Netflix recently released a documentary titled The Greatest Night in Pop that showcased the making of the 1985 song, ‘We Are the World’. Even though it came out on the OTT platform on January 29, 2024, it premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival on January 19.
Since the release of the project on Netflix, ‘We Are the World’ has returned to the Billboard charts. According to Forbes, the track is back at No. 21 on the 25-spot tally. It initially debuted on the online-only purchase tally in 2009. Till then, it had managed to be on the list thrice. However, this time around, it has reached a new peak.
The director of The Greatest Night in Pop is Bao Nguyen, and his project delved deep into the legendary event that took place on January 25, 1985, in Los Angeles. Gathering 46 of the world’s most famous singers, including Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, and Lionel Richie, together in a single night was not an easy task. However, it did happen due to Richie’s ex-manager, Ken Kragen. Interestingly, the most impressive part of the story is that this happened before the era of cell phones and the internet.
According to the official trailer of The Greatest Night in Pop, the synopsis of the documentary reads, “Premiering January 29th. The untold story of how the global hit ‘We Are the World’ almost didn’t happen! 46 of the biggest pop music stars had only one night to turn chaos into magic.”
It continues, “As told by stars who were there. This film reveals the rollercoaster ride to write and record the groundbreaking song that would go on to raise millions for famine relief in Africa, win 2 Grammys, and become a global sensation.”
Who were the writers of ‘We Are the World’?
‘We Are the World’ was written by the legendary pop artist Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie. According to Billboard, only four names were initially supposed to feature in the song—Richie, Jackson, Stevie Wonder, and Quincy Jones. However, Richie’s ex-manager, Ken Kragen, brought more than 40 artists together to record the track.
In 2016, Kevin Spacey interviewed Lionel Richie at the Beverly Hills’ Wallis Annenberg Center. During the conversation, Richie spoke about a hilarious incident when he and Jackson were working on ‘We Are the World’. He stated, “I’m at Michael’s house trying to write ‘We Are the World’. And his dog is barking and his Mynah bird is yelling ‘Shut up’ [repeatedly at the dog]. I see albums falling over. I look again and see more falling over and there’s an albino python [coming toward me].”
He further stated, “I will admit I was screaming like a white woman. Michael goes, ‘Oh my God, Lionel. There he is, he wants to play with you.’ I know you want a spiritual tale about how we brought this song to you. But that’s how it was for three days.”
Some of the artists featured on ‘We Are the World’ were Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Dionne Warwick, Willie Nelson, Al Jarreau, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Kenny Logins, Billy Joel, and more. Notably, the purpose of this project was to raise funds for the 1983-1985 famine in Africa.
