The Biggest Night of Pop Music’s Biggest Discoveries ‘We Are the World’ – The Hollywood Reporter

When Quincy Jones posted a sign above the entrance to AM Studios in Los Angeles reading “Check Your Ego at the Door,” on the night the producer and a group of 40 or so of the biggest singers of the 1980s recorded the charity anthem “We Are the World.”

It wasn’t entirely foolproof.

“The egos were still there; let’s not pretend they weren’t there,” Kenny Loggins says in the documentary. The greatest night in popnow streaming on Netflix.

Bao Nguyen’s film, which had its world premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, tells the story of how the single that raised more than $80 million ($214 million today) for humanitarian aid in Africa and the United States came to be, with commentary. From artists such as Loggins, Bruce Springsteen, Cyndi Lauper, Sheila E., Huey Lewis, and the master arranger who co-wrote the song with Michael Jackson and kept the artists in line during recording, Lionel Richie.

“Think about the insecurity, the ego, all that switching back and forth,” Richie said recently. THR. “You’re standing next to Ray Charles. I mean, no matter how famous you think you are, you’re not as famous as Ray. That’s Diana Ross over there. It’s just a whole lot of vanity that we’re going to bring into the room before you go, ‘Okay, wait.'” Let Let me get my head in order here.”

Excellent organization has been of the utmost importance in the success of the charitable efforts. Since Richie was hosting the 12th Annual American Music Awards (AMAs) on January 28, 1985, this date was also chosen to record the song, as the ceremony attracted the industry’s top artists to Los Angeles at the same time. However, managing so many personalities, vocal ranges and, again, egos, in the recording studio after an awards ceremony was no easy feat. Read on below for some of the most inspiring tales from the making of We Are the World.

Harry Belafonte

Actor Harry Belafonte’s activity was the impetus for the film “We Are the World.” After witnessing famine across Africa, and Ethiopia in particular, he approached music impresario and television producer Ken Cragen to do a charity concert to raise money.

“Harry said, ‘We have white people saving black people, we don’t have black people saving black people.'” That’s a problem. “We need to save our people from starvation,” Ritchie says in the documentary.

Inspired by Band Aid, the major British charity group founded by Bob Geldof and Midge Orr in 1984 to raise money for famine in Ethiopia, Cragen said, “Harry, let’s take the idea that Bob has already given us but let’s get the greatest stars in America to do it.” ” And the rest was history.

Michael Jackson

Although “We Are the World” was written by Richie and Michael Jackson, Jackson initially only wanted to write the song and not perform it.

“Michael didn’t want to sing or appear in the video,” Jones is heard saying in an audio clip in the film. “He initially thought it was overexposure. I talked to Michael about it. It would have been one of the biggest mistakes of his career if he hadn’t turned up.

Not only did Jackson attend, he skipped the AMAs entirely and was the first artist to hit the studio to record his parts with Jones alone.

Stevie Wonder

Richie wanted Stevie Wonder to co-write the song with him and Jackson from the beginning. But the Motown singer never returned his calls. When Wonder showed up at Lion Share Studios during a demo recording, he was shocked to discover that the song had already been written. But that didn’t stop him from trying to put his own touch on the track during the actual recording, suggesting they sing in Swahili.

The moment caused great confusion in the room, as the singer tried to teach different words and change the lyrics. Geldof, who gave a speech about the importance of what the artists were doing at the height of the night, managed to convince Wonder to abandon his campaign, reminding him that they were not trying to talk to people in need but people who could help those in need, not to mention that Ethiopians do not speak Swahili. Order was eventually restored. But one musical causal connection remains amid the chaos: According to videographer Ken Wu, Waylon Jennings, watching the commotion, said, “Well, they know the good boy never sang in Swahili. I’m out of here,” and then walked off.

Cyndi Lauper

Cyndi Lauper wouldn’t have hit those raspy high notes on the bridge of “We Are the World” if she had listened to her then-boyfriend. According to Richie, she tried to withdraw from the recording session during the AMAs.

“Backstage, Cyndi Lauper came up to me and said, ‘My friend heard the song. “I wouldn’t be able to come because he didn’t think it would work,” Ritchie recalls. “Cindy, it’s very important for you to make the right decision,” I said. Don’t miss tonight’s session.”

In her confessional, Lauper defended her hesitation, saying: “Well, no one knew. It was definitely a great group of people, but I was very tired from the booze.”

Interestingly, Harriet Sternberg, head of creative services at Kragen & Co., says in the documentary that she wanted Madonna instead of Lauper on the song. “Material Girl and all the things she did would bring in a different audience. But Ken wanted Cindy,” she says. “We fought about it.”

Sheila E.

Sheila E. was in good shape performing at the AMAs when she entered AM Studios, but her mood later soured when she realized she had not been given a single and had perhaps been asked to participate in the recording under false pretenses.

“I’m starting to feel like I’m used to being here, because they want Prince to show up, and the longer I stay, maybe Prince will show up,” she says in her confessional. “I already knew he wouldn’t come, because there were too many people and he would feel uncomfortable.”

After singing the chorus with the group, Sheila E. decided to leave. I told Lionel: I’ll go. “They never intended for me to sing a verse, which was a bit heartbreaking.”

Huey Lewis

When Jackson realized that Prince would not be attending, Loggins asked who should sing his verse and recommended Huey Lewis.

Jones called Lewis to the piano to sing the line, and although most of the singers in the room were clamoring for a solo, Lewis was afraid. “Those are very big shoes to fill. From that moment on, I was so stressed out of my mind.

The nerves only multiplied when Lewis was asked to coordinate with Lauber and Kim Carnes on the bridge. “They said, ‘Sing in harmony with Cindy and Kim.’” The demo did not contain any harmony parts. I’d have to do three-part harmony in front of Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Kenny Loggins, and Darryl Hall. It was never annoying, Lewis recalls.

The resulting sounds delighted everyone involved, but Richie recalls at that moment: “I thought Huey was going to blow his head off.”

Al Jarrow

According to recording engineer Humberto Gatica, “Al Jarreau was literally at the top – in the alcohol department” during the recording session. The singer had to reprise his role several times because he couldn’t remember the lyrics, much to the dismay of Jones, who constantly reminded the performers that they were pressed for time.

“Al wanted to celebrate before we finished the song,” Richie says. “He kept saying, ‘Get another bottle of wine, we’re going to celebrate,’ so every time a bottle came, I took the bottle out again.”

Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen broke out of his usual post-tour routine when his manager asked him if he wanted to fly to Los Angeles to record the day after his tour ended, something he “never did.”

“It was a little close,” Springsteen recalls in the film. “Normally I wouldn’t do that. But it seemed important.”

As the session continued into the early hours of the morning, the singer began to worry about his naturally raspy voice when he was asked to record ad libs after all the other parts had been captured.

“I had just been on the Born in USA tour, and I was so tired, but I just started singing,” he recalls. “My voice wasn’t great but I sang the best I could.”

Bob Dylan

When Springsteen agreed to perform the song, the band decided to pursue Bob Dylan – the voice of humanity at the time – and he agreed. One of Jones’ first directives in the studio was to opt out of singing if your voice didn’t feel natural in the chorus range, something Dylan took to heart, as he is seen in the video wrapping up the lyrics during recording. But things didn’t improve when Dylan was asked to record his own single.

“I think he was a little confused because Bob didn’t seem to understand how he was supposed to sing,” Wu recalls.

Jones asked Dylan to sing along with the chorus, reinforcing “That’s a Beautiful Man” with each note. But it was Wonder who ended up becoming the “secret agent,” playing Dylan’s chords and imitating his voice as he sang, which helped the folk singer feel comfortable singing himself.

Diana Ross

Diana Ross brought peace and harmony to the room on taping night. During one break, she walked up to Darryl Hall of the pop rock band Hall & Oates and asked him to sign her lyric sheet. The move created a domino effect in the studio as each artist began asking the other for an autograph, dampening the energy in the room.

Ross was also reportedly the last person to leave the studio around 8 a.m. Tom Buhler, the vocal arranger for “We Are the World,” remembers hearing her crying in the other room.

“Quincy said, ‘Diana, are you okay?’ And she said, ‘I don’t want this to end.’ It was the sweetest thing I think I’ve ever heard.

The greatest night in pop It’s now streaming on Netflix.