Almost 30 years ago, the world’s greatest and well-known pop singers came together to make history and record one of the most significant songs to date. The song has broken boundaries and brought millions across the globe together since its release on Mar. 28, 1985. “We Are the World” is more than just a song, it’s an anthem that calls for humanity to do its part in fighting for the needy and vulnerable in our world.
We’ve all heard the song at some point in our lives, but most of us in this generation are not fully aware what it took to bring 45 singers to a recording studio for one night only. Netflix’s newest documentary released on Jan. 19, “The Greatest Night in Pop,” brings us a behind the scenes look at what took place that night and the hard work that was put into it.
Audiences are taken back to weeks before the recording session as Lionel Richie narrates and explains everything that went into putting words and music to the song. It’s a testament to how music was written 30 years ago and how pop music’s biggest minds came together to create an unforgettable anthem that has had an impact on many generations.
The documentary talks about how Harry Belafonte, a singer and social activist, was inspired to create an American response to Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” project in the UK. He then proceeded to speak with Ken Kragen, an entertainment manager, to ask fellow musicians Lionel Richie and Kenny Rogers to participate. They agreed and got Quincy Jones to co-produce the song, who in turn called Michael Jackson to also take part in it.
After weeks of drafting lyrics, Jackson and Richie finished writing “We Are the World.” After Jackson recorded a demo, he sent it to Jones and Richie who were shocked to see how quickly he had molded the song’s structure. The official lyrics weren’t finalized until a week before the recording session as Richie, Jackson, Jones and Stevie Wonder gathered to record and add the backing tracks.
With just a few days to go before the recording session, letters were sent out to all the singers who were selected to take part in the project. The musicians who had a part in “We Are The World” included Ray Charles, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Diana Ross, Cyndi Lauper, Tina Turner, Kenny Loggins, Steve Perry, Paul Simon and Huey Lewis. Recording began at around 10:30 p.m. on Jan. 28, after the American Music Awards, and was completed the following morning.
Having heard the song many times and also having seen a few clips of the behind the scenes on YouTube, a new perspective is given after viewing the documentary. This story provides audiences with an understanding of what the musicians were feeling the night of the recording and how they made an impact in pop culture. It made them feel that they had fulfilled their duty in helping to bring aid to those suffering in Africa and other parts of the world affected by famine and disease.
But what does this song and documentary do for us living in 2024? Well, for starters, it helps explain why previous generations enjoyed this genre and what made it different from our generation of music. The song also sheds light and brings hope to times in which humanity suffers and must work collectively to move forward. In an interview with Forbes the documentary’s producer stated, “We were deep in the pandemic and it just felt like a song I wanted to listen to constantly, just to give me hope that we could get through it.”
With so much going around in a post-pandemic world, we tend to find ourselves lost and hopeless which leads to listening to music for comfort. We rely on these new genres that have developed in the last decade but we don’t look back at what history provides us. “We Are he World” allows this generation and the ones before to coexist because of the rhythm of the song and the heartfelt message the musicians bring to each time the song is played.
