We are the world: the night of defeated egos

Between the night of January 28, 1985 and the next morning, a unique event occurred in the history of world pop. At A&M Studios in Los Angeles, 42 artists, many of the most acclaimed in the industry for decades, came together for ten hours to record a charity song without receiving any payment or royalties. It was an operation carried out almost in secret, where a simple handwritten sign posted at the entrance to the main room gave a specific suggestion, taking into account the caliber of the people summoned:

“Leave the ego at the door.”

That was the day it was recorded We are the world the eighth best-selling single in history, helping the African continent devastated by famine in different countries. The legendary Harry Belafonte established actor and musician, with a respected career in the struggle for civil rights in the United States, had taken note of Do they know it’s Christmas? the 1984 British single promoted by Bob Geldof to bring aid to Uganda, one of the countries symbolizing the devastation of children due to lack of food.

In partnership with Ken Kragen, a heavyweight in the representation of the best artists, he began to toy with the idea of ​​reproducing the British experience. Belafonte worries that African-American artists have shown no signs of solidarity on this issue, while English pop musicians – mostly white – are sympathetic to the catastrophe.

While Do they know it’s Christmas? designated Uganda as the paradigm of disaster – Geldof had this idea after seeing a BBC report – the Americans lumped the entire continent together, summed up in the promotional phrase USA for Africa.

The previous operation and the day of recording of the marathon are detailed in the Netflix documentary The big pop evening by Vietnamese-American director Bao Nguyen, the same after either water (2020), about the life of Bruce Lee. Lionel Richie, executive producer of the film, is one of the main sources interviewed, crucial to the story.

The former singer of The Commodores, one of the most transcendent funk, soul and pop groups of the 70s, had become an extraordinarily successful soloist. According to his account, he was the third person called in for the project at a time when he was particularly busy preparing for a tour and hosting the American Music Awards, where he was also competing in several categories.

Richie suggested Quincy Jones as producer, a symbol of prestige and success working with the greatest, starting with Frank Sinatra. “He had the respect of all musicians on the planet,” he sums up.

Next came Stevie Wonder, but the creator of Superstition He didn’t answer the phone. The list was limited to the biggest pop star of the moment.

Michael Jackson He composes with a method that amazes Lionel Richie: all the arrangements are hummed. Richie claims – and he is wrong – that it was because Jackson didn’t master the instruments. There is a video of the king of pop visit Tomita on tour in Japan in 1987 where he played the synthesizer, while he appeared in the multi-instrumentalist category in History (Year one thousand nine hundred and ninety-five). Regardless, they both began to come to terms with time against them, aware that the song had to break her.

At the same time, Ken Kragen suggested opening invitations to totemic white singers like Bob Dylan, Kenny Rogers and Paul Simon, and to MTV stars like Huey Lewis and Kenny Loggins.

The general call focused on highly respected veterans such as Ray Charles, Diana Ross and Dionne Warwick; established figures like Bruce Springsteen, who was then enjoying a decade of success, and burgeoning pop stars like Cyndi Lauper, whose presence was imposed by Kragen, to the detriment of Madonna.

One of the objectives was to obtain the participation of Prince, among the main nominees for the American Music Awards, in direct competition with Michael Jackson.

The awards ceremony, scheduled for January 28 in Los Angeles, was instrumental in the song’s recording project. Thus, production costs were significantly reduced, as the majority of guests attended or participated in the ceremony, with their stay paid for. Once the show was over, the commitment was to attend the session led by Quincy Jones and with sound provided by Humberto Gatica.

The famous Chilean engineer recounts tasty details in the documentary; among them, still angry, he reveals the name (no spoilers) of one of the solo voices who got drunk, disturbing the recording.

The equipment available to Bao Nguyen is extraordinary, in that the cameras were on for much of the session. The assembly of We are the world It develops with urgency and nervousness. The mood moves through the phases of a classroom: the laughter, the hubbub, the gradual call for the attention of Quincy Jones as the teacher in charge, and the performers’ doubts about who would be chosen for the solo voices.

The skill between the producer, Gatica, the arrangers and the participants themselves suggesting changes – Journey’s Steve Perry demonstrates a particular talent for coming up with harmonies – is musical class express.

The eccentricities of some and the type of ranking among them are also revealed. The legendary Smokey Robinson, for example, was the only one who dared to discuss a decision by Michael Jackson, whom he had known since childhood.

The big pop evening captures intimate moments of the creative process, revealing the humanity behind these enormous talents. The sequences that peer into a nervous Bob Dylan, trying to fit into this star-studded environment, in one of the lowest artistic periods of his career, are pure gold. What can we say – without spoiling – about the way in which Stevie Wonder resolves his tensions.

The documentary hovers, among other light tensions, over the drum roll that Prince set up with his eventual presence that evening. . Unlike the others, the creator of purple rain He set conditions such as recording a guitar solo separately. Lionel Richie and Quincy Jones, aware that any display of privilege would not fit with the atmosphere of support, declined the offer. However, Michael Jackson recorded his parts a few hours earlier, while the artists were present at the American Music Awards, which also awarded six awards to host Lionel Richie.

As for Prince, the documentary does not give any other clues about his definitive absence, apart from Sheila E.’s explanation of his discomfort in crowded environments. Among the speculations missing from this investigation are the real rivalry with Michael Jackson, an alleged bad atmosphere with Bob Geldof – present in the recording of We are the world-and his bad opinion of the song.

Prince and The Revolution guitarist Wendy Melvoin recounted the late star’s thoughts on the track composed by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie. “He thinks he’s a badass and he wanted to look cool,” she explained, “and he felt like the song We are the world it was horrible”.