Global InformationWe Are the World information
| "We Are the World" | |
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| Single by USA for Africa | |
| from the album We Are the World | |
| B-side | "Grace" |
| Released | March 7, 1985 |
| Recorded | January 28, 1985 |
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"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.
Soon after the British group Band Aid released "Do They Know It's Christmas?" in December 1984, the musician and activist Harry Belafonte decided to create an American benefit single for African famine relief. With the fundraiser Ken Kragen, he enlisted several musicians. Jackson and Richie completed the writing the night before the first recording session, on January 21, 1985. The event brought together some of the era's best-known musicians.
"We Are the World" was released on March 7, 1985, as the first single from the album by Columbia Records. It topped music charts throughout the world and became the fastest-selling U.S. pop single in history. "We Are the World" was certified quadruple platinum, becoming the first single to be certified multi-platinum. Its awards include four Grammy Awards, one American Music Award, and a People's Choice Award.
"We Are the World" was promoted with a music video, a VHS, a special edition magazine, a simulcast, and several books, posters, and shirts. The promotion and merchandise helped "We Are the World" raise more than $80 million ($222 million today) for humanitarian aid in Africa and the United States.[1] Another cast of singers recorded a new version, "We Are the World 25 for Haiti", to raise relief following the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
- ^ "How pop's biggest names pulled a secret marathon all-nighter to create history's biggest charity single". ABC News. February 1, 2024 – via www.abc.net.au.