Once the decision was made to cram some of the world’s biggest recording artists in one studio to cut a single for African famine relief, a basic problem presented itself: Where would it happen, and how would it be kept quiet? Ken Kragen, one of the activists who helped assemble the supergroup USA for Africa, supposedly outlined the problem like this in a prep meeting three days before the recording session: "If [the location] 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 … drives up and sees a mob around that studio, he will never come in."

It was decided to record the track at a Hollywood studio right after the American Music Awards, with many artists coming straight from the AMA’s. The secret was kept under wraps, and 30 years ago today, USA for Africa recorded “We Are the World” on January 28, 1985. The song had been written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie. The project itself was inspired by the previous year’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” – a similar charity effort with British and Irish musicians.

A sign at the recording studio said “Please check your egos at the door,” and what a set of egos it was: Prince didn’t make it, but Jackson, Richie, and Dylan were there. So were Paul Simon, Kenny Rogers, Tina Turner, Billy Joel, Diana Ross, Bruce Springsteen, Willie Nelson, and it really does go on and on. (Forty-five vocalists are credited on the track.) Stevie Wonder supposedly tried to lighten the mood and motivate the group by threatening that if the song wasn’t finished in one take, he and Ray Charles would drive everybody home.

The song was released in March, and quickly broke sales records. This was probably less due to its musical quality, which has been heavily debated, and more due to both the novelty of hearing so many diverse voices try to harmonize, and to the feel-good nature of knowing the purchase was doing something for charity. Famine in Ethiopia took a million lives from 1983-1985, but “We Are the World” is claimed to have raised $63 million for humanitarian causes.

Ninety percent of that went to African hunger relief, split between short-term solutions (providing food immediately) and long-term strategies (food production and birth control). The other 10% went to fight hunger and homelessness in the United States. One Ethiopian famine survivor has said she will never forget Michael Jackson, or the relief bread that many Ethiopians named for him: “If you speak to anyone who was in Addis Ababa at that time they will all know what Michael Bread is and I know I will remember it for the rest of my life.”

http://www.vettri.net/gallery/celeb/michael_jackson/USA-for-Africa/MichaelJackson_USA-for-Africa_Vettri.Net-05.jpg