Some said it sounded like a Pepsi commercial. Others said is sounded like a Disney tune. And those were some of the artists involved. Either way, “We Are the World, “ a kind of response to the UK artists’ “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” became 1985’s top musical headline. The single sold a jillion records and, later that summer, Live Aid concerts in London and Philly extended the charity venture even further into the stratosphere.
Artist manager Ken Kragen and producer Quincy Jones got their clients and friends to agree to record the catchy pop song on the night of the Grammys – after the show – when the all the big names would be in town. There would be no second chance to make it happen. Here’s who appeared in the celebrity choir and select solos:
The new film, only an hour 15 or so, doesn’t bring much new to the table for us older folks who were swept up in it in real time. But under 40-year olds might glean some new facts and older folks can nestle into nostalgia when there’s nothing else to watch on Netflix.
There were just a couple of new bits for me- I always wondered why Sheils E., still emerging at that point, was up front with the superstars – turns out, to her dismay, she was a placeholder for Prince who was maybe, possibly, if lightning struck, going to participate.
There’s also a cute segment where Quincy is trying to talk a dazed and perplexed Bob Dylan into singing his part. Q is a genius.
Apart from that – there’s no need to hurry up and watch. It’s a lot of famous talking heads saying how shook they were to stand beside their respective idols. Nothing earth-shattering, but good memories, nonetheless.
