TThirty-nine years ago, on January 28, 1985, 45 of music's biggest names, from Stevie Wonder to Bruce Springsteen, gathered in a Los Angeles studio to release the charity single “We Are the World.” recorded the refrain). we are children. )
A new documentary will be produced as the 40th anniversary of the exhibition approaches. The best night of pop The show, which will be released on Netflix on January 29, depicts how the historic gathering came together. Participants interviewed include Cyndi Lauper, Kenny Loggins, Lionel Richie, Smokey Robinson, and Dionne Warwick. This documentary features video footage from USA for Africa and life Magazine article about the session. Director Bao Nguyen and editor Nick Zimmerman synchronized some of Breskin's Dictaphone audio with footage from USA for Africa recording sessions, where audio was missing.
“We Are the World” was inspired by “Do They Know It's Christmas?” A 1984 charity single recorded by some of Britain and Ireland's most popular musicians to raise money to end famine in Ethiopia. The cast was primarily white, and legendary artist and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte felt it necessary to include top black stars in the charity single. “'White people are saving black people. We don't have black people saving black people,'” Lionel Richie said in the documentary, paraphrasing how Belafonte proposed the project. “'We need to save our people from hunger.' He was trying to get a group of us young people involved in what was happening in Africa. I said, of course.”
Belafonte worked with top Hollywood managers and producers, including Ken Cragen and Quincy Jones, to recruit rising music stars. They knew that a lot of people would be in Los Angeles for the American Music Awards, which Richie was hosting, so the recording session took place right after. The documentary's biggest revelation was that Prince's co-star Sheila E. claimed that she was invited to participate because the producers believed that if she was there, Prince would also be there. Describing what it was like waiting for Solo in her room, she said: here? 'And I'm like, “Wow.'' This is strange. And I started to feel like I was being used because they wanted Prince to show up, and the longer they kept me around, maybe Prince would show up. She said she knew he wouldn't come because he would feel uncomfortable being around people like this, and overall it was a “heartbreaking” night.
Richie co-wrote “We Are the World” with Michael Jackson, and Richie credits Jackson with writing the title line, “We Are the World.” However, some of the featured singers played important roles in the song's production during the hectic recording sessions. For example, Bob Dylan felt uncomfortable in a full room and struggled with his lines. He called in Stevie Wonder to help, and Wonder sat down at the piano and sang the song the way he thought Dylan should sing it, imitating the indie artist's folky voice. Then Dylan perfected his section.
The song became an instant hit. The March 25, 1985 issue of Time magazine touted a list of statistics showing that the single was on its way to becoming the “hit of the decade.” Tower Records' Sunset Boulevard store in West Hollywood sold 1,000 copies in two days, compared to about 100 to 125 a week. The magazine said that the most notable thing about the song is that it “sees musicians from warring factions within the industry put aside their differences in style and temperament and come together to share and spread a modicum of decency. He argued that this is something that can be seen. The article urged readers to buy it, saying, “This song is bland and pretentious, but I'd like to remind the teenagers who buy five copies at a time at Tower Records and give them to their friends for one copy at a time.'' Please let me know,” he wrote. Go out and buy five more. please. Please tell me about them. Then buy the record. ” Most of the proceeds from “We Are the World” will be donated to USA for Africa (abbreviation for USA (United Support of Artists) for Africa), which raises funds to end poverty on the African continent. % was set aside for efforts to combat homelessness. At Wonder's request, in the United States.
Is there a 21st century version of “We Are the World”? Are Tik Tok's top influencers all filming charity videos in the same studio? It remains to be seen, but Nguyen is optimistic. He said: “I hope this movie and song will inspire the younger generation to try something like this.”
