The brainchild of singer, actor, and humanitarian Harry Belafonte, “We Are the World” would materialize into a monumental event that gathered together the biggest American music stars of the time.
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On the heels of “Do They Know It’s Christmas,” the anthem recorded by the biggest names in British music (collectively called Band Aid) to raise money to fight famine in Africa, United Support of Artists for Africa (USA for Africa) was formed. The plan was to gather the talent that would be in L.A. for the American Music Awards on January 28, 1985, to record vocals for an American charity song that would tackle famine as well.
On January 22, Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, and Lionel Richie met at Lion Share Recording Studio in Los Angeles, California, to go over the song. They gathered drummer John Robinson, bassist Louis Johnson, and pianist Greg Phillinganes to record the song’s backing track the following day. A guide vocal was captured, and dubs were made to send out to the participants.
On the night of the 28th, Michael Jackson skipped the American Music Awards. Instead, he went to A&M Studios to lay down a master guide vocal so the singers could follow along during the choruses. After the awards show ended, the artists started to arrive. Almost every artist that won an award was present. The notable exception was Prince, who won three awards but declined to join in the recording. (He did, however, contribute a song to the USA for Africa album).
As the artists arrived, they were met by Stevie Wonder and a sign tacked on the wall that said, “Please check your egos at the door.” The singers mingled as they waited for everyone to show up. Producer Quincy Jones addressed the group and introduced Bob Geldof, the lead singer of The Boomtown Rats, who was a driving force behind Band Aid (and later Live Aid).
Geldof said, “I think what’s happening in Africa is a crime of historic proportions, and the crime is that the Western world has got billions of tons of grain bursting in its silos, and we’re not releasing it to people who are dying of hunger. And I don’t know if we, in particular, can conceive of ‘nothing.’ But ‘nothing’ is not having a cardboard box to sleep under when it’s minus 10 degrees. Nothing is not having any drink to get drunk on, not having water. When you walk into one of the corrugated iron huts and you see meningitis and malaria and typhoid buzzing around in the air. And you see dead bodies lying side by side with the live ones, and on a good day, you can only see 120 people die slowly in front of you. In some of the camps, you see 15 bags of flour for 27,500 people. And it’s that that we’re here for. And I don’t want to bring anybody down, but maybe it’s the best way of making what you really feel, why you’re really here tonight, come out through this song. So thanks a lot, everybody, and let’s hope it works.”
The first task was to capture the group chorus. Quincy was conducting the choir. They went through several passes as a rehearsal. Then, it was time to roll the tape. Vocal parts were stacked. It took about four hours as different parts were worked out. Toward the end of the session, a spontaneous tribute to Harry Belafonte happened as the group started singing the 1956 hit song “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song).” Smokey Robinson, Ray Charles, and Al Jarreau started, and the group joined in. It erupted into a round of applause in appreciation of the 58-year-old civil rights activist.
[RELATED: The Top 10 Harry Belafonte Songs]
The group was then herded together for a photo shoot for Life magazine before the individual soloists started in. 21 artists worked out parts as well as duet parts where the lines overlapped. Everyone gathered around the piano as Stevie Wonder played in order to rehearse. Just before it was time to roll tape, Wonder welcomed two special guests into the studio. Two Ethiopian women spoke to the group, “On behalf of my country, we thank you for all you have done. Thank you very much.”
The group of superstars (and millionaires many times over) was clearly moved. They were ready to cut their vocals. They went around the room and took their turns, with the parts being cut in order. If they needed multiple takes, they all did them right there, on the spot.
It’s worth noting that this would very likely not happen today. The artists would all record their parts remotely and send them in to the producer. It was an amazing feat to physically get this group of talent together in one room to make this record.
The song was compiled and mixed at Lion Share Studios. Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, and James Ingram were brought in to add their parts afterward. The song was released on March 7, 1985, and became the fastest-selling single in U.S. history on its way to making more than $68 million. The accompanying album was released on March 23 and sold more than 4 million copies worldwide.
On April 5th, over 8,000 radio stations played the song at the exact same time. It reached millions of people all over the world. On July 13, Live Aid was held simultaneously in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and London, England, to continue to raise money and awareness for the cause. A performance of “We Are the World” was the finale of the whole event.
We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day, so let’s start giving
There’s a choice we’re making
We’re saving our own lives
It’s true we’ll make a better day, just you and me
Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images
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