"We Are The World": how the song was created
35 years ago, a group of dozens of famous American musicians came together to create a masterpiece - one song for the victims of the Ethiopian famine. "We Are The World" would become one of the best-selling singles of all time, bringing millions of dollars to the hunger victims of Ethiopia!
In November 1984, the British band Live Aid recorded a Christmas song to raise money for famine relief. By the end of December, American music legend Harry Belafonte was outraged that African Americans had done nothing to help starving and dying Ethiopians. He phoned famous pop celebrity manager Ken Kragen and offered to organise a benefit concert with superstars. A few minutes later, Cragen, who later headed the relief organisation United Support Artists for Africa (U.S.A. for Africa), called singer and composer Lionel Richie...
Richie loved the idea!
"This is the moment in your life when anything is possible," he says. "You want to solve all the world's problems. That's why when you get a call asking you, "Would you want to save hungry people?" The answer is, "Of course I do!"
Richie and Cragen agreed that a recording would be better than just one performance. They couldn't find anyone better than composer, arranger and producer Quincy Jones. That night, Ritchie called Jones, who at the time was just sitting in with a pop star (with Michael Jackson).
A few days later, Jones, Ritchie and Jackson were already at Jackson's home in California, California, coming up with a tune. Within two days, the composition "We Are the World" took shape.
"We're very similar in our approach to music," says Richie, who is still talking about his friend Michael in the present tense. "Although our music is so different ... We hummed that song, we came up with it, we had someone who was able to compose the music. And of course we just killed that tune with our vocals! It was incredible. And then, after all that, we just had to shape the different phrases."
While they were working on the song, Cragen set about finding famous singers to participate. The list of mid-'80s pop artists who joined Ritchie and Jackson included Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen. To name a few. There were over 45 contestants in all. Four dozen more were rejected.
Cragen says Quincy Jones was aware of the potential problems of managing so many celebrities and their egos. He said:
"Look. If we allow anything to chance, if we allow anything down to individual artists, we will have absolute anarchy. They'll all fight for the solo performance that they think is the most important, they'll all fight for that. But they will have to work as a group."
They recorded the vocals on the night of 28 January in one 10-hour session. The song was released five weeks later.
Music critics gave mixed reviews to the song. Some liked the tune for its simplicity and the fact that it was performed by such a racially diverse group of celebrities. Others wondered why the song did not address the issues leading to famine in Africa.
But in the music business, all that matters is record sales. And "We are the World" was no exception: the song became the best-selling pop single in US history. It topped music charts around the world. But for Lionel Richie and other artists, it was more than that.
"The thing you pray for throughout your career," says Richie, "is that on top of all the hits and all the money you plan to make, you actually leave some kind of mark on the world. It was the best thing that could have ever happened, because all of our talents overnight, despite our egos, were channelled into helping others in this cruel world. And we all knew that the song would have a direct impact on these people's lives. Richie paused for a second. "We are the world, - he finally says, "this is the day I became a citizen of the world.
