The Greatest Night In Pop.
It doesn’t seem to happen so much these days, but back in the 80s and into the 90s, events like Live Aid would pull together a bunch of musicians or celebrities and get them to raise money for what was usually (and often vaguely) referred to as “Africa” or “The Children” or “African Children”.
One such night, which lives on mainly through the meme of Bob Dylan not knowing the words and swaying awkwardly, was when the biggest names in pop music came together in 1995 to record ‘We Are The World’. The track was a massive fucking hit, topping charts throughout the world and became the fastest-selling U.S. pop single in history, receiving a Quadruple Platinum certification and becoming the first ever single to be certified multi-platinum.
So it really shouldn’t surprise us that Netflix has made a documentary about the writing and recording of the tune which features the likes of Lionel Richie, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, and Bruce Springsteen. Directed by Bao Nguyen, the doc includes interviews from Richie and Springsteen along with Smokey Robinson, Cyndi Lauper, Kenny Loggins, Dionne Warwick and Huey Lewis.
Some of the producers and crew members who worked on the 1985 production offer their comments as well, compiling never-before-seen archival footage from the 46 musicians behind the song, as well as present-day interviews to provide a firsthand look at the making of the influential performance.
Check out the trailer below and catch it on Netflix on January 29th:
