Every Singer & Musician Featured On 1985's "We Are The World" & What The Supergroup Achieved (2024)

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.

All Of The Singers On 1985's "We Are The World"

Lionel Richie Helped Assemble The Huge Group Of Performers

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.

What "We Are The World" Achieved After The Song Was Released

The Single Made Millions Of Dollars For Charity

"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).

What About We Are The World 25?

The New Version Was Not As Successful

25 years after “We Are The World” was released, a new version of the song, with a new group of artists, was created. The project was officially named We Are The World 25 For Haiti. In 2009 Lionel Richie and Quincy Jones had considered releasing a new cut of the original track, but a devastating earthquake in Haiti in early 2010 led to a different decision.

A new group of artists were brought together to create a new version of the charity single to benefit rebuilding in Haiti. The idea was that a group of modern artists could bring the idea of unity to a younger generation. More than 80 artists participated in the recording of the song and multiple versions of the song were released.

In addition to a short version of the single that ran for 3 minutes and 25 seconds, there was also a long version of the song that ran for 6 minutes and 57 seconds. The new version of “We Are The World” also included a rap section. A Spanish language version of the track was also recorded.

A music video was also created by Paul Haggis who recorded the production of the single. Haitian film students were involved in creating the music video, so the single wasn’t just giving money back to Haiti, but also giving Haitian artists hope for the future.

Though critics panned the new version of the song, consumers understood the sentiment behind it, and made it a brief success. The song reached the number 2 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US and 7 on the Canadian Hot 100. It charted in more than 30 territories around the world overall, reaching higher positions than the original debut single did in 1985. The way the world consumed music had changed and much of the purchasing of the music was in the form of digital downloads.

That success, however, was short-lived. While the original single had longer staying power when it was released, raising funds throughout the year, “We Are The World” in 2010 only remained on music charts for a few weeks, and didn’t get much radio play. The actual amount of money raised by the 2010 single has not been disclosed and there hasn't been a full look behind the curtain for the modern track like there is in the documentary The Greatest Night In Pop.

The Greatest Night in Pop

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On January 28, 1985, 46 of the most famous musicians of the time, including Lionel Richie, Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Cyndi Lauper, and Stevie Wonder, gathered in a Los Angeles studio to record the charity single "We Are the World." The documentary "The Greatest Night in Pop" reveals the behind-the-scenes efforts to bring these iconic artists together for this historic event. Directed by Bao Nguyen, the film explores the logistical challenges, creative processes, and personal dynamics that shaped the recording session, offering new insights and untold stories from those who were there.

Director

Bao Nguyen

Release Date

January 29, 2024

Cast

Lionel Richie , Quincy Jones , Bruce Springsteen , Cyndi Lauper

Runtime

96 Minutes