We Are the World

"We Are the World" is a song and charity single recorded by the supergroup USA for Africa. It was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, and co-produced by Quincy Jones and Michael Omartian for the 1985 album of the same name. The idea for the creation of a benefit single for African famine relief had initially come 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. Following several months of working together, the duo completed the writing of "We Are the World" one night before the anthem's first recording session, in early 1985. The last recording session for the song was held on January 28, 1985. The historic event brought together some of the biggest artists in the music industry at the time.

The anthem was released on March 7, 1985, as the only single from We Are the World. The single was a worldwide commercial success; it topped music charts throughout the world and became the fastest-selling American pop single in history. The first ever single to be certified multi-platinum, "We Are the World" received a 4x certification by the Recording Industry Association of America. The song was not a significant critical success, as it garnered mixed reviews from journalists, music critics and the public. Fans enjoyed hearing racially and musically diverse recording artists singing together on one track, and felt satisfied in buying "We Are the World", knowing that the money was going to charity. Other individuals were disappointed that the song did not challenge why famines occur in the first place, and felt that the lyrics were self-aggrandizing.

Honored numerous times—including three Grammy Awards, one American Music Award and a People's Choice Award—the song was promoted with a critically received music video, a home video, a special edition magazine, a simulcast, and several books, posters and shirts. The promotion and merchandise aided the success of "We Are the World", which was eventually named the biggest selling single of all time. To date, the anthem has sold over 20 million units and raised over $63 million for humanitarian aid in Africa and the US. Performed live on numerous occasions, "We Are the World" demonstrated that diverse musicians could productively work together, and started a movement within pop music to create songs that address humane concerns.

Prior to the writing of "We Are the World", American entertainer and social activist Harry Belafonte had sought for some time to have a song recorded by the biggest artists in the music industry at the time.^[1] The musician 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.^[1] In Belafonte's plans, money would also be set aside to help eliminate hunger in the United States of America.^[1] 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.^[1] 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.^[1] Quincy Jones was drafted to co-produce the song, taking time out from his work on The Colour Purple.^[1][2] Richie also telephoned Michael Jackson, who had just released the commercially successful Thriller album and had concluded a tour with his brothers.^[1] Jackson revealed to Richie that he not only wanted to sing the song, but to participate in its writing as well.^[1][3] To begin with, "We Are the World" was to be written by Jackson, Richie and Wonder.^[3] As Wonder was rarely available to work on the project, it was decided that Jackson and Richie would write "We Are the World" themselves.^[3]

After the participants agreed that Richie and Jackson would write the track, the two musicians began work on the song's creation at Hayvenhurst, the Encino home of Jackson and his family.^[2] For a week, Richie and Jackson spent every night working on lyrics and melodies in the latter's bedroom.^[2] The duo knew that they wanted a song which would be easy to sing and memorable.^[2] The pair wanted to create an anthem.^[2] Jackson's older sister, La Toya, watched the two work on the song, and later revealed that Richie only wrote a few lines for the track.^[2] She stated that her younger brother wrote 99 percent of the lyrics, "but he's never felt it necessary to say that".^[2] La Toya further commented on the song's creation in an interview with the American 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."^[3]

Richie had recorded two melodies for "We Are the World", which Jackson took, adding music and words to the song in the same day.^[4] 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."^[4] 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.^[4] The next meetings between Jackson and Richie were unfruitful; the pair did not produce any additional vocals and got no work done.^[4] 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.^[4]

The first night of recording, January 22, 1985, had tight security on hand, as Richie, Jackson, Wonder and Jones started work on "We Are the World" at Kenny Rogers' Lion Share Recording Studio.^[5] The studio, on Beverly Boulevard in California, was filled with musicians, technicians, video crews, retinues, assistants and organizers as the four musicians entered.^[5] To begin the night, a "vocal guide" of "We Are the World" was recorded by Richie and Jackson and duplicated on tape for each of the invited performers.^[5] The guide was recorded on the sixth take, as Quincy Jones felt that there was too much "thought" in the previous versions.^[5]

Following their work on the vocal guide, Jackson and Jones began thinking of alternatives for the line "There's a chance we're taking, we're taking our own lives": the pair were concerned that the latter part of the line would be considered a reference to suicide.^[6] As the group listened to a playback of the chorus, Richie declared that the first part of the line should be changed to "We're 'saving' our own lives", with which his fellow musicians agreed.^[6] Producer Jones also suggested altering the former part of the line. "One thing we don't want to do, especially with this group, is look like we're patting ourselves on the back. So it's really, 'There's a choice we're making.'"^[6] At approximately 1:30 am, the four musicians ended the night by finishing a chorus of melodic vocalizations, including the sound "sha-lum sha-lin-gay".^[6] Jones told the group that they were not to add anything else to the tape. "If we get too good, someone's gonna start playing it on the radio", the producer announced.^[6]

On January 24, 1985, after a day of rest, Jones shipped Richie and Jackson's vocal guide to all of the artists who would be involved in "We Are the World"'s recording.^[6] The guide was shipped by Federal Express, who paid the bill in the spirit of the event.^[6] Enclosed in the package was a letter from Jones, addressed to "My Fellow Artists".^[6] The letter read:

The cassettes are numbered, and I can't express how important it is not to let this material out of your hands. Please do not make copies, and return this cassette the night of the 28th. In the years to come, when your children ask, 'What did mommy and daddy do for the war against world famine?', you can say proudly, this was your contribution.^[6]

Ken Kragen chaired a production meeting at a bungalow off of Sunset Boulevard on January 25, 1985.^[6] There, Kragen and his team addressed where the song would be completed by the supergroup of musicians.^[6] He stated, "The single most damaging piece of information is where we're doing this. If that shows up anywhere, we've got a chaotic situation that could totally destroy the project. The moment a Prince, a Michael Jackson, a Bob Dylan—I guarantee you!—drives up and sees a mob around that studio, he will never come in."^[6] On the same night, Quincy Jones' associate producer and vocal arranger, Tom Bahler, was given the task of matching each solo line with the right voice.^[6] Bahler stated, "It's like vocal arranging in a perfect world".^[6] Jones disagreed, stating that the task was like "putting a watermelon in a Coke bottle".^[6] The following evening, Lionel Richie held a "choreography" session at his home, where it was decided who would stand where.^[6]

The final night of recording was held on January 28, 1985, at A&M Recording Studios in Hollywood, California.^[6][7] Michael Jackson arrived at 9 pm, earlier than the other artists, to record his solo section and record a vocal chorus by himself.^[6] He was subsequently joined in the recording studio by the remaining USA for Africa artists, which included Ray Charles, Billy Joel, Diana Ross, Cyndi Lauper, Bruce Springsteen and Smokey Robinson.^[8] Also in attendance were five of Jackson's siblings: Jackie, La Toya, Marlon, Randy and Tito.^[9] Rebbie, Jermaine and Janet did not attend the recording, the latter being particularly upset at not getting an invitation.^[9] Invited musician Prince, who would have had a part in which he and Michael Jackson sang to each other, did not attend the recording session either.^[10] The cause of his absence has differed in reports: one claimed that the singer did not want to record with other acts.^[11] Another report, from the time of "We Are the World"'s recording, suggested that the musician did not want to partake in the session because organizer Bob Geldof called him a "creep".^[12] Prince did, however, donate an exclusive track, "4 The Tears In Your Eyes", for the We Are the World album.^[11] In all, more than 45 of America's top musicians participated in the recording, and another 50 had to be turned away.^[10][13] Upon entering the recording studio, the musicians were greeted by a sign pinned to the door.^[14] It read, "Please check your egos at the door".^[14] They were also greeted by Stevie Wonder, who proclaimed that if the recording was not completed in one take, he and Ray Charles, two blind men, would drive everybody home.^[15]

At 10.30 pm, each of the performers took his or her position; their names were written on silver gaffer tape stuck to the floor.^[16] Richie arrived a few minutes afterwards, having hosted the American Music Awards that night.^[16] When the participants were settled, Bob Geldof took the podium and addressed the group, speaking of the poor conditions he had seen in Africa.^[16] Geldof was followed by Kragen, who explained to the group how the money raised would be spent.^[16] Jones was the last to address the musicians, running through their agenda, before Jackson's vocal guide was played for the artists, and they began to sing.^[16]

Stevie Wonder announced at 1 am that he would like to substitute the "sha-lum sha-lin-gay" sound for a line in Swahili.^[16][17] At this point, Waylon Jennings left the recording studio and never returned; he allegedly felt that no "good ole boy" ever sang in Swahili.^[16][17] A heated debate ensued, in which Geldof revealed that Ethiopians do not speak Swahili.^[16] Michael Jackson also disagreed with using a Swahili line, choosing to stick with the "sha-lum sha-lin-gay" sound, which, after being sung a few times, ran into opposition as well.^[16] The participants eventually decided to sing something meaningful in English.^[16] They chose to sing the new line "One world, Our children", which most of the participants enjoyed, apart from Tina Turner, who liked "sha-lum sha-lin-gay" better.^[16]

After an impromptu tribute to Harry Belafonte, in which all of the participants sang "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)", a photograph was taken for We Are the World's album cover and poster.^[18] Following the photograph being taken, at approximately 3 am, two Ethiopian women, guests of Stevie Wonder, were brought into the recording studio—it had been decided that a portion of the proceeds raised would be used to bring aid to those affected by the recent famine in Ethiopia.^[17][18] They thanked the singers on behalf of their country, bringing several artists to tears, before being led from the room.^[17][18] Wonder attempted to lighten the mood, by joking that the recording session gave him a chance to "see" fellow blind musician Ray Charles. "We just sort of bumped into each other!"^[15] The solo parts of the song were recorded without any problems.^[18] The final version of "We Are the World" was completed at 8 am.^[18][19]

"We Are the World"

The structuring of "We Are the World" is said to "create a sense of continuous surprise and emotional buildup".

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"We Are the World" is sung from a first person viewpoint, allowing an audience to "internalize" the message—which involves everybody—by singing the word "we" together.^[20] The anthem has been cited as "an appeal to human compassion".^[21] The first lines in the song's repetitive chorus, proclaim, "We Are the World, we are the children, we are the ones who make a brighter day, so let's start giving".^[21] "We Are the World" opens with Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Kenny Rogers, James Ingram, Tina Turner and Billy Joel singing the first verse.^[22] Michael Jackson and Diana Ross follow, completing the first chorus together.^[22] Dionne Warwick, Willie Nelson and Al Jarreau sing the second verse, before Bruce Springsteen, Kenny Loggins, Steve Perry and Daryl Hall go through the second chorus.^[22] Co-writer Jackson, Huey Lewis, Cyndi Lauper and Kim Carnes follow with the third verse.^[22] The structuring of the song is said to "create a sense of continuous surprise and emotional buildup".^[7] "We Are the World" concludes with Bob Dylan and Ray Charles singing a full chorus, Wonder and Springsteen duetting, and ad libs from Charles and Ingram.^[22]

• Quincy Jones

Lionel Richie Stevie Wonder Paul Simon Kenny Rogers James Ingram Tina Turner Billy Joel Michael Jackson Diana Ross Dionne Warwick Willie Nelson

‎ Al Jarreau Bruce Springsteen Kenny Loggins Steve Perry Daryl Hall Huey Lewis Cyndi Lauper Kim Carnes Bob Dylan Ray Charles

Dan Aykroyd Harry Belafonte Lindsey Buckingham Mario Cipollina Johnny Colla Sheila E. Bob Geldof Bill Gibson Chris Hayes Sean Hopper Jackie Jackson La Toya Jackson

‎ Marlon Jackson Randy Jackson Tito Jackson Waylon Jennings Bette Midler John Oates Jeffrey Osborne Anita Pointer Ruth Pointer Smokey Robinson

On March 7, 1985, "We Are the World" was released as a single, in both 7" and 12" format.^[23][24] The song was the only one released from the We Are the World album and became a chart success around the world.^[9] In the US, the single became a number one hit on the R&B singles chart, the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart and the Billboard Hot 100, where it remained for a month.^[25][26] The single had initially debuted at number 21 on the Hot 100, making it the highest debuting single since Michael Jackson's "Thriller" entered the charts at number 21 the year before.^[21] It took four weeks for the song to claim the number one spot—half the time a single would normally have taken to reach its charting peak.^[27] It was thought that "We Are the World" would have reached the top of the Hot 100 chart sooner, if it were not for the success of Phil Collins' "One More Night", which received a significant level of support from both pop and rock listeners.^[27] "We Are the World" also entered Billboard's Top Rock Tracks and Hot Country Singles charts, where it peaked at numbers 27 and 76 respectively.^[25] The song became the first single, since the Beatles' "Let It Be", to enter Billboards Top 5 within two weeks of release.^[24] Outside of the US, the single reached number one in Australia, Belgium, France, Holland, Italy, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.^[9][28] The song peaked at number two in Austria and number 18 in Denmark.^[28]

The single was also a commercial success; within three days of release, the initial shipment of 800,000 "We Are the World" records had sold out.^[23] The record became the fastest-selling American pop single in history.^[29] At one Tower Records store on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood, 1,000 copies of the song were sold in two days.^[30] Store worker Richard Petitpas commented, "A number one single sells about 100 to 125 copies a week. This is absolutely unheard of."^[30] By the end of 1985, "We Are the World" had become the biggest selling single of the year.^[9] Five years later it was revealed that the song had become the biggest single of the 1980s.^[31] "We Are the World" was eventually cited as the biggest selling single in both U.S. and pop music history.^[32][33][34] The song became the first ever single to be certified multi-platinum; it received a 4x certification by the Recording Industry Association of America.^[9][26] The estimated global sales of "We Are the World" are said to be 20 million.^[35]

Following its release, "We Are the World" received mixed reviews from journalists, music critics and the public. American journalist Greil Marcus felt that the song sounded like a Pepsi jingle.^[36] He wrote, "[...] the constant repetition of 'There's a choice we're making' conflates with Pepsi's trademarked 'The choice of a new generation' in a way that, on the part of Pepsi-contracted song writers Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, is certainly not intentional, and even more certainly beyond the realm of serendipity."^[36] Marcus added, "In the realm of contextualization, "We Are the World" says less about Ethiopia than it does about Pepsi—and the true result will likely be less that certain Ethiopian individuals will live, or anyway live a bit longer than they otherwise would have, than that Pepsi will get the catch phrase of its advertising campaign sung for free by Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, and all the rest."^[36] Author Reebee Garofalo agreed and expressed the opinion that the line "We're saving our own lives" was a "distasteful element of self-indulgence". ^[36] She asserted that the artists of USA for Africa were proclaiming "their own salvation for singing about an issue they will never experience on behalf of a people most of them will never encounter".^[36]

In contrast, Stephen Holden of The New York Times praised the phrase "There's a choice we're making, We're saving our own lives".^[7] He commented that the line assumed "an extra emotional dimension when sung by people with superstar mystiques".^[7] Holden expressed that the song was "an artistic triumph that transcends its official nature".^[7] He noted that unlike Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas", the vocals on "We Are the World" were "artfully interwoven" and emphasized the individuality of each singer.^[7] Holden concluded that "We Are the World" was "a simple, eloquent ballad" and a "fully-realized pop statement that would sound outstanding even if it weren't recorded by stars".^[7]

The song proved popular with many listeners, both young and old.^[21] The public enjoyed hearing a supergroup of musicians singing together on one track, and felt satisfied in buying the record, knowing that the money would go towards a good cause.^[21] A school student, when asked her thoughts on the idea of a charity single, revealed that if she were an Ethiopian, she would be happy that somebody cared for her.^[21] Several members of the public bought more than one copy of the single, some buying up to five copies of the record.^[38] One mother from Columbia, Missouri purchased two copies of "We Are the World", stating, "The record is excellent whether it's for a cause or not. It's fun trying to identify the different artists. It was a good feeling knowing that I was helping someone in need."^[21]

According to music critic and Bruce Springsteen biographer Dave Marsh, "We Are the World" was not widely accepted within the rock music community.^[39] The author revealed that the song was "despised" for what it was not: "a rock record, a critique of the political policies that created the famine, a way of finding out how and why famines occur, an all-inclusive representation of the entire worldwide spectrum of post-Presley popular music".^[39] Marsh revealed that he felt some of the criticisms were right, while others were silly.^[39] He claimed that despite the sentimentality of the song, "We Are the World" was a large scale pop event with serious political overtones.^[39]

"We Are the World" was recognized with several awards following its release. At the 1986 Grammy Awards, the song and its accompanying music video won four awards: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and Best Music Video, Short Form.^[40] The music video was awarded three honors at the 1985 MTV Video Music Awards. It collected the awards for Video of the Year, Best Group Video and Viewers' Choice.^[41][42] People's Choice Awards recognized "We Are the World" with the Favorite New Song award in 1986.^[40] In the same year, the American Music Awards named "We Are the World" "Song of the Year", and honored organizer Harry Belafonte with the Award of Appreciation.^[40] Collecting his award, Belafonte thanked Ken Kragen, Quincy Jones, and "the two artists who, without their great gift would not have inspired us in quite the same way as we were inspired, Mr. Lionel Richie and Mr. Michael Jackson".^[40] Following the speech, the majority of USA for Africa reunited on stage, closing the ceremony with "We Are the World".^[40][43]

"We Are the World" was promoted with a music video, a video cassette, and several other items made available to the public, including books, posters, shirts and buttons.^[44][45] All proceeds from the sale of official USA for Africa merchandise went directly to the famine relief fund.^[44] All of the merchandise sold well; the video cassette—entitled We Are the World: The Video Event—documented the making of the song, and became the ninth best-selling home video of 1985.^[44]

The music video showed the recording of "We Are the World", and disgruntled several critics.^[26] They felt that Michael Jackson was "unable to leave his ego at the door" in the video because he wore sequinned socks, a single glove and sunglasses.^[26] The singer claimed he had wanted to wear his signature socks, so that the audience would be able to identify him from them; in the clip, the camera moves up his body, before resting on his face.^[14] The musician joked prior to the filming, "People will know it's me as soon as they see the socks. Try taking footage of Bruce Springsteen's socks and see if anyone knows who they belong to."^[23] Jackson also garnered criticism for filming and recording his solo piece privately, away from the other artists.^[14] The singer's supporters reasoned that Jackson was a perfectionist; recording in front of other big name artists would leave him awestruck and unable to perform at his best.^[14] His detractors offered the opinion that Jackson liked to feel different from everybody else, and that he had wanted to emphasise the difference by erecting barriers around himself.^[14]

The song was also promoted with a special edition of the American magazine Life.^[44] The publication had been the only media outlet permitted inside A&M Recording Studios on the night of January 28, 1985.^[44] All other press organizations were barred from reporting the events leading up to and during "We Are the World"'s recording.^[44] Life ran a cover story of the recording session in its April 1985 edition of the monthly magazine.^[44] Seven members of USA for Africa were pictured on the cover; Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Cyndi Lauper, Lionel Richie, Michael Jackson, Tina Turner and Willie Nelson.^[44] Inside the magazine were photographs of the "We Are the World" participants working and taking breaks.^[44]

On the morning of April 5, 1985—Good Friday—"We Are the World" received worldwide coverage.^[26] At 10.25 am, over 8000 radio stations simultaneously broadcast the song around the world.^[26] They played the anthem to show their support for the relief of famine in Ethiopia.^[26] The song was also broadcast by Muzak, a company which pipes background music into 110,000 stores and businesses in the US.^[46] It was the second time Muzak had played the sound of "human voice", the first being an announcement on the release of American hostages in Iran in 1981.^[46] As the song was broadcast, hundreds of people sang along on the steps of St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York.^[38][47] The simultaneous radio broadcast of "We Are the World" was repeated again the following Good Friday.^[26]

"We Are the World" gained further promotion and coverage on May 25, 1986, when it was played during a major benefit event held throughout the US.^[48][49] Hands Across America—USA for Africa's follow-up project—was an event in which millions of people formed a human chain across the US.^[50] The event was held to draw attention to hunger and homelessness in the United States.^[51] "We Are the World"'s co-writer, Michael Jackson, had wanted his song to be the official theme for the event.^[40] The other board members of USA for Africa outvoted the singer, and it was instead decided that a new song would be created and released for the event, titled "Hands Across America".^[40] When released, the new song did not achieve the level of success that "We Are the World" did, and the decision to use it at as the official theme for the event led to Jackson—who co-owned the publishing rights to "We Are the World"—resigning from the board of directors of USA for Africa.^[40][52]

Four months after the release of "We Are the World", USA for Africa had taken in almost $10.8 million.^[53][54] The majority of the money came from record sales within the US.^[53][54] Members of the public also donated money; almost $1.3 million within the same time period.^[53] In May 1985, USA for Africa officials estimated that they had sold between $45 million and $47 million worth of official merchandise around the world.^[53] Organizer Ken Kragen announced that they would not be distributing all of the money at once.^[53] Instead, he revealed that the foundation would be looking into finding a long-term solution for Africa's problems.^[53] "We could go out and spend it all in one shot. Maybe we'd save some lives in the short term but it would be like putting a Band-Aid over a serious wound."^[53] Kragen noted that experts had predicted that it would take at least 10 to 20 years to make a slight difference to Africa's long-term problems.^[53]

In June 1985, the first USA for Africa cargo jet carrying food, medicine and clothing departed for Ethiopia and the Sudan.^[55] The items were paid for through the money raised from the "We Are the World" single and its accompanying album.^[55] Following its initial takeoff, the cargo plane stopped in New York, where 15,000 T-shirts were loaded added to the cargo.^[55] Included in the supplies were high-protein biscuits, high-protein vitamins, medicine, tents, blankets and refrigeration equipment.^[55] At the time of the plane's departure, a spokesperson from USA for Africa noted that the foundation had raised $45 million from record sales.^[55] In the same month, Harry Belafonte, representing the USA for Africa musicians, visited Sudan.^[56] The trip was his last stop on a four nation tour of Africa.^[56] In Africa, Belafonte was greeted and praised by Prime Minister Salim Ahmed Salim.^[56] Salim told the musician, "I personally and the people of Tanzania are moved by this tremendous example of human solidarity."^[56]

One year after the release of "We Are the World", organizers noted that $44.5 million had been raised for USA for Africa's humanitarian fund.^[57] They stated that they were confident that they would reach an initial set target of $50 million.^[57] By October 1986, it was revealed that their $50 million target had been met and exceeded; CBS Records gave USA for Africa a cheque for $2.5 million, drawing the total amount of money to $51.2 million.^[58] USA for Africa's Hands Across America event had also raised a significant amount of money—approximately $24.5 million for the hungry in the US.^[58]

Since its release, "We Are the World" has raised over $63 million for humanitarian causes.^[59] Ninety percent of the money was pledged to African relief, both long and short term.^[58][60] The long term initiative included efforts in birth control and food production.^[60] The remaining 10 percent of funds was earmarked for domestic hunger and homeless programs in the US.^[58][60] From the African fund, over 70 recovery and development projects were launched in seven African nations.^[58] Such projects included aid in agriculture, fishing, water management, manufacturing and reforestation.^[58] Training programs were also developed in the African countries of Mozambique, Senegal, Chad, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.^[58]

"We Are the World" has been performed live by members of USA for Africa on several occasions, both together and individually. One of the earliest such performances came in 1985, during the rock music concert Live Aid, which ended with more than 100 musicians singing the song on stage.^[61][62] Harry Belafonte and Lionel Richie made surprise appearances for the live rendition of the song.^[63] Michael Jackson would have joined the artists, but was "working around the clock in the studio on a project that he's made a major commitment to", according to his press agent, Norman Winter.^[64]

An inaugural celebration was held for US President-elect Bill Clinton in January 1993.^[65] The event was staged by Clinton's Hollywood friends at the Lincoln Memorial and drew hundreds of thousands of people.^[65] Aretha Franklin, LL Cool J, Michael Bolton and Tony Bennett were among some of the musicians in attendance.^[65][66] The celebration included a performance of "We Are the World", which involved Clinton, his daughter Chelsea, and his wife Hillary singing the song along with USA for Africa's Kenny Rogers, Diana Ross and Michael Jackson.^[65] The New York Times' Edward Rothstein commented on the event, stating, "The most enduring image may be of Mr. Clinton singing along in 'We Are the World', the first President to aspire, however futilely, to hipness."^[67]

In 1999, Luciano Pavarotti, R&B artist Mariah Carey, Irish band Boyzone, and Lionel Richie, co-writer of "We Are the World", performed the song at "Pavarotti & Friends".^[68] The event was a benefit concert hosted by the opera singer.^[68] USA for Africa musician and "We Are the World" co-writer Michael Jackson had also been scheduled to perform the song at the gig.^[68][69] The musician, however, was unable to attend the concert after his son Prince took ill, with some reports suggesting the child may even have been dying.^[68][69] (The reports of Prince being near death were later refuted.)^[69]

"We Are the World" was sung live on Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Special, a televised concert celebrating the singer's 30th year as a solo entertainer.^[68] The concert, held at Madison Square Garden in September 2001, was concluded with the finale of Jackson and his guests singing the musician's charity anthem.^[68] The performance was omitted from the televised edit of the show.^[68] Two years later, Jackson again performed the song, with different guests, at his "Celebration of Love".^[68] The event was a party in Los Angeles, and marked the entertainer's 45th birthday.^[68]

In his last live performance, Michael Jackson sang "We Are the World" at the 2006 World Music Awards.Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page). The performance was Jackson's first since being acquitted on child sexual abuse charges the year prior.^[70][71] The singer attended the ceremony to receive the Chopard Diamond award, an honor given to musicians who sell over 100 million albums.^[70][72] He was greeted with a standing ovation when presented with the award by R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles.^[70] The media had initially reported that Jackson would be performing "Thriller", a task actually assigned to Chris Brown.^[70][73] Prior to the show, Jackson had asserted that he would not be singing at all, and that plans to perform "Thriller" were a "misunderstanding".^[70][74]

Michael Jackson died in June 2009, after suffering a cardiac arrest.^[75] His memorial service was held several weeks later, and is reported to have been viewed by more than one billion people.^[76] The finale of the event featured group renditions of the Jackson anthems "We Are the World" and "Heal the World".^[77] The singalong of "We Are the World" was lead by Darryl Phinnessee, who had worked with Jackson since the Dangerous era.^[77][78] It also featured co-writer Lionel Richie, Jackson's family and the late singer's children.^[77][78] Following the performance, "We Are the World" re-entered the US charts for the first time since its 1985 release.^[79] The song debuted at number 50 on Billboard's Hot Digital Songs chart.^[79]

"We Are the World" has been recognized as a politically important song, which "effected an international focus on Africa that was simply unprecedented".^[36] The anthem has been credited with creating a climate in which musicians from around the world felt inclined to follow.^[36] Since the release of "We Are the World", it has been noted that movement has been made within popular music to create songs that address humane concerns.^[80] "We Are the World" was also influential in subverting the way music and meaning were produced, showing that musically and racially diverse musicians could work together both productively and creatively.^[39] Ebony described the January 28 recording session, in which Quincy Jones brought together a multi-racial group, as being "a major moment in world music that showed we can change the world".^[81] "We Are the World", along with Live Aid and Farm Aid, demonstrated that rock music had become more than entertainment, but a political and social movement.^[82] Journalist Robert Palmer noted that such songs and events had the ability to reach people around the world, send them a message, and then get results.^[82]

Since the release of "We Are the World", numerous songs have been recorded in a similar fashion, with the intent to aid famine victims throughout the world. One such example involved a supergroup of Latin musicians billed as "Hermanos del Tercer Mundo", or "Brothers of the Third World".^[83] Among the supergroup of 62 recording artists were Julio Iglesias, Jose Feliciano and Sergio Mendes.^[83] Their famine relief song was recorded in the same studio as "We Are the World".^[83] Half of the profits raised from the charity single was pledged to USA for Africa.^[83] The rest of the money was to be used for impoverished Latin American countries.^[83]

The 20th anniversary of "We Are the World" was celebrated in 2005.^[84] Radio stations around the world paid homage to Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie and USA for Africa's creation by simultaneously broadcasting the charity anthem.^[84] In addition to the simulcast, the milestone was marked by the release of a two disc DVD called We Are the World: The Story Behind the Song.^[84] Ken Kragen asserted that the reason behind the simulcast and DVD release was not for USA for Africa to praise themselves for doing a good job, but to "use it to do some more good [for the original charity]. That's all we care about accomplishing."^[84] Harry Belafonte also commented on the 20th anniversary of the anthem. The entertainer acknowledged that "We Are the World" had "stood the test of time"; anyone old enough to remember it can still at least hum along.^[85]

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