Synopsis

The "We Are the World" video captures the historic recording session behind USA for Africa's charity single. In a Los Angeles studio, dozens of major performers take turns at the microphone, sing together, and watch one another work through the arrangement. The footage emphasizes both the scale of the gathering and the informal moments between takes, turning the session itself into the video's central spectacle. Rather than using a scripted narrative, it presents collaboration as the visual message.

Factoids & Trivia

• The recording session took place at A&M Studios in Hollywood on January 28 and 29, 1985, immediately after the American Music Awards.

• The song was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and produced by Quincy Jones. The participating performers donated their services to support famine relief in Africa.

• Around 45 prominent singers took part, creating an unusually concentrated snapshot of the American pop, rock, soul, country, and R&B scenes of the mid-1980s.

• Quincy Jones reportedly placed a sign reading "Check your ego at the door" at the studio entrance. The phrase became one of the most enduring lines associated with the project.

• The video uses footage from the recording rather than a conventional performance concept. Its appeal comes largely from watching famous artists share the same room, exchange reactions, and contribute individual vocal lines.

• The recording session was also documented in the television and home-video production "We Are the World: The Story Behind the Song," which offered a longer look at the song's creation.

• The single and its related merchandise generated more than $50 million for humanitarian relief, helping establish "We Are the World" as one of the defining charity records of the 1980s.