We Are The World
An 80's Music Rabbit Hole
I’m ALWAYS thinking about 80’s music, but lately I’ve REALLY been thinking about it. Most likely because I watched The Greatest Night in Pop (directed by Bao Nguyen1) — all about the making of the “We Are the World” song. It was the very first piece of music I owned.
I know this song SO WELL I can still hear every note, every embellishment, every voice timbre from deep within my nine-year-old memory — but something I didn’t know was that they pulled an ALL NIGHTER to get this song made. I loved this documentary and bonus: my dear friend Goh Nakamura co-wrote the music for it!
Lionel Richie is the star of all this and SO FUN to watch. His energetic talent then/now is beyond inspiring. I was dying to know his skincare regime too LOL. According to Marie Claire:
My daily morning routine consists of a cleanser, exfoliant, and a great moisturizer. It’s simple, but these are the things that work for me. Dr. Lancer and I have been friends for a very long time. I like to use his product because I have very sensitive skin.
Pause to go down a Dr. Lancer rabbit hole…
We all know Diana Ross is a queen and she is most definitely regal in this: staying til the very end, and pretty much the only one who smartly dressed for the sleepover vibe. I dunno what everyone wearing leather, jewelry and blazers were thinking!
I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but there’s also a Cyndi Lauper moment so charming it inspired me to listen to the 30th Anniversary Celebration of She’s So Unusual. My all-time favorite song by her is “All Through The Night” — check out this 1983 rehearsal version on the second disc.
I noticed that the only person Bob Dylan seemed truly comfortable around was Bette Midler. Turns out they recorded a duet ten years earlier.
My karaoke bestie Billy Joel is barely in the doc but it was a great reminder to check out his first new song in decades. It did not disappoint. And his performance at the Grammy’s this past weekend!!! AAAAAAH! (I can’t allow myself to go down a Grammy rabbit hole in the middle of this post, but I watched Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” duet with Luke Combs about 10x in a row after it aired.)
Bruce Springsteen! The Boss! Being a Jersey girl, I love pretty much everything about him. I decided to record my version of “I’m Goin’ Down.” I once saw him play this live while I had a sprained ankle… we had left the concert a little early so I wouldn’t have to hobble my way through the crowds, but when I heard him sing (halfway out of the stadium), I turned right around and crutched my way back.
Harry Belafonte is truly the one responsible for this song even happening and thus, the source of pretty much all my earliest childhood memories.
The original We Are The World album has several bonus tracks on it — none to really write home about, but I did like the Tina Turner song “Total Control” and the Prince one: “4 the Tears in Your Eyes.”
FYI Prince wasn’t there, and Sheila E. is on camera to explain why. Some of the other stuff she had to say about her experience that night pissed me off (as did Waylon Jennings’ abrupt exit) but you’ll just have to watch the film for yourself. It’s on Netflix now.
And with that, I’ll leave you with a half-hour video showing why Sheila E. is amazing.
ETA: After a friend brought it up with me, I wanted to acknowledge that there is no mention in this documentary about Michael Jackson’s sexual abuse allegations (if you haven’t seen it already, the HBO series Leaving Neverland dives deeper into this). She also shared this article from 2017 with me from The Paris Review, “What Do We Do with the Art of Monstrous Men,” by Claire Dederer which is long but well worth reading and digesting these complicated thoughts and feelings… both of which I’ll continue to discuss privately.
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Listen to Bao’s in-depth interview with my friends Phil Yu and Jeff Yang on their podcast THEY CALL US BRUCE.