During the recent broadcast of The Howard Stern Show, American musician, Billy Joel took a stroll down memory lane by recounting the 1985 recording sessions for the charity single, ‘We Are The World’. Joel shared his experience with the recording sessions and how he got involved in the project, highlighting the fact that he was already scheduled to be in Los Angeles that week for the Grammys and other commitments and thought to himself, “what the hell, this could be fun.”
Joel, alongside the other musicians involved in the charity single had no idea what they were recording for. According to Joel, while he was standing next to artist Cyndi Lauper, they were being filmed when it occurred to Lauper that “This song sounds like a Pepsi commercial,” an observation that made Joel chuckle.
One of the most interesting parts of the entire experience for Joel was when Steve Wonder and Bob Dylan took to the microphone. Dylan, being shy, was having a hard time singing on his own, when Stevie Wonder came out and started telling Dylan how to sing like Bob Dylan. “We are the world, we are the children”, sang Wonder to which Dylan replied, “Okay, I think I can do that.” Joel couldn’t help but cherish this moment of Stevie Wonder teaching Bob Dylan how to sing like himself.
All back-up singers were given the opportunity to sing, but Joel and Bruce Springsteen, who was also present during the recording, decided at some point to take a break from singing as they indulged in deli sandwiches and beer, which prompted them to leave the recording studio temporarily.
‘We Are The World’ went on to top charts worldwide after its release and it is still considered to be the 9th highest-selling song of all time. The song, which was recorded under the name USA for Africa, featured some of the biggest names at the time such as Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, Tina Turner, Diana Ross and many more.
Now, the song has become the subject of Netflix’s new documentary titled ‘The Greatest Night in Pop’, which Joel encourages people to watch. The documentary explains the idea behind the song, how it was recorded and the impact it has had on the world up until this time
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