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#USAForAfrica #WeAreTheWorld #Remastered #4K #2160p #UHD #Surround USA For Africa with “We Are The World“ (1985). Remastered and A.I. Upscaled in 4K @ 60 FPS with lossless (selfmade) 5.1 Surround Sound. “We Are the World“ is a charity single originally recorded by the supergroup USA for Africa in 1985. It was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and produced by Quincy Jones and Michael Omartian for the album We Are the World. With sales in excess of 20 million copies, it is the eighth-bestselling physical single of all time. Soon after the UK-based group Band Aid released “Do They Know It's Christmas?“ in December 1984, the musician and activist Harry Belafonte began to think about an American benefit single for African famine relief. He enlisted fundraiser Ken Kragen to help bring the vision to reality. The duo contacted several musicians, and enlisted Jackson and Richie to write the song; they completed the writing seven weeks after the release of “Do They Know It's Christmas?“, and only one night before “We Are the World“'s first recording session, on January 21, 1985. The historic event brought together some of the era's best-known musicians. The song was released on March 7, 1985, as the first single from the album by Columbia Records. A worldwide commercial success, it topped music charts throughout the world and became the fastest-selling U.S. pop single in history. “We Are the World“ received a Quadruple Platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America, becoming the first single to be certified multi-platinum. Awarded numerous honors—including three Grammy Awards, one American Music Award, and a People's Choice Award—the song was promoted with a critically received music video, a VHS, a special edition magazine, a simulcast, and several books, posters, and shirts. The promotion and merchandise helped “We Are the World“ raise more than $63 million ($156 million today) for humanitarian aid in Africa and the United States. Inspired by Band Aid's “Do They Know It's Christmas?“ project in the UK Harry Belafonte had the idea to organize the recording of a song including all the generation's best-known music artists. He planned to have the proceeds donated to a new organization called United Support of Artists for Africa (USA for Africa). The non-profit foundation would then provide food and relief aid to starving people in Africa, specifically Ethiopia, where a 1983–1985 famine raged. The famine ultimately killed about one million people. Belafonte's idea also planned to set aside money to help eliminate hunger in the United States of America. He contacted entertainment manager and fellow fundraiser Ken Kragen, who asked his clients Lionel Richie and Kenny Rogers to participate. Kragen and the two musicians agreed and in turn, enlisted the cooperation of Stevie Wonder, to add more “name value“ to their project. Quincy Jones was drafted to co-produce the song. Jones also telephoned Michael Jackson. Jackson told Richie that he not only wanted to sing the song, but to help write it as well. They sought to write a song that would be easy to sing and memorable, yet still an anthem. For a week, the two spent every night working on lyrics and melodies in Jackson's bedroom. Jackson's older sister La Toya recounted the process in an interview with the U.S. celebrity news magazine People: “I'd go into the room while they were writing and it would be very quiet, which is odd, since Michael's usually very cheery when he works. It was very emotional for them.“ She also later said that Jackson wrote most of the lyrics “but he's never felt it necessary to say that“. USA for Africa musicians Conductor • Quincy Jones Soloists (in order of appearance) • Lionel Richie • Stevie Wonder • Paul Simon • Kenny Rogers • James Ingram • Tina Turner • Billy Joel • Michael Jackson • Diana Ross • Dionne Warwick • Willie Nelson • Al Jarreau • Bruce Springsteen • Kenny Loggins • Steve Perry • Daryl Hall • Huey Lewis • Cyndi Lauper • Kim Carnes • Bob Dylan • Ray Charles Chorus (alphabetically) • Dan Aykroyd • Harry Belafonte • Lindsey Buckingham • Mario Cipollina • Johnny Colla • Sheila E. • Bob Geldof • Bill Gibson • Chris Hayes • Sean Hopper • Jackie Jackson • La Toya Jackson • Marlon Jackson • Randy Jackson • Tito Jackson • Waylon Jennings • Bette Midler • John Oates • Jeffrey Osborne • Anita Pointer • June Pointer • Ruth Pointer • Smokey Robinson Instrument players • John Barnes – keyboards & arrangement • David Paich – synthesizers • Michael Boddicker – synthesizers, programming • Ian Underwood - synthesizers, programming • Paulinho da Costa – percussion • Louis Johnson – synth bass • Michael Omartian – keyboards • Greg Phillinganes – keyboards • John Robinson – drums (Wikipedia)
