Lionel Richie could hardly have imagined recreating the magic that happened when “We Are the World” formed on January 28, 1985.
Richie and Michael Jackson co-wrote a charity song to raise money for famine relief in Africa, and what started as a small effort soon grew into a massive undertaking with 46 of the biggest musicians on the planet recording it simultaneously.
Entertainment manager Ken Cragen has worked with artists such as Kenny Rogers, Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Cyndi Lauper, Ray Charles and Tina Turner to produce commercially successful pop singles that have reached number one on the music charts, won four Grammy Awards and raised over $80 million for humanitarian causes.
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Lionel Richie talks about the making of “We Are the World.” (Getty Images)
When asked how Ritchie managed to pull it off, he attributed the unlikely event to “ignorance.”
“There was nothing in the way,” he said. CBS News“There was no internet, no cell phones. There was just pure thoughts, ideas, and a way to make them happen.”
Richie recalled teaming up with Jackson to write the song, which was produced by Quincy Jones and Michael Omartian.
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“At first, I had no worries because there was no deadline,” he says. “I could write when I wanted, so it was fine.”
Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson co-wrote “We Are the World,” which features a total of 46 musicians. (Getty Images)
Lionel and Michael held writing sessions at the Jackson family’s Encino home, surrounded by animals, including snakes.
“I was screaming, trying to write the words for this song, and he was like, ‘Lionel, I want to play with you,'” Richie said. “Next thing I know, Cragen calls and says, ‘Bruce is going to be on. Dylan is going to be on. Dylan? You mean Bob Dylan?'”
In another call, Cragen told Richie that Ray Charles was also going to sing: “All of a sudden we went from just la-la-la to panic.”
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The recording took place in Los Angeles after the 1985 American Music Awards, which brought together most of the talent on the show.
Signed sheet music for the charity single “We Are the World,” recorded in a Los Angeles studio in 1985. (Photo: Vinnie Zuffante)
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“It’s amazing how a room full of 5-year-olds are all together and used to each other,” Rich said. “I call it the first day of first grade, which means they’re all in a room without their parents and they don’t really know what to do and Quincy is the parent, and he’s done it.”
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Ritchie recalled that Jones would have each musician sing in a circle “to the class” to keep their egos in check.
Looking back, Richie said he was “a little scared” at the time.
“Talking about it now, it was really scary,” he admitted. “You know what? I’m trying to stay as calm as possible about this.”
“We Are the World” has raised millions of dollars for humanitarian aid in Africa. (Blank Archive)
The song’s legacy lives on through the humanitarian aid it still receives in Africa, and “We Are the World” recently hit the charts again thanks to the Netflix documentary “The Greatest Night in Pop,” which details the events that preceded it.
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“We raised a lot of money,” Rich said. “The whole time we thought, ‘OK, let’s give a bunch of money away and hopefully we’ll raise $10 million.’ Then we got to $40 million, $50 million and we were like… what on earth happened?
“But I remember calling Quincy and saying, ‘Did you say we were going to give half the money or did you say we were going to give the whole amount?’ And he said, ‘Don’t do that. Lionel, don’t do that. We’re going to give the whole amount.'”
