, the day before the initial recording session at Kenny Rogers’ studio.
There, Quincy Jones, Jackson, Richie, Wonder and a band that included David Paich of Toto recorded a “guide shot” that they then sent on numbered cassettes to all the project participants. Finally, on January 28, 1985, what many considered the American response to the song featuring English artists “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” was recorded at A&M Recording Studios in Los Angeles. by Band Aid.
In “We are the world“ The singers George Michael, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, Cyndi Lauper, Diana Ross and Paul Simon participated, among others. The song quickly reached ranked number one in the music rankings of the United States and England and sold, in a few days, more than 20 million copies.
The single raised 63 million dollars that were allocated to combat hunger in Ethiopia, which caused the death of one million two hundred thousand people between 1983 and 1985. Since that day, never again, until now, has a group of artists met. the greatest figures in the music world of the moment in a recording studio.
Source: Radio Profile