We Are the World
"We Are the World" is a charity single originally recorded by the supergroup USA for Africa in 1985. It was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and produced by Quincy Jones and Michael Omartian for the album We Are the World. With sales in excess of 20 million copies, it is the eighth-best-selling physical single of all time.
This article is about the original 1985 charity song. For other uses, see We Are the World (disambiguation)."We Are the World"
"Grace"
March 7, 1985
January 28, 1985
- A&M (Hollywood)
- Lion Share (Los Angeles)
- 7:02 (album version)
- 6:22 (single version)
Soon after the British group Band Aid released "Do They Know It's Christmas?" in December 1984, the musician and activist Harry Belafonte decided to create an American benefit single for African famine relief. With the fundraiser Ken Kragen, he enlisted several musicians. Jackson and Richie completed the writing the night before the first recording session, on January 21, 1985. The event brought together some of the era's best-known musicians.
"We Are the World" was released on March 7, 1985, as the first single from the album by Columbia Records. It topped music charts throughout the world and became the fastest-selling U.S. pop single in history. "We Are the World" was certified quadruple platinum, becoming the first single to be certified multi-platinum. Its awards include four Grammy Awards, one American Music Award, and a People's Choice Award.
"We Are the World" was promoted with a music video, a VHS, a special edition magazine, a simulcast, and several books, posters, and shirts. The promotion and merchandise helped "We Are the World" raise more than $80 million ($222 million today) for humanitarian aid in Africa and the United States.[1] Another cast of singers recorded a new version, "We Are the World 25 for Haiti", to raise relief following the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
Lyrics[edit]
"We Are the World" is sung from a first-person viewpoint, allowing the audience to "internalize" the message by singing the word we together.[26] It has been described as "an appeal to human compassion".[27] The first lines of the chorus are: "We are the world, we are the children / we are the ones who make a brighter day / so let's start giving".[27]
Arrangement[edit]
Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Kenny Rogers, James Ingram, Tina Turner and Billy Joel sing the first verse;[28] Michael Jackson and Diana Ross sing the first chorus;[28] Dionne Warwick, Willie Nelson and Al Jarreau sing the second verse; Bruce Springsteen, Kenny Loggins, Steve Perry and Daryl Hall sing the second chorus;[28] Jackson, Huey Lewis, Cyndi Lauper, and Kim Carnes sing the bridge.[28] "We Are the World" concludes with Bob Dylan and Ray Charles singing a full chorus, Wonder and Springsteen duetting, and ad libs from Charles and Ingram. The structure is said to "create a sense of continuous surprise and emotional buildup".[11]
The following people sang in the 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, and Smokey Robinson.[28]
Release[edit]
On March 7, 1985, "We Are the World" was released as a single, in both 7-inch and 12-inch formats.[29][30] The song was the only one released from the We Are the World album and became a chart success around the world. In the U.S., it was a number-one hit on the R&B singles chart, the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart, and the Billboard Hot 100, where it remained for a month.[31][32] The single had debuted at number 21 on the Hot 100,[27] and it took four weeks for the song to claim the number one spot, half the time a single would normally have taken to reach its charting peak.[33] On the Hot 100, the song moved from 21 to 5 to 2 and then number 1. "We Are the World" might have reached the top of the Hot 100 chart sooner, were it not for the success of Phil Collins' "One More Night", which received support from both pop and rock listeners.[33] "We Are the World" also entered Billboard's Top Rock Tracks and Hot Country Singles charts, where it peaked at numbers 27 and 76 respectively.[31] The song became the first single since the Beatles' "Let It Be" to enter Billboard's Top 5 within two weeks of release.[30] Outside the U.S., the single reached number one in Australia, France, Ireland, New Zealand, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. The song peaked at number 2 in two countries: Germany and Austria.[34][35][36]
The single was also a commercial success: the initial shipment of 800,000 "We Are the World" records sold out within three days of release.[29] The record became the fastest-selling American pop single in history.[37] At Tower Records in West Hollywood, 1,000 copies of the song were sold in two days.[38] Store worker Richard Petitpas commented, "A number one single sells about 100 to 125 copies a week. This is absolutely unheard of."[38] By the end of 1985, "We Are the World" had become the year's best-selling single.[39] Five years later it was revealed that the song had become the biggest single of the 1980s.[40] "We Are the World" was eventually cited as the best-selling single in U.S. and pop music history.[nb 1][42][43][44] The song became the first single to be certified multi-platinum; it received a 4× certification by the Recording Industry Association of America.[32][45] The estimated global sales of "We Are the World" are said to be 20 million.[46]
Reception[edit]
"We Are the World" received mixed reviews. American journalist Greil Marcus felt that it sounded like a Pepsi jingle.[47] He wrote that "the constant repetition of 'There's a choice we're making' conflates with Pepsi's trademarked 'The choice of a new generation' in a way that, on the part of Pepsi-contracted song writers Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, is certainly not intentional, and even more certainly beyond the realm of serendipity."[47] Marcus added, "In the realm of contextualization, 'We Are the World' says less about Ethiopia than it does about Pepsi—and the true result will likely be less that certain Ethiopian individuals will live, or anyway live a bit longer than they otherwise would have, than that Pepsi will get the catch phrase of its advertising campaign sung for free by Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, and all the rest."[47] Professor and activist Reebee Garofalo agreed, calling the line "We're saving our own lives" a "distasteful element of self-indulgence".[47] He asserted that the artists of USA for Africa were proclaiming "their own salvation for singing about an issue they will never experience on behalf of a people most of them will never encounter".[47]
In contrast, Stephen Holden of The New York Times praised the phrase "There's a choice we're making, We're saving our own lives".[11] He wrote that the line assumed "an extra emotional dimension when sung by people with superstar mystiques".[11] Holden wrote that the song was "an artistic triumph that transcends its official nature".[11] He noted that unlike Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas", the vocals on "We Are the World" were "artfully interwoven" and emphasized the individuality of each singer.[11] Holden concluded that "We Are the World" was "a simple, eloquent ballad" and a "fully-realized pop statement that would sound outstanding even if it weren't recorded by stars".[11]
The song proved popular with both young and old listeners.[27] People in Columbia, Missouri, reported they bought more than one copy of the single, some buying up to five copies of the record at one time.[48]
According to the music critic and Springsteen biographer Dave Marsh, "We Are the World" was not widely accepted within the rock music community.[49] Marsh said it was dismissed as it was not "a rock record, a critique of the political policies that created the famine, a way of finding out how and why famines occur, an all-inclusive representation of the entire worldwide spectrum of post-Presley popular music".[49] Though Marsh agreed with some of the criticisms, he felt that, despite its sentimentality, "We Are the World" was a large-scale pop event with serious political overtones.[49]
"We Are the World" was recognized with several awards following its release. At the 1986 Grammy Awards, the song and its music video won four awards: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and Best Music Video, Short Form.[50] The music video was awarded two honors at the 1985 MTV Video Music Awards. It collected the awards for Best Group Video and Viewer's Choice.[51][52] People's Choice Awards recognized "We Are the World" with the Favorite New Song award in 1986.[50] In the same year, the American Music Awards named "We Are the World" "Song of the Year", and honored organizer Harry Belafonte with the Award of Appreciation. Collecting his award, Belafonte thanked Ken Kragen, Quincy Jones, and "the two artists who, without their great gift would not have inspired us in quite the same way as we were inspired, Mr. Lionel Richie and Mr. Michael Jackson".[50] Following the speech, the majority of USA for Africa reunited on stage, closing the ceremony with "We Are the World".[50][53]
Notable live performances[edit]
"We Are the World" has been performed live by members of USA for Africa on several occasions both together and individually. One of the earliest such performances came in 1985, during the rock music concert Live Aid, which ended with more than 100 musicians singing the song on stage.[72][73] Harry Belafonte and Lionel Richie made surprise appearances for the live rendition of the song.[74] Michael Jackson would have joined the artists, but was "working around the clock in the studio on a project that he's made a major commitment to", according to his press agent, Norman Winter.[75]
An inaugural celebration was held for US President-elect Bill Clinton in January 1993.[76] The event was staged by Clinton's Hollywood friends at the Lincoln Memorial and drew hundreds of thousands of people.[76] Aretha Franklin, LL Cool J, Michael Bolton and Tony Bennett were among some of the musicians in attendance.[76][77] Said Jones, "I've never seen so many great performers come together with so much love and selflessness."[78] The celebration included a performance of "We Are the World", which involved Clinton, his daughter Chelsea, and his wife Hillary singing the song along with USA for Africa's Kenny Rogers, Diana Ross and Michael Jackson.[76] The New York Times' Edward Rothstein commented on the event, stating, "The most enduring image may be of Mr. Clinton singing along in 'We Are the World', the first President to aspire, however futilely, to hipness."[79]
As a prelude to his song "Heal the World", "We Are the World" was performed as an interlude during two of Michael Jackson's tours, the Dangerous World Tour (1992–1993) and the HIStory World Tour (1996–1997), as well as Jackson's performance at the Super Bowl XXVII halftime show in 1993. Jackson briefly performed the song with a chorus at the 2006 World Music Awards in London, which marked his last live public performance. Jackson planned to use the song for his This Is It comeback concerts at the O2 Arena in London from 2009 to 2010, but the shows were cancelled due to his sudden death.
Michael Jackson died in June 2009, after suffering a cardiac arrest.[80] His memorial service was held several days later on July 7, and was reported to have been viewed by more than one billion people.[81] The finale of the event featured group renditions of the Jackson anthems "We Are the World" and "Heal the World".[82] The singalong of "We Are the World" was led by Darryl Phinnessee, who had worked with Jackson since the late 1980s.[82][83] It also featured co-writer Lionel Richie and Jackson's family, including his children.[82][83] Following the performance, "We Are the World" re-entered the US charts for the first time since its 1985 release. The song debuted at number 50 on Billboard's Hot Digital Songs chart.[84]
Legacy[edit]
"We Are the World" has been recognized as a politically important song, which "affected an international focus on Africa that was simply unprecedented".[47] It has been credited with creating a climate in which musicians from around the world felt inclined to follow.[47] According to The New York Times' Stephen Holden, since the release of "We Are the World", it has been noted that movement has been made within popular music to create songs that address humanitarian concerns.[94] "We Are the World" was also influential in subverting the way music and meaning were produced, showing that musically and racially diverse musicians could work together both productively and creatively.[49] Ebony described the January 28 recording session, in which Quincy Jones brought together a multi-racial group, as being "a major moment in world music that showed we can change the world".[95] "We Are the World", along with Live Aid and Farm Aid, demonstrated that rock music had become more than entertainment, but a political and social movement.[96] Journalist Robert Palmer noted that such songs and events had the ability to reach people around the world, send them a message, and then get results.[96]
Since the release of "We Are the World", and the Band Aid single that influenced it, numerous songs have been recorded in a similar fashion, with the intent to aid disaster victims throughout the world. One such example involved a supergroup of Latin musicians billed as "Hermanos del Tercer Mundo", or "Brothers of the Third World". Among the supergroup of 62 recording artists were Julio Iglesias, José Feliciano, and Sérgio Mendes. Their famine relief song was recorded in the same studio as "We Are the World". Half of the profits raised from the charity single was pledged to USA for Africa. The rest of the money was to be used for impoverished Latin American countries.[97] Other notable examples include the 1989 cover of the Deep Purple song "Smoke on the Water" by a supergroup of hard rock, prog rock, and heavy metal musicians collaborating as Rock Aid Armenia to raise money for victims of the devastating 1988 Armenian earthquake,[98] the 1986 all-star OPM single "Handog ng Pilipino sa Mundo", which talked about the optimism the Filipinos needed after the People Power Revolution,[99][100] the 1997 Star Records all-star recording "Sa Araw ng Pasko", the 2003 all-star OPM recording "Biyahe Tayo" which promoted Philippine tourism[101] and its subsequent 2011 remake "Pilipinas, Tara Na!"[102] and the 2009 all-star OPM recordings "Star ng Pasko" and "Kaya Natin Ito!" as a means to provide hope to the survivors of Typhoon Ketsana (locally known as Ondoy).[103][104] Several GMA Network personalities also recorded another inspirational ballad, "Bangon Kaibigan" in 2013 to provide hope to the survivors of Typhoon Haiyan (locally known as Yolanda).[105]
The 20th anniversary of "We Are the World" was celebrated in 2005. Radio stations around the world paid homage to USA for Africa's creation by simultaneously broadcasting the charity song. In addition to the simulcast, the milestone was marked by the release of a two-disc DVD called We Are the World: The Story Behind the Song.[106] Ken Kragen asserted that the reason behind the simulcast and DVD release was not for USA for Africa to praise themselves for doing a good job, but to "use it to do some more good [for the original charity]. That's all we care about accomplishing."[106] Harry Belafonte also commented on the 20th anniversary of the song. He acknowledged that "We Are the World" had "stood the test of time"; anyone old enough to remember it can still at least hum along.[107]
On January 29, 2024, a documentary titled The Greatest Night in Pop, was released on Netflix. The documentary, which was directed by Bao Nguyen, chronicles the obstacles and the behind-the-scenes stories that led to the creation of the song. The documentary features new interviews with Lionel Richie, Bruce Springsteen, Huey Lewis, Dionne Warwick, Cyndi Lauper and others involved with the song who reflect on the song and its legacy.[108]