It was 22 or 23 December 1984. "Do they know it's Christmas?" had been released in England just 20 days earlier and was an absolute hit on the other side of the ocean. 

The American singer, actor and activist, Harry Belafonte, was in Los Angeles, watching the news at home, when a video was broadcast about the resounding success of the song in most of Europe and the altruistic achievements of Bob Geldof and his Band Aid. The video included excerpts from the BBC's hard-hitting report on the Ethiopian famine.  

Shocked, Belafonte decided that musicians in the United States should do something to help the terrible situation in the African country as well. He even came up with the name of the group: USA for Africa, from "United support of Artist for Africa" and its pun on U.S.A. (United States of America). 

Over Christmas, Bellafonte convinced his manager, Ken Kragen, one of the most famous artist agents in the American recording industry, of his idea. The two of them ended up proposing the production of the recording to the legendary Quincy Jones. 

The truth was that "Do they know it's Christmas?" had been an absolute hit in most of Europe. In the USA, however, it didn't get past No. 16 on the BillBoard 200. So USA for Africa would do better to try its luck with another, new and original song. And to ensure its success, it had to count on the biggest names on the American music scene.

The task of creating the music and lyrics for the song fell to hit singer Lionel Richie, who accepted without hesitation. Along with blind piano genius Stevie Wonder.But Wonder was busy creating an Original Soundtrack ("The Woman in Red") and wouldn't even answer his calls. So, after a couple of days without receiving an answer, Quincy Jones finally proposed to his mutual friend with Richie, Michael Jackson, who was resting after a tour with his brothers, to take Wonder's place.To which Michael readily agreed.


So, during the first weeks of January 1985, Richie would visit Hayvenhurst, the Jackson family mansion, several times, where the two would discuss ideas for lyrics and hum possible melodies.On one of their visits, Richie arrived with a couple of recorded melodies that he had come up with on his own, and Michael liked them so much that he continued to work on them all night, even without Richie, until he had completed much of the song.

The next day, the two songwriters met with producer Quincy Johns. And both Johns and Richie were amazed at the quantity and quality of everything Jackson had created in one night.Over the next few days, the three of them, along with a straggling Stevie Wonder who finally made an appearance, set about recording the musical foundation and ironing out details.


Aside from the compositional process, Ken Kragen and his team were advised by telephone by Bob Geldof himself on all the intricacies of such a project. Geldof would be a cornerstone of what was being prepared "across the pond". 

To begin with, they had to find a way to get as many superstars as possible together in the same studio at the same time. And if possible, due to the solidarity nature of the project, spending as little as possible. Luckily for them, the American Music Awards gala, for which the biggest artists from all over the country would travel to Los Angeles with all expenses paid, offered the perfect opportunity. So it was decided that the recording session would start right after the gala and run until dawn. This meant that, in many cases, those who a few hours earlier were rivals for the coveted awards would have to put aside their quarrels and join forces for the greater good.  

Once the date was decided, and the demo recorded, Kragen's team of assistants prepared almost 50 packages. One for each of the invited artists or their representative. The cassette tape contained the music base and the reference vocal tracks recorded by Jackson and Richie. And it was accompanied by the sheet music for the song and a letter, from which, upon last-minute review, Richie had a sentence crossed out specifying the recording studio where the recording was to take place. As the producer himself commented, if they wanted to avoid any of the guests backing out at the last minute, they couldn't allow word to get out and the place to fill up with fans and journalists. The location had to be kept secret until the last moment. 

On the other hand, the situation would be so abnormal; both comical and awkward, with so many superstar musicians with such different styles and personalities, all together, that Johns, in an example of his excellent work as a producer, made several masterful moves prior to their arrival. Among them, he wrote on a poster board "Leave your ego outside this door" and taped it to the entrance of the studio.  

In addition, having studied in detail with his team who would be doing the lead vocals, he had their names put on tape on the floor exactly where he wanted each of them to be. 

Moreover, with just over 8 hours to record 21 lead vocals, several vocal trios, and the general chorus with everyone present, it was clear to Johns that there was no time for private sessions. Everything would have to be recorded in the presence of the other guests. So the more insecure guests would have their fair share of embarrassment, having to sing in front of their rivals, or in some cases, their idols as well. 

So he asked Richie to keep an eye out for any bad blood and to help him maintain calm and harmony, 

On the night of 28 January 1985, despite being nominated for several awards, Michael Jackson decided to skip the American Music Awards to arrive first at the A&M Lion Share studios in Los Angeles and re-record a couple of takes.The rest of the guests arrived from 9 p.m. onwards, after the end of the gala. Lionel Richie himself, in the best moment of his career, had been in charge of presenting the gala and took home 6 awards. 

In addition to some of the best studio musicians of the moment, USA for Africa would be made up of more than 45 superstars such as Tina Turner and Cyndi Lauper, who had just come from performing at the gala, and Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, who had flown to Los Angeles just a few hours earlier. Other notable names included Ray Charles, Diana Ross and five Jackson siblings, including La Toya.

Unfortunately, some of the guests did not show up, such as Prince, who ended up donating a song; "4 the Tears in Your Eyes" to the "We are the World" album. Madonna, Barbara Streisand and Eddie Murphy also did not attend for different reasons.

As a funny anecdote, the great Stevie Wonder was in charge of welcoming all the artists, warning them that if they did not manage to complete the recording that same night, he and Ray Charles (another piano genius, blind like him) would be the chauffeurs in charge of taking them back home.



In another masterful move, Quincy Johns began the event by turning to his guests to do something he had never done with any of them before: introduce the rest of them to Bob Geldof, who, he tells them all, is “the inspiration for all this”. Asking him to say a few words to them all, to put everyone in the mood, so that they would really understand what it was all about. 

Geldof, visibly exhausted and affected by the horrors he had seen, had just returned from his trip to Ethiopia to plan the Band Aid relief plan. He describes some of the horrific scenes he has witnessed and ends by wishing this project, parallel to the one he started a few months earlier, the best of luck. He himself is one of those invited to provide backing vocals, along with his American counterpart in the organization and USA for Africa ideologue Harry Belafonte.
The process began with the recording of the stilettos, with all participants singing in unison, the images of which formed the bulk of the famous video clip. By the time they finished, at around 3:30 am, Stevie Wonder sat down at the piano, prompting a couple of impromptu rehearsals with all the soloists, practicing their lines one by one around his piano. It was the first time the song had been played with all their voices. 

When it came to recording the lead vocals, Jones once again showed his genius by perfectly understanding that Bob Dylan had been uncomfortable all night. Embarrassed by so much "big voice", he had spent the entire choral recording session of the chorus without daring to open his mouth. Aware that his voice didn't reach the required pitch and didn't even compare with the rest of those present. That's why, when it was time to record his phrase, Quincy Jones asked, unlike everyone else, that everyone leave the recording room to leave him and Stevie Wonder alone with the legendary lyricist. Despite this, Dylan was so awkward and insecure during the session that his images have spawned a slew of memes. But with the help of Stevie Wonder on piano, and imitating Dylan's voice to give him ideas of how he could do it, he managed to make Jones happy with the result.   

After a long night, the recording was finished at around 6am. Including the less confident vocals, such as that of a clearly out of place Bob Dylan.

"We Are the World" was released on 7 March 1985. It became the fastest selling pop single in history. A title it still holds today.

The release of the album was accompanied by a strong merchandising campaign, including sweatshirts, T-shirts, badges, pins, posters and a booklet about the event. 

USA for Africa's "We Are the World" was the first charity single to reach number 1 on the US charts. It reached 7.5 million copies in the United States, making it the best-selling charity single in US history.

In fact, the song reached number 1 on the charts in more than 20 countries around the world, including major recording markets such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Africa, the UK, Ireland, Germany, France, Holland and all the Nordic countries. Selling over 45 million copies worldwide.

The song raised over $63 million (which would be the equivalent of $160 million in 2024) to fight famine in Ethiopia. 





On Friday 5 April 1985, more than 8000 radio stations around the world played We are the World at the same time. Connecting an estimated 1 billion people listening to the song at the same time.

The song was the big winner at the Grammy Awards the following year, 1986, winning 4 awards: Jackson and Richie won song of the year. And Quincy Jones, as producer, won Record of the Year, Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group and Best Short Form Music Video.

In 2010, the song was re-recorded to raise aid after the terrible earthquake in Haiti. The line-up recording the vocals was called 25 for Haiti.

The song has its own version, in several languages, including Spanish. Produced by Gloria Estefan, "Somos el Mundo" was recorded by the group "Voces Unidas", which included artists such as Luis Fonsi, Chayanne, Juan Luis Guerra, Paulina Rubio and Shakira.

To this day, We are the World remains a global anthem for the fight against famine and poverty, and its message of equality, togetherness and solidarity continues to resonate.

USA for Africa's "We Are the World" still holds the record as the best-selling single in history. It also remains the most successful charity song ever created. And the eighth best-selling single in history. 

It has become an iconic song that continues to be performed at charity and cultural events around the world.

"We Are the World" remains a testament to the power of music to save lives, bring people together and create positive change in the world.










There comes a time
When we heed a certain call
When the world must come together as one
There are people dying
Oh, and it's time to lend a hand to life
The greatest gift of all
We can't go on
Pretending day-by-day
That someone, somewhere soon make a change
We're all a part of God's great big family
And the truth, you know, love is all we need

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

Oh, send them your heart
So they know that someone cares
And their lives will be stronger and free
As God has shown us by turning stones to bread
And so we all must lend a helping hand

We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day, so let's start giving
Oh, 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

When you're down and out, there seems no hope at all
But if you just believe there's no way we can fall
Well, well, well, well let us realize
Oh, that a change can only come
When we stand together as one, yeah, yeah, yeah

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

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 mee

We are the world (are the world)
We are the children (are the children)
We are the ones who'll make a brighter day, so let's start giving (so let's start giving)
There is a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day, just you and me

...









https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Are_the_World
https://www.harrychapin.com/circle/winter05/behind.htm
https://raspberriesmarvin.wordpress.com/2024/02/07/we-are-the-world-how-a-song-helped-start-a-journey-of-reflection/
https://usaforafrica.org/we-are-the-world/
https://davidbreskin.com/magazines/3-features/historic-songfest/
https://www.infobae.com/historias/2024/02/02/la-historia-oculta-de-we-are-the-world-una-larga-madrugada-egos-desmesurados-y-dos-grandes-ausentes/
https://archive.org/details/weareworld0000bres/page/n43/mode/2up