In the universe of '80s pop music, there's one song that's especially hard to shake. In 1985, “We Are the World” was made to raise money for food aid in Africa. The song, and the saga of recording it, is now the subject of a Netflix documentary, “Pop's Biggest Night.”
Lionel Richie co-wrote the song, and he's the man who helped 46 of the biggest music stars on Earth record it in one crazy all-night session in January 1985.
How did he do it? “Naivety, number one,” he replied. “And number two, we had no distractions. There was no internet. There was no cell phone. There was nothing but the purity of a thought, an idea and how to do it.”
It all started with “Do They Know It's Christmas,” the British charity single aimed at raising awareness (and opening wallets) for food aid in famine-ravaged Africa. Singer and philanthropist Harry Belafonte thought American artists could do the same, so he called superagent Ken Kragen to help round up talent, and Kragen got Richie and Michael Jackson to write a song. “In the beginning, there was no terror, because we had no deadline… As long as you can write it, we can write it. There is no problemRichie said.
They wrote at Jackson's house, with all his pets, including a big snake, which shook Richie: “I'm trying to write the lyrics to this song, and I'm screaming, and he's like, 'He wants to play. with you, Lionel.”
But Kragen kept calling more big names to join, and the project began to snowball. “And the next thing I know, Kragen's on the phone and he's like, 'Oh, Bruce's in. Dylan's in.' Bob Dylan? What are you talking about?' “Well, Ray's coming.” 'Ray?' 'Charles. ray is coming So, suddenly we went from just la-la-la panic!”
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Finally, with the song written, they made a plan to record it on the night of the American Music Awards in January 1985, when all the big names in music were in Los Angeles. Richie hosted the three-hour show that night, but his main event began afterward, when megastars began arriving for a recording session for the ages: Diana Ross, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles and many more.
Richie described it as “a room full of five-year-olds, and we're all surprised that we're there with each other and getting used to it. I call it the first day of first grade. So, you We're all in the room without your parents, and we don't know exactly what we're doing, and Quincy is the father.
So how did Quincy Jones keep great talent and all those big egos online? peer pressure “I said to Quincy, 'Is everybody going to go in a booth and sing their part?'” Richie recalled. “He said, 'No, we'll put them in a circle and they'll be perfect every time we sing.' Why are you standing and looking at the rest of the class will be be perfect every time. And it was true. A little intimidating. In fact, I said a little intimidating? I mean, now that I'm talking about it now, it was terrifying!“
But the best moments of the night were when the immortals in the room let their guard down a bit, like when Diana Ross asked Daryl Hall for an autograph. “You can't get enough of this,” Richie said. “And then just to sit down and be like, 'Hey man, I just want to tell you I'm a big fan,' and then we kind of melted into this family.”
The session lasted well into the next morning, and for those in the room it was trying, and triumphant.
When asked if there was a time when he thought they weren't going to make it, Richie replied: “Several times. It was just exhaustion at one point, once you get to four o'clock in the morning, and now we're putting -us Springsteen left the building on the last thing we put on this record at eight o'clock in the morning.
The single was released in March 1985. It went straight to #1 and grossed tens of millions of dollars.
For a brief moment, the world seemed to come together, just a little. “We actually thought we were going to end world hunger,” Richie said. “All we had to do was tell a few people, and the rest of the world would take over, and the whole world would run to the side and save their neighbors in their cities and their communities. And then some three years later, the world went back to sleep.”
But since the documentary was released in January, there has been renewed interest. The song “We Are the World” returned to the Billboard charts and donations began to flow again, in the past six months, more than $600,000 and counting.
For Lionel Richie, it's not so much a song, but a gift, and one that keeps on giving. “We raised a lot of money, yeah,” Richie said. “We kept thinking, OK, we're giving away $5 million. Okay, let's hope we can get ten. When you reach your 40s and 50s? wow What the hell just happened?
“But I remember calling Quincy on the phone. I said, 'Did we say we were giving away half the money or all the money?' He said, 'Don't try, Lionel, don't try.' I said, 'Oh, oh , yeah, I just wanted to make sure!” But then you realize we were trying to stop “We Are The World”. Okay, we're wrapping it up now. And the next thing we know, $2 million rolls in. He's still breathing.”
To watch a trailer for “The Greatest Night in Pop,” click the video player below:
For more information:
Story produced by John D'Amelio. Publisher: Steven Tyler.
Tracy Smith
