When Quincy Jones hung a sign above the entrance to AM Studios in Los Angeles that read, “Check your ego at the door,” that night a group of about 40 producers and some of the biggest singers of the ’80s performed a charity anthem. was recorded. We are the world. ”
That wasn’t certain at all.
“The egos were still there. Let’s not pretend they weren’t there,” Kenny Loggins said in the documentary great night of popnow available on Netflix.
Bao Nguyen’s film, which had its world premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, explores how the single, which has raised more than $80 million (now $214 million) for humanitarian aid in Africa and the United States, I will tell you how I was born with an explanation. Lionel Richie, an important orchestrator who co-wrote with entertainers such as John Loggins, Bruce Springsteen, Cyndi Lauper, Sheila E., Huey Lewis, and Michael Jackson and kept the artists aligned during recording. There were also performances from.
“Think about anxiety and ego and all of those things going back and forth,” Ritchie said recently. THR. “You were standing next to Ray Charles. I mean, no matter how famous you thought you were, you’re not as famous as Ray. That’s Diana Ross over there. Before you say, “Wait a minute,” all we bring into the room is ego. Let me clear my head here. ”
Good organization was paramount to successful philanthropy. Richie hosted the 12th American Music Awards (AMA) on January 28, 1985, and since the industry’s top entertainers gathered in Los Angeles at the same time for the ceremony, he also decided to record the single on that day. Was chosen. Still, managing so many personalities, vocal ranges and, yes, egos, in the recording studio after the awards ceremony was no easy feat. Read below for the most revelatory information about the production of “We Are the World.”
harry belafonte
Actor Harry Belafonte’s work was the driving force behind “We Are the World.” After witnessing famine across Africa, particularly Ethiopia, he contacted music manager and television producer Ken Cragen to organize a charity concert to raise money.
“Harry said, ‘There are white people who save black people, but there are no black people who save black people.’ That’s a problem. We need to save our own people from starvation,” Ritchie says in the documentary. .
Craigen said he was inspired by Band Aid, the British charity supergroup founded by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure in 1984 to raise money to fight famine in Ethiopia. To do it in America. ” And the rest was history.
Michael jackson
“We Are the World” was written by Richie and Michael Jackson, but Jackson initially only wanted to write the song and had no intention of performing it.
“Michael didn’t want to sing and he didn’t want to be in the video,” Jones can be heard saying in the film’s audio clip. “I thought he was overexposed at first. I talked to Michael about it. If he hadn’t shown up, it would have been one of the biggest mistakes of his career.”
Jackson not only showed up, but became the first artist to skip the AMAs entirely and arrive at the studio to record his parts with Jones alone.
in michael jackson and bob dylan The best night of pop.
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stevie wonder
Ritchie wanted Stevie Wonder to collaborate with him and Jackson from the beginning. However, the Motown singer did not answer the phone. When Wonder showed up at Lion Share Studios during the recording of the demo, he was shocked to learn that the song had already been written. However, he still tried to put his own spin on the tracks during the actual recording, suggesting that they sing in Swahili.
The moment caused chaos in the venue as the singer tried to teach different words and change the lyrics. Geldof had been giving a speech at the top of the night about the importance of what artists were doing, but was able to convince Wonder to call off the movement and they decided to try and talk to people in need. It reminded me that I was trying to talk to people, not just be there. It goes without saying that Ethiopians do not speak Swahili, but they are people who can help those in need. Eventually order was restored. But in the midst of the chaos, there was still one musical cause and effect. Waylon Jennings, who was watching the commotion, said, according to videographer Ken Wu: I’m getting out of here,” he said and walked away.
cyndi lauper
If Cyndi Lauper had listened to her boyfriend back then, she wouldn’t have hit that harsh high note during the bridge of “We Are the World.” According to Richie, she tried to quit the recording session during the AMAs.
“Backstage, Cyndi Lauper came up to me and said, ‘My boyfriend heard that song.’ He didn’t think it was going to be a hit, so I came up. ”Ritchie recalled. “I said, ‘Cindy, it’s very important for you to make the right decision. Don’t miss tonight’s session.’
In her confessional, Ms. Roper defended her hesitation by saying: It was a great group of people for sure, but I was just punch-drunk and very tired. ”
Interestingly, Harriet Sternberg, head of creative services at Kragen & Co., says in the documentary that she wanted Madonna, not Lauper, for the song. “‘Material Girl’ and everything she did was going to bring in a different audience. But Ken wanted Cindy,” she says. “That’s why we had a fight.”
Sheila E.
Sheila E. was in high spirits from her performance at the AMAs when she entered AM Studio, but later on she didn’t get a solo and may have been asked to participate in the recording under false pretenses. I noticed this and felt depressed.
“I started to feel like they were used to me being here because they wanted Prince to come and if they kept me longer he might show up,” she said. says in the confessional. “I already knew he wouldn’t come because there would be too many people and he would feel uncomfortable.”
After singing the chorus with the group, Sheila E. decided to leave. “I said to Lionel, ‘I’m going.’ They didn’t intend for me to sing the verses, so it was a little heartbreaking.”
Huey Lewis
When Jackson realized Prince would not be performing, he asked Loggins who should sing his verse, and he recommended Huey Lewis.
Jones called Lewis to the piano and had him sing these lyrics. Even though most of the singers in the room wanted solos, Lewis was intimidated. “They become quite a heavy burden. From that moment on, I was nervous from the get-go,” he says.
Tensions then increased further when Lewis was asked to harmonize with Roper and Kim Carnes on the bridge. “They said, ‘Please sing in harmony with Cindy and Kim.'” There was no harmony part in the demo. You have to create a three-part harmony in front of Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Kenny Loggins, and Darryl Hall. It wasn’t terrible at all,” Lewis recalls.
The resulting vocals pleased everyone involved, but Ritchie recalls the moment, “I thought Huey was going to blow his neck off.”
Huey Lewis, Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson The best night of pop.
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Al Jarreau
According to recording engineer Humberto Gatica, during the recording sessions, “Al Jarreau was literally over the top in the alcohol section.” The singer couldn’t remember her lyrics, so she had to redo her parts over and over again, much to the chagrin of Jones, who constantly reminded artists that she was pressed for time. Ta.
“Al wanted to celebrate before we made this song,” Ritchie says. “He kept saying, ‘Bring me another bottle of wine and let’s celebrate,’ so every time a bottle came in, I took it out.”
bruce springsteen
Bruce Springsteen broke from his normal post-tour routine when his manager asked him if he could fly to Los Angeles to record the day after a tour ended, something he says he would “never” do.
“It was a little early,” Springsteen recalls in the film. “Normally I wouldn’t have done that. But it seemed important.”
As the sessions progressed into the early morning hours, the singer began to worry about his naturally raspy voice when he was asked to record an ad-lib after all other parts had been recorded.
“I had just been on the Born in USA Tour, so I was pretty tired, but I just started singing,” he recalls. “My voice wasn’t very good, but I sang to the best of my ability.”
Willie Nelson, Quincy Jones, Bruce Springsteen The best night of pop.
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bob dylan
When Springsteen agreed to sing the song, the team decided to go after Bob Dylan, who was the voice of humanitarianism at the time, and he agreed. One of Jones’ first instructions in the studio was to stop singing if his voice did not fall naturally into the chorus range. Dylan took this to heart and was seen on video erasing the lyrics during recording. However, things did not improve when Dylan was asked to record a solo album.
“I think he was a little confused because Bob didn’t seem to understand how he was supposed to sing,” Wu recalls.
Jones told Dylan to sing “That’s Beautiful Man,” emphasizing each note of the chorus. But in the end, it was Wonder who became the “secret agent,” playing chords for Dylan and imitating his voice while singing so the folk singer could feel comfortable singing it himself. It became so.
diana ross
Diana Ross brought peace and harmony to the room on the night of the recording. During one of the breaks, she walked up to Darryl Hall of the pop-rock group Hall and Oates and asked him to sign a lyric sheet. The move set off a domino effect in the studio, as artists began asking each other for autographs and the energy in the room became lighter.
Ross was reportedly the last to leave the studio around 8 a.m. Tom Baylor, the vocal arranger for “We Are the World,” remembers hearing her crying in another room.
“Quincy said, ‘Is Diana okay?'” And she says, “I don’t want this to end.” I think those were the kindest words I’ve ever heard. ”
great night of pop is now streaming on Netflix.