The new Netflix music documentary The Greatest Night in Pop features behind-the-scenes footage and details of the historic “We Are The World” song’s creation. Released back in 1985, “We Are The World” brought together the biggest names in the music industry from all types of genres, including pop, country, folk, rock, and more. The song was assembled by producers Quincy Jones and Michael Omartian and was originated by musician and activist Harry Belafonte and manager Ken Kragen.
The Greatest Night in Pop features new present-day interviews from Lionel Richie, who was a songwriter on “We Are The World” along with pop star Michael Jackson. Richie and Jackson had become acquaintances while their immensely successful music careers were just taking off as the lead singers of The Commodores and The Jackson Five, respectively. “We Are The World” remains to be one of the best-selling songs of all time, selling over 20 million physical copies during the mid-1980s.
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All Of The Singers On 1985’s “We Are The World”
As discussed in The Greatest Night in Pop, “We Are The World” was developed in response to the African famine epidemic that resulted in thousands of Africans dying from starvation. It was also inspired by the success of the UK group Band Aid, which featured Bono from U2 and Phil Collins of Genesis, who released a charity song titled “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”. The result was the American supergroup USA For Africa, which consisted of many of the biggest musical artists alive at the time.
Among the most notable American recording artists in USA For Africa are Bob Dylan, Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Paul Simon, Tina Turner, Kenny Rogers, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Willie Nelson, Cyndi Lauper, and Ray Charles. Many of the biggest names involved were given solo parts in the famous 7-minute song, which can be found on YouTube, Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, and in the Netflix documentary, The Greatest Night in Pop.
Composer | Quincy Jones |
Soloists | Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Kenny Rogers, James Ingram, Tina Turner, Billy Joel, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Dionne Warwick, Willie Nelson, Al Jarreau, Bruce Springsteen, Kenny Loggins, Steve Perry, Daryl Hall, Huey Lewis, Cyndi Lauper, Kim Carnes, Bob Dylan, Ray Charles. |
Chorus | Dan Aykroyd, Harry Belafonte, Lindsey Buckingham, Mario Cipollina, Johnny Colla, Sheila E., Bob Geldof, Bill Gibson, Chris Hayes, Sean Hopper, Jackie Jackson, La Toya Jackson, Marlon Jackson, Randy Jackson, Tito Jackson, Waylon Jennings, Bette Midler, John Oates, Jeffrey Osborne, Anita Pointer, June Pointer, Ruth Pointer, Smokey Robinson. |
Instruments | John Barnes (keyboards), David Paich (synthesizers), Michael Boddicker (synthesizers), Ian Underwood (synthesizers), Steve Porcaro (synthesizers), Paulinho da Costa (percussion), Louis Johnson (synth bass), Michael Omartian (keyboards), Greg Phillinganes (keyboards), John Robinson (drums). |
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What “We Are The World” Achieved After The Song Was Released
“We Are The World” remains the ninth best-selling physical single of all time and became the fastest-selling single in United States history. It became Quadruple Platinum after topping several charts around the world, marking the first-ever multi-platinum single. “We Are The World” also won four Grammy Awards including Best Record of the Year and Best Song of The Year in 1986. The merchandise sold from “We Are The World” raised more than $63 million, which is approximately $227 million today adjusting for inflation, far surpassing its fundraising goal of $50 million (~$140 million today). The Greatest Night in Pop is streaming now on Netflix.
