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‘The Greatest Night in Pop’ Review: A Look at the Making of ‘We Are the World’ That’s as Starstruck and Irresistible as the Song Itself
A look at the making of "We Are the World" puts us right backstage at the song's into-the-night recording session.
It was ubiquitous and unique — essentially a live recording (though assembled out of various takes), and as we saw those stars gather on tiers in front of the mics, as if they were part of a church choir, there was more drama and excitement to what they were doing, to how they revealed themselves as individuals, than you saw in almost any other music video. If a bomb lands on this place, John Denver’s back on top.” The artists weren’t allowed to bring in any of their handlers, and that’s part of what accounts for their uniformly abashed and disarmed quality (“It was like first day of kindergarten,” says Richie). The enigmatic, control-freak Prince, who was at a nearby L.A. nightclub, said that he wanted to play a guitar solo for the song to be recorded in a separate studio area, an idea totally out of sync with the communal spirit of the session (and it was nixed by Quincy Jones).
Or read this on Variety