(ESP-ENG) The Greatest Night in Pop - We are the World!
Hello friends, good vibes to all.
Throughout history there have been songs that have set a very important precedent both for the time in which they came out and for future years, songs that are anthems for the quality they have and for the interpreters of those songs. Today we are going to talk about one of them about a documentary that was recently released on Netflix: We Are The World. This song that was written and composed by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie was and remains a classic of contemporary music because it was able to bring together more than 30 artists for a single night in order to achieve something to fight hunger in Africa, more specifically in Ethiopia. So let's go ahead and talk a little bit about this great song that today is still something very emotional and spectacular to listen to.
- USA For Africa - We Are The World
It all starts with Lionel Richie who at the time, 1985, was having an abysmal career success. He was the one who was contacted first to be in charge of putting together this "madness" and so he did, he began to recruit friends in the industry to bring forward a theme that would change everything. Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder would be the first together with Quincy Jones, one of the best producers in history, would begin the assembly of everything. Of the things that impressed me the most when watching this documentary were several but I'll keep two: the genius that is Stevie Wonder, the truth makes no sense whatsoever his ability to invent, compose and make music in a matter of seconds and of course, the privileged voice he has.
And the second thing and going more or less along the path of the first thing is the way Michael Jackson composed. Michael didn't play any instrument so he would record himself humming, that is, something would come to his mind, he would record it and he had boxes of cassettes with melodies only with his humming which he used in some of his songs. This one was no exception, in fact the music for this song came out of Michael's mind with Lionel's help. It is very enriching to see this kind of things because we are in front of true figures and beasts of music, so to see this creative work told by Lionel himself is something that if you like music in general you will enjoy a lot.
The next step was to look for the artists that would be there and honestly the roster they put together was incredible. We are talking about people like Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, Tina Turner, Kenny Rogers, Bruce Springsteen, Diana Ross, Cyndi Lauper, Paul Simon, Willie Nelson, the three main ones mentioned before, among others. To these we must add actors and other singers who were in the choirs. There is one thing that Quincy Jones did and that is that he put a piece of paper on the door of the studio before the artists arrived that said: "Leave your ego outside", which I thought was brilliant given the number of stars that were in that studio.
Seeing how they recorded their parts, talking about melodies, tones, octaves, ways of singing, harmonies, etc, is something very surreal because you realize that in those times there were no programs that did the job, the famous Autotune; in those times everything was thanks to the throat and lungs. And this got me thinking, I consider myself a very nostalgic person with music so sometimes I wonder if the old days were better just because everything was more organic and original, that is, how it came out of the mouth was how it was practically heard in the end. And it probably was. What I am sure of is that they worked twice as hard and I don't know if that has more merit but it is certainly something to appreciate.
In the end all this song along with the video was finished in one night because it was the only one in which everyone could be in the same place. Listening to Stevie Wonder on this song along with his vocal range which was or is monstrous, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan with his unique style, Springsteen with his raspy voice as if he had glass in his throat and Michael Jackson with his magic is a gift, they are the best on this song along with perhaps Cyndi Lauper who truly had a brutal line and the way she interpreted it. The lyrics talk a little bit about what we as a society can do for the underprivileged, no matter how much it is it will surely help make a better place and make the days brighter.
To all of you who like music or some of these artists I recommend you to go and watch this gem of history, it's on Netflix and lasts about an hour and a half. It made me sad and at the same time happy to see all this because singers like Michael Jackson are no longer with us, because times have changed a lot and because the old stuff has a "something", a different essence than what we hear today. This song is living proof of the immense musical quality that we once had and that will last forever.
¡Un abrazo a todos, nos escuchamos en la próxima!
Well my people that's all for today, I hope you liked it.
¡A hug to everyone, we'll hear you in the next one!
Me encantó esta publicación, muchas felicidades!!!
Muchas gracias amigo, saludos!!
Hola @javyeslava.photo esta canción es un clásico de la música. A mi me fascina y me trae muchos recuerdos. Como a ti me da nostalgia esos grandes voces que hoy no están en el plano físico y que dejaron un legado.
Saludos
Así es. Algunos de ellos fueron artistas de mucha calidad pero por lo menos podemos decir que dejaron su huella e incluso hoy podemos seguir escuchándolos. Y si, este tema es muy sentimental.