2024-01-29 21:18:08
On January 28, 1985, 47 of the world’s biggest musical stars, including Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, Bruce Springsteen, Cyndi Lauper and Diana Ross, gathered in a Los Angeles studio to record We Are The World. This unique moment in music history is told in a new Netflix documentary, The Greatest Night in Pop. Here are seven things to know regarding this legendary piece.
Poster for the documentary “The Greatest Night in Pop”. Courtesy Netflix
1. Michael instead of Stevie
A few months following the success of the charity song Do They Know It’s Christmas?, designed for the Band Aid event, Harry Belafonte wanted to make an American edition to help the famine in Africa. With the help of producer Ken Kragen, he asked Lionel Richie if he wanted to co-write a song with Stevie Wonder. The problem? The latter was nowhere to be found. Michael Jackson then came to the rescue.
Huey Lewis and Michael Jackson. Courtesy Netflix
2. Se servir des American Music Awards
How do you manage to bring together dozens of big stars in one room? We came up with the idea of holding the recording of the song on the same night as the American Music Awards, since everyone would be in Los Angeles. Because Lionel Richie hosted the gala, we hoped that it would also convince several stars to come on board.
Lionel Richie. Courtesy Netflix
3. Race once morest time
A few days before the gala, the cast of stars was completed, but the famous song was still not written! Producer Quincy Jones was starting to put pressure on Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson. The two artists got together and shared ideas. And the magic made its way.
4. Ultrasecret
Once the demo was recorded, around fifty cassettes were sent to the different artists involved. Above all, this recording should not be leaked to the media. The location of the studio was thus kept secret until the very end. After the gala, Lionel Richie was asked by journalists regarding this famous project and he said he knew very little regarding it.
Michael Jackson and Bob Dylan. Courtesy Netflix
5. Lionel’s big evening
Lionel Richie may remember January 28, 1985 for the rest of his life. That evening, he hosted the American Music Awards. In addition to offering two performances, he won no less than six trophies! And immediately followingwards, he went to the studio to record We Are The World. “When I came home, my family members were there congratulating me on the gala,” he said. But all I wanted to talk regarding was We Are The World and they had no idea what it was!”
6. Like in kindergarten
At A&M Studios, the big stars began to arrive shortly following 11 p.m. Virtually all the big names in pop music from 1985 were there. Everyone was excited. “It was like the first day of kindergarten,” Lionel Richie said. Bob Geldof, who was behind Band Aid, then brought back some seriousness by explaining to the artists why they were there and what this song might do for Africa.
7. Millions of dollars raised
At the end of the documentary, it is mentioned that We Are The World has raised more than 80 million US dollars for humanitarian causes in Africa. Upon its release, the song became a huge success and it is still earning money almost 40 years following its release.
Group photo during the recording of “We Are the World”. We can see Paul Simon, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Bette Midler, Billy Joel, Cyndi Lauper and Kenny Rogers. Courtesy Netflix
1706579797
#World #Netflix #documentary
