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For the album with the same title, see We Are the World (album).
"We Are the World" is a 1985 song written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, produced and conducted by Quincy Jones and recorded by a supergroup of popular musicians billed as USA for Africa.[1] The charity single was intended to raise funds to help famine-relief efforts in Ethiopia[1] as food shortages had intensified during a drought in 1984-1985. The project was inspired by the British Band Aid project and helped inspire other projects around the world such as "Cantaré, Cantarás" in Latin America.
[edit] History
[edit] Selected vocalists[edit] Lyrical formatDuring the performance, the solo portions, sung by the lead singers, allowed their distinctive, famous voices to be heard individually, or in pairs, for a short phrase, before the entire group sang the third repetition of the chorus verses. Later into the song they intensify the climax of the song with a key change from E to F. The arrangement created a dramatic effect by having the entire group sing together only after many of the celebrity singers are revealed in solo parts through two repetitions of the chorus and the bridge is sung by Michael Jackson, Huey Lewis, Kim Carnes, and Cyndi Lauper. [edit] Recording session detailsThe recording session in January 1985 was held during and after the American Music Awards. Michael Jackson skipped the American Music Awards ceremony that night to record the chorus of the song as a guide to the other artists. The artists who performed on "We Are the World" arrived in-studio from limousines (as most of them had participated in the American Music Awards) - except Bruce Springsteen, who arrived driving a pickup truck. John Denver, who had been actively campaigning against world hunger in the 1980s, had offered to participate in the recording, but was turned down. According to Ken Kragen, (who helped to produce the song), the reason John Denver was turned down, was due to the fact several people felt his image would hurt the credibility of the song. [2] Linda Ronstadt missed the session due to a bout with the flu and Pat Benatar was not available due to her pregnancy, since there was concern the bright lights and number of people in the studio would not have made it feasible for her to be present in the studio. Although Michael Jackson and most of his brothers were at the recording, sister Janet, who would have her first hit album a year later, and Rebbie were not. The middle Jackson sister, LaToya, did participate. Also, brother Jermaine was the only Jackson brother who did not attend the recording. Cyndi Lauper's jewelry clicking required a retake of the bridge section and during a break in the session, the group broke out into an impromptu version of Harry Belafonte's 1950s hit "Banana Boat Song (Day-O)" which led to a suggestion, "This should be the B-Side." Stevie Wonder came back after the session to "touch up" his vocals. [edit] Disagreement about the lyricsThe lyric "there’s a choice we’re making / we’re saving our own lives" was originally written as "there’s a chance we’re taking / we’re taking our own lives" but was rewritten when it was feared the original phrasing's first part might look like the artists are patting themselves on the back while the last part might suggest suicide.[3] Also, the artists discussed whether they should sing "we are the ones who make a brighter day" instead of the original "better day". They eventually ended up singing "brighter day." VH-1’s Pop-Up Video stated that Waylon Jennings left the recording session due to a dispute over the lyrics. The dispute started when Stevie Wonder announced that he would like to substitute a line in Swahili. After a few rehearsals, a full-fledged creative conflict broke out. Geldof pointed out that Ethiopians do not speak Swahili. Michael Jackson then proposed to keep his original line "Sha-lim sha-lingay" but after a few rehearsals, it too ran into opposition, because it does not have a meaning. Eventually Al Jarreau cried, "We can make a meaning" and came up with "One World, our word" which was changed one last time in "One world, our children." [edit] USA for AfricaThe group name "U.S.A. for Africa" actually stands for "United Support of Artists for Africa" (not "United States of America"). Most of the singers on the record are American, with the exception of Bob Geldof (who is Irish) and Dan Aykroyd (who is Canadian). [edit] ContributionsPrince telephoned Quincy Jones in mid-session and offered to contribute a guitar part, but Jones said it did not fit into what they were doing, but did say he would accept a solo track for the album, which Prince did contribute. Patti LaBelle and Prince participated in the 1985 television broadcast performance of "We Are the World" from the Apollo Theatre, and many of the above names participated in the performance of "We Are the World" at the Live Aid concert in Philadelphia in July of 1985. Luciano Pavarotti performed the song at one of his annual charity concerts in 1999 with the likes of Gloria Estefan and Mariah Carey. Billy Joel used the meeting with Ray Charles to get him to contribute a vocal on a song that Joel later recorded called "Baby Grand"... [edit] Disagreements between the performersIt was claimed in an issue of Q Magazine that the recording sessions threatened to fall apart due to the rock stars present being unhappy with the amount of "uncool" pop stars also recording the track and threatening to walk out. The mutiny was averted by Bruce Springsteen, who stated, "I don't care who is here to record this track, I'm here to help save lives." [edit] Chart performanceWhen released as a single, "We Are The World" rose up the charts rapidly in the U.S., reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on April 17, 1985 and remaining there for four weeks. It was also ranked as Billboard's #1 song of 1985, meaning it was the best-selling single of the year. It also reached #1 in the UK, and made the Top 10 in countries throughout the world. In the UK, it was the 33rd best-selling single of 1985.
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[edit] Direct references[edit] Television
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[edit] Tsunami relief
[edit] Commercial exploitation
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