Arguably the most successful charity single, “We Are the World” brought together the biggest pop stars of the 1980s. It was a worldwide success thanks to the collaboration of these major recording artists. With global interest sparked, “We Are the World” raised more than $60 million for African famine relief. “Check your egos at the door” was producer Quincy Jones’ special instruction to the stars asked to lend their voices to the recording. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Prior to achieving phenomenal success, Jones had to be creative in bringing together dozens of music artists and getting the recording to sound the way he and songwriters Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie envisioned. Jones gathered the biggest artists of the era for an epic recording session of “We Are the World” on the evening of January 28, 1985, straight after the American Music Awards.
Singer/songwriter/activist/actor Harry Belafonte initiated the events that led to the famous recording of “We Are the World.” Taking cues from the multimillion charity success of Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?,” Belafonte collaborated with Richie, Jackson, and Jones to create an American mission under the name “USA for Africa.” Richie and Jackson penned the song over several days in January. Ken Kragen, Belafonte’s manager (who also served as President of the USA for Africa Foundation, the nonprofit organization that supervised the earnings from “We Are the World”) planned the marathon recording session on the night of the AMA's to ensure that the famous stars would already be together and able to sing.
Among the 45 stars featured were ‘80s icons like Cyndi Lauper and Huey Lewis; pop legends like Tina Turner, Paul Simon, and Smokey Robinson; country superstars Kenny Rogers and Willie Nelson; and musical bigwigs like Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, and Ray Charles. Also spotted in the studio were half of the Jackson family, Irishman Bob Geldof, and co-organizer of Band Aid and Canadian comedian Dan Aykroyd.
Prior to the historic recording of “We Are the World,” these celebrated figures did as they were instructed and checked their egos at the door. Then, the big group sang, solos harmoniously diving into the chorus and soaring back into solos again. When the single was dropped on the airwaves, magic happened.