Watched this documentary last night on Netflix. Most Dopers seem to be old enough to remember “We Are The World,” a nearly-impromptu recording that brought together 40-odd superstars of the day with an all-volunteer recording team for an all-nighter in one room to lay down an amazing earworm that is still being sold as a fundraiser for feeding the hungry in Africa.
Utterly fascinating in so many ways, from the creative process of Lionel Ritchie and Michael Jackson working together to write the song days before the event to the incredible dynamics of assigning solos, duets and harmony backings to the passages, real-time changes, and most impressive of all watching ALL of these pros unleash their talent and deliver stunning vocals on short notice in a grueling session for no pay.
You could tell that they were all quite thunderstruck by the overwhelming gravity of collaborating with so many other towering legends.
Seconding.
I liked it a lot more than I thought I would.
I do kinda feel bad for all the people at the AMAs that weren’t invited. I’m sure it felt like a slap in the face to some of them, especially when they realize that they weren’t invited, but somehow Dan Aykroyd was. It seems like he just sorta accidentally showed up without knowing what was going on, but still.
Also, as much as I love everyone involved, based on the very little bit of information given about the situation, it seems like they were pretty shitty to Sheila E.
He sure did. That was one of the most dramatic moments - he’s just mumbling incoherently, extremely anxious and intimidated. Quincy Jones comes over and puts his arm around him, says a few encouraging things, then Dylan just rips it up. Wow.
I really enjoyed this. Totally of my era and seeing all the artists was a great bit of nostalgia for me. Please don’t think this is a thread shit but I had to smirk when Lionel was talking about the writing of the song. The cause and collaboration were tremendous and I applaud the effort, but the song itself is shite (IMO).
Indeed, in the same sense that songs like “Wake Me Up” and “Happy” are shite, the gold ring of pop. I think it was Kenny Rogers who got the demo tape and knew instantly that, “oh shit, this is a hit.”
the song did/does what it had to do - and set the standard for 100s of other “goombaya-my-lord-colabs” …
I’d say its par-for-the-course, but, yes - isolated from context - its pretty shite … but then again, 80% of what was in the top-40ies at that time, was shite, too …
I didn’t expect to like it but I also enjoyed it!! I figured “hey don’t I already know the story behind this?” No, turns out I absolutely did not.
I really liked the way they did it. I described it to my brother as “basically raw footage with in-person interviews overlayed”.
I can’t believe these people all stayed til, what, 4 am? 6 am? They definitely did check their egos at the door. And I’m RELIEVED that the album sales and subsequent hoo-ha around it have made a lot of money for aid in Africa.
I remember when the “We Are The World” session was parodied in Doonesbury, with Quincy Jones telling everyone to check their egos at the door, and Springsteen says “Hey man, I want a receipt.”
Add me to the group who enjoyed it much more than they thought they would.
And Dylan could not have looked any more uncomfortable, even when they were standing around just chit-chatting he looked like an awkward teenager. This is doubly weird because he has more music cred than anyone else in the room.
Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder stood out to me because they seemed to genuinely be having fun with the whole process.
To give him a little bit of credit, at some point they mentioned how different the vibe in the room is when it’s only artists that are allowed in. No agents, no bodyguards, no assistants etc.
If you want a glass of water, you’re going to have to get it yourself, if you need to go to the bathroom, you’ll have to ask Stevie to show you where it is.
I enjoyed the documentary a lot. I cringed a little when Stevie Wonder decided he was going to sing in Swahili; I appreciate the sentiment, but that seemed like pandering. The others then had to explain to Stevie that Swahili isn’t even spoken in Ethiopia. That also caused Waylon Jennings to bolt the session.
Also laughed when the sound engineer had to get Cyndi Lauper to take off her jewelry and bracelets; the clicking from them was ruining the track when she tried to sing.
Speaking if Cyndi, someone involved (Quincy?) said they knew there were going to be difficult people involved and mentioned Cyndi as one of them. What were her issues? Was she known to be hard to work with and, if so, how?
