page_title: We Are the World
section_title: Background and writing
hierarchical_section_title: We Are the World / Background and writing
caption_attribution_description: English: Bandleader Quincy Jones in 2008
context_page_description: "We Are the World" is a charity single originally 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 copies, it is the eighth best-selling physical single of all time.
  Following Band Aid's 1984 "Do They Know It's Christmas?" project in the UK, an idea for the creation of an American benefit single for African famine relief came from activist Harry Belafonte, who, along with fundraiser Ken Kragen, was instrumental in bringing the vision to reality. Several musicians were contacted by the pair, before Jackson and Richie were assigned the task of writing the song. The duo completed the writing of "We Are the World" seven weeks after the release of "Do They Know It's Christmas?", and one night before the song's first recording session, on January 21, 1985. The historic event brought together some of the most well-known artists in the music industry at the time.
  The song was released on March 7, 1985, as the first single from the album.
context_section_description: Before the writing of "We Are the World", American entertainer and social activist Harry Belafonte had thought for some time to have a song recorded by the most well-known artists in the music industry at the time. He planned to have the proceeds donated to a new organization called United Support of Artists for Africa (USA for Africa). The non-profit foundation would then feed and relieve starving people in Africa, specifically Ethiopia, where around one million people died during the country's 1983–1985 famine. The idea followed Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" project in the UK, which Belafonte had heard about. He also planned money to be set aside to help eliminate hunger in the United States of America. Entertainment manager and fellow fundraiser Ken Kragen was contacted by Belafonte, who asked for singers Lionel Richie and Kenny Rogers—Kragen's clients—to participate in Belafonte's musical endeavor. Kragen and the two musicians agreed to help with Belafonte's mission, and in turn, enlisted the cooperation of Stevie Wonder, to add more "name value" to their project. Quincy Jones was drafted to co-produce the song, taking time out from his work on the film The Color Purple. Jones also telephoned Michael Jackson, who had just released the commercially successful Thriller album and had concluded a tour with his brothers.
  Jackson revealed to Richie that he not only wanted to sing the song, but to participate in its writing as well. To begin with, "We Are the World" was to be written by Jackson, Richie, and Wonder. As Wonder had limited time to work on the project, due to writing songs from the film The Woman in Red, Jackson and Richie proceeded to write "We Are the World" themselves. They began creating the song at Hayvenhurst, the Jackson family home in Encino. For a week, the two spent every night working on lyrics and melodies in Jackson's bedroom. They knew that they wanted a song that would be easy to sing and memorable. The pair wanted to create an anthem. Jackson's older sister La Toya watched the two work on the song, and later contended that Richie only wrote a few lines for the track. She stated that her younger brother wrote 99% of the lyrics, "but he's never felt it necessary to say that". La Toya further commented on the song's creation in an interview with the U.S. celebrity news magazine People. "I'd go into the room while they were writing and it would be very quiet, which is odd, since Michael's usually very cheery when he works. It was very emotional for them."
  Richie had recorded two melodies for "We Are the World", which Jackson took, adding music and words to the song in the same day. Jackson stated, "I love working quickly. I went ahead without even Lionel knowing, I couldn't wait. I went in and came out the same night with the song completed—drums, piano, strings, and words to the chorus." Jackson then presented his demo to Richie and Jones, who were both shocked; they did not expect the pop star to see the structure of the song so quickly. The next meetings between Jackson and Richie were unfruitful; the pair did not produce any additional vocals and got no work done. It was not until the night of January 21, 1985, that Richie and Jackson completed the lyrics and melody of "We Are the World" within two and a half hours, one night before the song's first recording session.
caption: Quincy Jones was a key figure in the production and recording of "We Are the World".
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