“We Are the World” is a charity single 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 physical copies, it is the eighth-best-selling single of all time, meant to raise money for the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia.
Soon after the British group Band Aid released “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” in December 1984, musician and activist Harry Belafonte decided to create an American benefit single for African famine relief. Mega-agent Ken Kragen enlisted several musicians for the project. Jackson and Richie completed the writing the night before the first recording session, on January 28, 1985. The event brought together some of the era’s best-known recording artists, including Bruce Springsteen, Cyndi Lauper, Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder, and Tina Turner. Some major artists, such as Prince, did not participate.
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We Are the World
Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Kenny Rogers, James Ingram, Tina Turner and Billy Joel sing the first verse; Michael Jackson and Diana Ross sing the first chorus; Dionne Warwick, Willie Nelson and Al Jarreau sing the second verse; Bruce Springsteen, Kenny Loggins, Steve Perry and Daryl Hall sing the second chorus; Jackson, Huey Lewis, Cyndi Lauper, and Kim Carnes sing the bridge. "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.[citation needed] The structure is said to "create a sense of continuous surprise and emotional buildup" 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