‘We Are The World’ Singers Didn’t Like Michael Jackson Tune

It is no worse than Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas." I have always found that song extremely patronizing.

So what's the point of bringing that up now? If you didn't like it, don't participate.

Prince declined to take part in this. He knew a piece of shit when he heard it.

I remember reading that Jackson was freaked out by Bruce Springsteen. Bruce was in a leather jacket and was exuding a lot of that masculine blue collar stuff he identified with, and Jackson was rattled by it for whatever reason. He spoke to Bruce only when minimum necessary and used his softest whisper. He hid behind a stack of equipment to hide from Bruce, he really only wanted to talk to Diana Ross.

It’s a shitty fucking song.

Times being what they were though, we had almost all the Jacksons represented, with Latoya prominently in the front and Lindsey Buckingham lodged into the rear next to some guys from The News and Dan Akroyd. I’m so glad Stevie decided to record “Separate Lives” with Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin instead of being in that schmaltzy “We Are The World” mess. Her and Prince were too cool for Michael Jackson’s childishness.

"It sound's like a Pepsi commercial"

First, the song sucked.

Second, the money raised never helped who it was intended for.

And third, the only interesting thing (to me) is seeing all the people involved who are now dead or completely irrelevant.

I sincerely love the song. I listen to it often and try to mimic each voice, much to my neighbors' shitgrin.

Kim Carnes!!

Broadway liked it.

Springsteen was so fucking hot back then.

Michael Jackson was probably intimidated by Bruce Springsteen's obvious, earthy masculinity. Bruce was really a piece back in the day.

Awkward Bob

[quote]Bruce was really a piece back in the day.

I’d fuck him then and I’d fuck him now. I wonder if he’s ever had his ass eaten. It would be so sad if he hasn’t.

[quote] "Do They Know It's Christmas."

Ooh! Ooh! Call on me! I can answer that one!

NO.

OP, this is hardly "upcoming." The article - you know, the one where you didn't include a link - is from January of this year.

Do you think a young Madame X, fresh off the success of the Like a Virgin album, was miffed she wasn’t invited and Cyndi Lauper was?

It really is a sappy and saccharine song that didn’t age well at all.

I think Dylan probably rues the day that he did this piece of junk. Why did he do it? Maybe his agent told him it would make him look good. At any rate, he looks like he's thinking "what the fuck am I doing here?"

Why was Dionne Warwick allowed in the studio?

Do They Know It's Christmas ain't no masterpiece either, but something about it makes me a little nostalgic when I hear it at the holidays. Mostly because so many of the artists I loved at the time, especially Boy George, were a part of it.

(I much preferred the British music scene to the American one in the 80s.)

Why waschn't I aschked to partischipate?

The contrast of all the different voices was always the most interesting thing about it.

Do they know it's Christmas had more of a modern sound. We are the World was just stupid - we are the children - Of COURSE Michael has to thrown in a children reference.

R21, they needed her so that they could open up beer bottles with her teeth.

R21 So she could smell tomorrow with those nostrils.

Why was Dan Akroyd invited?

Why did Kim Carnes only get "when we" as her solo. Bette Davis Eyes was #1 for 9 weeks. They couldn't give her a full sentence like everyone else? Huey and Cyndi with her noisy bracelets totally steal her thunder.

Given who was involved in it, it's surprisingly the shittiest one of the charity singles performed during the Band Aid live concert. Not only "Do They Know..." but Canadian and German songs (the ones I can still sort of remember) were better than this schmaltzy piece of shit.

[quote]Why was Dan Akroyd invited?

To keep Dionne Warwick in line.

Huey and Cyndi both had huge recent hit albums. Kim Carnes hadn't had a big hit in four years and never really thrived in the MTV era.

Explain Al Jerrau then R32

I can't even remember Jarreau...did he have a big part? I mean, I liked Kim Carnes but she was probably lucky to be invited at that point. Her career wasn't exactly on the upswing.

The bigger question is why was Bette Midler invited? She was at a real low in her career and hadn't had a hit song since The Rose. This was also before her film career had taken off again. I even remember people asking who she was at the time. It explains why she was regulated to the choir and not given a solo.

Midler, who said that appearing on "We Are the World" (which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year) was a "fascinating" experience, also turned out to be sort of a humbling one for the star. The singer/actress said that while she was originally put next to fellow icon Bruce Springsteen, once Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones showed up, she was moved near the arguably less iconic LaToya Jackson.

It's terrible as a song, watchable as a time capsule, but overall awful. Like Elton's Diana tribute, its cringe-worthy, almost embarrassing.

You want cringe worthy?

[quote]Why was Dan Akroyd invited?

He wasn't.

Well, there's always this. Again with Miss Warwick.

keep it.

Journey frontman Steve Perry (amazing five octave range) owned 'We Are The World.'

[quote]Explain Al Jerrau then

Moonlighting?

Really, Retard JABBA/ R18?

Janet wasn’t there.

LA TOYA WAS.

Dylan got to sing about a minute of the song.

Female rocker Pat Benatar was invited to sing on the song but couldn't make it so she donated money to the cause instead.

R52, Steve Perry never had a 5-octave vocal range. Don't be ridiculous.

Here you go, R47

It's a complete scam that La Toya Jackson - The Pope of Pop - was not given a solo on this song. I'm sure her divo brother had her relegated into the background because he was worried she would outshine him. Her legions of #ToySoldiers would have made it an even bigger hit than it already was.

In all seriousness, it really is an incredibly saccharine and dated song, but the earworm hook has helped it live on beyond just being a fad for the era. I still hear it occasionally at the supermarket.

Has anyone see 90s Britpop group Pulp's 'Bad Cover Version' video? It was their final video, and satirises these 'celebrities for a cause coming together' charity singles. Bono, Tom Jones, Cher, George Michael, Kylie Minogue, Missy Elliott, Robbie Williams, Bjork, Kurt Cobain, Jamiroquai are some of the artists parodied. Very funny / clever idea for a video.

Is this version better?

The singers in the WATW sound better than those in DTKIC.

Which is unsurprising, the Americans had Ray Charles, the British had Martin Kemp.

It was always a crappy song and should never have been elevated to the level it reached. It was like -- all that talent and that's the best they can come up with?

Personally, I liked DTKIC. I think it's a decent song and it certainly made a better video.

[quote]I’m so glad Stevie decided to record “Separate Lives” with Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin instead of being in that schmaltzy “We Are The World” mess. Her and Prince were too cool for Michael Jackson’s childishness.

Did you just blow coke up your ass? What in the hell does Steve Nicks have to do with "Separate Lives"?

R48 Head voice, ya fucking idiot

It's hard to write a message song without sounding preachy and full of yourself. Just ask Olivia Newton-John who pretty much did that post Physical. (and on that album too)

Hitting an A5 doesn't mean you can access five octaves vocally. It's not worth discussing with someone who knows nothing about singing. And he didn't do it in a belt, Jeez.

Tears Are Not Enough was the best song of this type. Canadian, of course.

Joni, Neil, Bryan, Lightfoot, Anne, Geddy Lee, Carole Pope, Guess Who, Corey Hart AND Miss Luba Goy.

"Do they know it's Christmas" is a great song. Not remotely as shitty. I didn't realize the Black chick in the video was Jody Wately for a good 20 years or so? I was like..."WHO is that!"

R5 describes most Billy Joel songs as well

Bruce Springsteen should be embarrassed. The pitchy bitch can’t sing. Never could. I went to a No Nukes concert back in the late seventies and he was the headliner but a little band called The Heartbreakers played first. Blew the crowd away. 45 minutes of solid, kick-ass, rock and roll. I didn’t care if BS ever came on stage.

R43, Moonlighting debuted in March of 1985. We Are The World was recorded in January.

Imagine what Brian Wilson in his prime could have done with the arrangement of "WATW".

Although, on 2nd thought, there never was any way to rescue that dreck. "What an awful song" was my first thought when I heard it for the first time. Everybody knew that song sucked, but it was cloaked behind "charity".

It's a horrible song.

I liked it when it came out, it was exactly what it was supposed to be. There are far worse songs used for these kind of purposes. That being said, yes, it does sound like a Pepsi commercial, as a song pretty shitty.

Btw, Streisand was supposed to be there but was late or something and didn't make it.

Cyndi Lauper was the only part I liked about that song. I do realize some people think she was just screeching but I always thought she was bad ass with her part. I realize after watching that mess at R38 how much I miss Luther Vandross.

No Joan Baez? No Linda Ronstadt? No Cher? No Aretha Franklin? And no Brian WIlson?

Madonna wanted to do it, but was turned down.

The choice of who got to participate was heavily influenced by music manager Ken Kragen, who helped organize and put most of his clients on the song.

At least Madonna's plastic bracelets would've have made as much noise as Cyndi's, causing them to do take after take.

This song is still better than any of the shit on the radio these days - Señorita, Bad Guy, Me He He He, anything by Khalid.

It's a stupid song--sappy and colorless.

It was the fact that so many celebrities sang it that made it a hit.

[quote] "Do they know it's Christmas" is a great song

Except that line "Thank God it's them instead of you!"

[quote]It's hard to write a message song without sounding preachy and full of yourself. Just ask Olivia Newton-John who pretty much did that post Physical. (and on that album too)

Since when did Olivia Newton-John write her own material?

It’s a terrible song. I still listen to “Do They Know it’s Christmas.”

I always loved the song and I don't care if it does sound like a commercial. Commercial jingles can be works of art in my opinion. Still gives me goosebumps when I listen to it.

It is, was and will always be shiteous.

[quote] It really is a sappy and saccharine song

I get confused when people use this as a criticism.

"We're Sending Our Love Down the Well" (The Simpsons) featuring Sting was inspired by these charity songs.

I like "Do They Know It's Christmas" even though the lyrics make you roll your eyes.

I remember them saying back in the day that they had to do several takes because Cyndi Lauper's jewelry kept "clanking" and finally she was asked to take it off.

The Making of "We Are the World" - USA for Africa - 1985 Recording Session

Daryl Hall was SO HOT.

It's a shitty song, yeah. But it was fairly novel I think at the time to have so many "legends" performing together. All in all, almost all of the soloists are considered iconic with long careers that pop stars of today couldn't imagine.

"Totally by accident. My father and I were interviewing business managers in LA and we walked into this office of a talent manager, and realized we were in the wrong place. I was looking for a money manager, not a talent manager. I had managed myself at that time and always have. But he said, so long as you are here, would you like to come and join this "We are the World" thing.

[quote]The Making of "We Are the World" - USA for Africa - 1985 Recording Session

Recording the Broadway Company album was much more interesting.

Just remembered that I had a 7th grade teacher actually devote a class to playing this & talking about it. It really was a huge deal at the time. Same with Live Aid the following summer.

jjjjj

Belinda Carlisle was probably the biggest singer in this 1989 Earth Love Fund single =

Stevie Nicks was at the recording session for “Separate Lives” but they must have changed their minds about how much of her presence they wanted on the song, because you only hear her in one spot. They must have cut the rest or did other takes but I’ve never heard them.

Marilyn Martin did vocals on Stevie’s The Wild Heart tour, and is in the video for “If Anyone Falls” and also provided vocals on Stevie’s Rock a Little album. They were thick as thieves, I’m sure she was doing her friend a favor by supporting her efforts at a solo career. At any rate, the story goes that’s why she wasn’t at WATW.

I remember reading a story, probably circulated by Springsteen's publicists, that everyone showed up that day in a limousine except Bruce, who was in a humble taxicab.

The thrill is still Tina Turner, anywhere anytime. I just love to look at her and watch her sing. Cyndi had a great voice back then and Springsteen had a mighty fine ass. Of course the biggest star of 1985 was a young woman named Whitney Houston.

R89 Has she put out anything recently?

Yes R90. Whitney has had a hit documentary, a double greatest hits package and the very special Whitney Houston Best Live Performances Video. All huge hits. The BodyGuard's 25th Anniversary with new material and alternate tracks was also very popular. Who knows what's next for Whitney? There's been some talk of a tour. Unlike Belinda Carlisle and Cissy Houston, Whitney will never be forgotten.

R91 Honey, if she can belt out anything except bugs & worms, the tour will still be a strict residency.

A blow-by-blow of the We Are the World recording session.

A blow-by-blow of the We Are the World recording session.

[quote] Since when did Olivia Newton-John write her own material?

She started writing her own material once the hits stopped and she was dropped from MCA. And it's all horrible.

A lot of artists wanted to participate but were turned down. Some were hurt when they were told no like John Denver and Carly Simon. Streisand was snubbed and Madonna asked but was declined.

Good or bad, there's never been anything like it. So many huge artists together in one room, when pop culture was smaller and a star really was a star. It's been often duplicated but never topped (look at the dreadful remake). Today's culture could never grasp the impact of this or Live Aid, because these type of things have been done to death. Prior to this, the only thing like this was Woodstock.

Remember this one?

The lyrics "There won't be snow in Africa this Christmas" from DTKIC always bugged me. Big deal, there won't be snow in Hawaii, Tahiti, and the Bahamas either. And there is, in fact, snow in Africa, on Mount Kilimanjaro.

It's a truly awful song, as is "Heal the World".

I know the lyrics to "Do They Know It's Christmas?" are condescending and white saviour-ish, but it has a charm that's completely absent from "We Are the World".

Not to get off topic, but this "Hall & Oates - Maneater Shreds" video is a hoot.

R99 Wow, I think exactly the opposite. Different strokes I guess.

[QUOTE] Some were hurt when they were told no like John Denver and Carly Simon. Streisand was snubbed and Madonna asked but was declined.

One definitely noticed that the room seemed to be full of mostly AA artists. Not that it’s a bad thing. Wasn’t John Denver a humanitarian? That’s odd.

Everybody who was turned down was probably glad once they heard the song.

The best part of DTKIC is they’re all hung over and have bad teeth and messy hair, so British!

[quote]"Do They Know It's Christmas." I have always found that song extremely patronizing.

So very British. Remember during the height of the Cold War when Sting posed the musical question "Do the Russians Love Their Children Too?" Because, after all, if you're not British, you're quite likely rubbish.

Au contraire, old bean, Sting had the highest appreciation for Russia and its culture! Remember he sang about "the old man in that book by Nabakov"?

"Do they know it's Christmas" is a great song."

No, it isn't. It's awful. Had some of the shittiest lyrics I've ever heard: "The Christmas bells that ring there are the clanging chimes of doom...well tonight thank God it's them instead of you." PUKE.

I "analyzed" the guitar chords for "We Are the World" and "Do They Know It's Christmas." They both have a lot of F, G, and C major (happy chords). They both have a lot of minor chords (sad chords). "We Are the World" contains an A-flat chord. DTKIC contains no flat chords. DTKIC has more minor chords (all E minor) in the chorus. WATW has more major chords in the chorus. Maybe too many major chords make WATW more sappy.

It is silly to say this or that artist weren't there so it was a snub. There were tons of artists who weren't there. Lionel R said it was hard enough getting who they could in such a short period of time. Some were turned down due to scheduling conflicts meaning they could come this time but not this time.

Cyndi sounds horrible. Her and her speech impediment. Please. I've never liked her screechy voice. Her part was the worst. And I agree, Bruce cannot sing but he is an icon and a presence. Bob Dylan has the worst voice.

Culturally the 80s really sucked. It's been steadily downhill even since then, except for "television".

Some artists were turned down R109.

r111 Yes due to scheduling conflicts but who cares? Look at that sad display of narcissism.

It's known that Prince and Michael Jackson did not like each other. I can imagine Prince not wanting to participate.

[quote]Wasn’t John Denver a humanitarian? That’s odd.

He was't a humanitarian "in name only" like all the posers that sang on this record. John Denver really did try to make a difference. One of his many projects was a clean environment.

He founded the Windstar Foundation. He was very outspoken on the African AIDS crisis and visited Africa several times. He was awarded the Presidential World Without Hunger Award in 1987.

John Denver had every right to be hurt that they shut him out. He was a true humanitarian.

Prince hated that fraud MJ.

Streisand was not snubbed. She declined to participate because she was still the biggest star in the world at the time and felt like it was beneath her. Quincy, Michael and Lionel wanted her more than any other singer and planned for her and Diana Ross to sing a section of the song together.

MJ was so jealous of most artists he would only have non-threatening ones there- past their primes. Surprised Bruce was there. That was probably due to Lionel Richie.

[quote]Yes due to scheduling conflicts

No they ASKED and they were told no. This is not hard to grasp. Just ask Madonna.

r116 Not what Lionel Richie said. He regrets he didn't ask BStreisand, turned down Prince's offer to due a guitar solo and Madonna's schedule was in conflict. There is a youtube video where he talks about this.

r118 Lies. Lies. Lies.

I bet Prince, Madonna and Barbara were glad they didn't get into this monstrosity!

R101, are you American or British (or other)? I'm British and have heard "Do They Know It's Christmas?" played every December of my life, so maybe the nostalgia factor is the reason I like it.

You should have seen the reaction when the Mormon Tabernacle Choir was refused a solo.

Even if we were not told that it was shat out by MJ, you could just tell by the two most prominent lines:

"WE are the world!"

"WE are the children!"

= A fool with Messianic and Peter Pan complexes.

Though, "WE are the world" is also a very uniquely American point of view, I guess.

Darryl Hall had to read his one line every time.

Lucy was originally going to sing the Cyndi Lauper solo but Gary talked her out of it

[quote]Lucy was originally going to sing the Cyndi Lauper solo but Gary talked her out of it

Shut the fuck up, Gary. Even I wouldn't agree to sing that maudlin shit. Honestly, Viv, what is wrong with men today?

It was done after the American Music Awards that night, thus the high celebrity turnout. Interesting that Do They Know It’s Xmas was snubbed of Grammy nominations for 1984. , while We Are The World won record and song of the year of 1985. I was a teen at the time. It was HUGE. Just like when MJs Thriller debuted on MTV. Above poster was correct. We will never see anything like this again.

Nothing worse than a bunch of hags with no musical skills or acomlishments bitching about something that has no equivalent and never will. Yes it has a simple melody and simple words that bring the message carry clearly.

Nothing worse than a bunch of hags with no musical skills or acomlishments bitching about something that has no equivalent and never will. Yes it has a simple melody and simple words that bring the message carry clearly.

This is the only thread where weary MJ fans can come to sing his praises without it being just about him.

I like the "In Living Color" version

The dead people from We Are the World:

Michael Jackson

Ray Charles

Waylon Jennings

Al Jarreau

June Pointer

James Ingram

R132 Waylon sang on WATW? He wasn’t in the video. Nor have I ever heard he participated.

I always thought Sun City was the best of all these songs R97

Prince contributed the stellar 4 The Tears in Your Eyes to the We Are The World album in lieu of participating in the chorus.

The best charity shingle wash a show low number with choir!

An even better version...

WATW 25 featured Janet

WATW 25 featured Janet

WATW25 featured Janet? Janet? JANET JACKSON?!?

That must be why no one remembers it.

R44 really is disturbed.

[quote]Marilyn Martin did vocals on Stevie’s The Wild Heart tour, and is in the video for “If Anyone Falls” and also provided vocals on Stevie’s Rock a Little album. They were thick as thieves, I’m sure she was doing her friend a favor by supporting her efforts at a solo career. At any rate, the story goes that’s why she wasn’t at WATW.

R87, Marilyn Martin does not sing at all on The Wild Heart nor is she in the" If Anyone Falls" video (that's Carolyn Brooks). Marilyn and Stevie did not meet until The Wild Heart tour (after The Wild Heart was released) where Marilyn sang backup for Stevie's secret boyfriend, Joe Walsh.

MM is on a few songs on Rock A Little. She's also been touring as one of Stevie's backup singers since 2016 on Stevie's solo tours and with Fleetwood Mac.

Stevie's background vocals of "My eyes" on "Separate Lives" is at 2:23 in the song.

R140 is Madonna, miffed that she missed out on BOTH WATWs and that her new album has performed an amazing vanishing act off the charts.

Prince DID participate in the 10th anniversary of WATW at the 1995 American Music Awards.

But rather than sing with those nobles, he sucked on a lollipop.

"My eyes!"

"WHEN WE!"

When WATW was being recorded in January 1985, Kim was having one of her best singles ever released, even though it want nowhere, unfortunately.

r143 My GAWD you are fucking psycho!

Madonna did make it to Live Aid, at least.

Was that the one that Waylon Jennings was invited to but as soon as he got there and saw all the black people he said "no way" and fled?

Madonna's Live Aid performance was one of the highlights.

Madonna was great at Live Aid - but she was no Cyndi Lauper as a vocalist. Cyndi had a great voice, it's too bad she mucked everything up by trying to be so unusual.

Ranking the We Are the World performers...

[quote] I remember reading that Jackson was freaked out by Bruce Springsteen. Bruce was in a leather jacket and was exuding a lot of that masculine blue collar stuff he identified with, and Jackson was rattled by it for whatever reason. He spoke to Bruce only when minimum necessary and used his softest whisper. He hid behind a stack of equipment to hide from Bruce, he really only wanted to talk to Diana Ross.

Michael was afraid that Springsteen might try to force the group listen to him sing Santa Clause is Coming to Town.

[quote] I think Dylan probably rues the day that he did this piece of junk. Why did he do it? Maybe his agent told him it would make him look good. At any rate, he looks like he's thinking "what the fuck am I doing here?"

If you watch the documentary; you'll see that Bob Dylan worked very hard but struggled with his part, for obvious reasons. Being surrounded by talented singers had to be and struggling had to be a bit humiliating.

Barbra Streisand was the biggest star in the world in 1985, R116? To gays maybe. As far as a pop artist in the MTV era, she sure as hell wasn't. Her 1984 album didn't yield any top 40 hits and was a far less seller than Guilty, which was 5 years old at that point.

R127, Grammy eligibility is from October 1-September 30. DTKIC wasn't eligible for 1984 nominations since it was released in December.

R141/R147 is certifiably insane.

[quote] And third, the only interesting thing (to me) is seeing all the people involved who are now dead or completely irrelevant.

We're talking about 1985, 34 years ago, over 3 decades ago. You find it interesting that pop stars who had hits on the charts 30 yrs ago, are no longer relevant and you find it interesting that 6 or 7 are dead? Really after 34 years?

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 • Tom Bailey • Alannah Currie • Joe Leeway

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 • The Pointer Sisters • Smokey Robinson • Corey Haim • Brian Bonsall • Raymond Louis Kennedy • Corey Feldman • Andrea Elson • Eric Idle

R138/R139 is JABBA.

Can’t believe Smokey Robinson & Jeffrey Osborne were used as background singers.

I can't believe so many have to look at the sheet music. They each had one fucking line!

And Bruce (I Sound Like I'm Taking A Shit When I Sing) Springsteen is fucking ridiculous in that video.

I guess Rebbie was too busy promoting Centipede to take part?

Alannah Curry?? Really?

[QUOTE] Marilyn Martin does not sing at all on The Wild Heart nor is she in the" If Anyone Falls" video (that's Carolyn Brooks).

I stand corrected Mike, you’re right.

TOSOTM is still a bucket of diarrhea.

Clearly Lionel and Michael stole the idea from Donna Summer's State of Independence. They were part of the all star chorus with Diana Ross, Brenda Russell, Christopher Cross, James Ingram, Stevie Wonder, Dionne Warwick, Kenny Loggins. Did they even ask her to part of WATW?

Lionel and Michael didn't need to steal the idea of the all-star chorus, since the idea was just recycled from the producer of both songs, Quincy Jones

And yet it was, r165. It was.

[quote]Corey Haim • Brian Bonsall • Raymond Louis Kennedy • Corey Feldman • Andrea Elson • Eric Idle

Okay someone is trolling Wikipedia - although maybe MJ had the Coreys and Brian Bonsall up to Neverland to record some overdubs in private.

From r152's link:

You know what this song is missing? Prince. According to legend, the reason Prince decided not to participate is because Bob Geldof called him a “creep.” Send your hate mail to the Boomtown Rats.

I forgot that Paul Simon and Lindsey Buckingham were in this

In Living Color did a parody of it:

Bette Davis Eyes the song and music video were MTV era - 1981.

R72 and other ignorant assholes.... Olivia Newton-John wrote “The Promise (The Dolphin Song)” on her double platinum Physical album.

She wrote or co-wrote several songs on The Rumour album which went double linoleum.

[quote] Everybody who was turned down was probably glad once they heard the song.

I don't know why. The song won Record of the Year, which means the artist(s) and producer win the Grammy. So everyone who sang on it won a Grammy.

I was invited, but I called in sick with a cold. They bought it, heh-heh-heh . . .

Buy my book "And A Voice To Sing With" if you want to know my thoughts re: WATW (snubbed) and Live Aid (a starring role.)

I love Jan Hooks as Diana Ross in this "We Are The World"-esque parody.

Tell the children to tell the world to tell the chickens we are on our way!

r36: Midler was very caustic about it, referring to it as "We Are The Rich, We Are The Famous".

Was Judy Garland still alive when they recorded the song? That would have been cool to have her on the song, even if she couldn't sing anymore.

^^^ Good God, NO, you dimwit. Garland croaked in 196Freaking9.

R179, How the hell would I know! I'm not an old geezer like you.

They should've had Bette Davis and Katharine Hepburn participate. That would've been hilarious.

At least this "geezer" has a functioning brain, R180 . . .

Judy Garland sang You'dll neve walk... ALOOWN for thalidomide babies. She knew about birth defects. My mom told me that Judy turned away from crippled children.

Bad enough that We are the World is from a 35 year old vault. Leave your Judy crap out of it old white f@gs. Jesus loves you. Judy never did.

[quote]She wrote or co-wrote several songs on The Rumour album which went double linoleum.

I’m floored!

Money Changes Everything

Anyone else remember when Muzak played the song? It was weird hearing the singing since I was used to only hearing instrumental at the office.

R176, they missed a golden opportunity to bring Dan Aykroyd back to SNL for that. They could have stuck him on the back row.

Don't forget the tribute to the tribute. The AMAs are the best for this. Diana loves to direct the children. OK, You get Whitney, Liz Taylor, MJ, Teddy damn Pendergrass, Johnny Cash, Paul McCartney, Aretha, Stevie, Lionel, Sheila E and Kim Carnes. And the song still sounds like SHITE.

To be fair, this was probably the best Michael Jackson ever looked... shortly after this was when he spiraled down into disgusting over-surgery and mummification and whatever the fuck happened to his skin and nose.

It's kind of odd to me now that Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, and Ray Charles were given so much more of the song than others. Kim Karnes, as mentioned, got only two words. Other major stars with hits got nothing but chorus. It's a very weird distribution, sitting at this distance from it.

James Ingram got a solo, and I have no idea who the fuck that is, or was. The pointer Sisters got nothing. No Madonna is just weird. And it was mid-80s... no REO Speedwagon or Foreigner? Don Henley? John Fogerty? Corey Hart? Howard Jones? RIck Springfield? David Lee Roth?

They wouldn’t let me sing my segment in Italian, so I walked out.

James Ingram (died in 2019) was an R&B artist, won 2 Grammys (nominated for ~ 13 Grammys). He wrote PYT (Pretty Young Thing, Michael Jackson's hit) with Quincy Jones. He also wrote (with Quincy Jones) and sang "Just Once," (featured "Last American Virgin") which is a song I really like. His credits go on and on.

To be fair to whom? Who said otherwise. Michael Jackson looked fine and James Ingram was KING. Ray Charles, Tina Turner, Diana Ross, Springsteen, Dylan, MJ - forget about it. Only Cyndi Lauper's moment is curious. She was newly famous and started out good but she is Huey Lewis old news now. She's a world famous asshole and this recording was everyone's first glance of it. Diana Ross sings like Diana Ross. She's beautiful and she knows it. Bitch sings in the pouring rain and it ain't gonna hurt her. Not much fuss. But Cyndi and the other hair brigades take a lot of time. Springsteen sounds so stupid now, but he was great with his band. later. Lionel Richie is supremely underrated as a singer. The first line is golden and to be honest, he could have sung the whole verse. Kim Carnes couldn't sing and she looked a 100 back then, when I was two years old. Who gave that old white woman a line?

It was a collaborative effort. A bet a few of them felt underutilized. But people didn't parse shit then the way we do now.

The participants were chosen by artist manager Ken Kragen. So you have a few that were his clients: Lionel Richie, Kenny Rogers, Kim Carnes, Lindsey Buckingham. Others were friends and frequent collaborators with producer Quincy Jones: James Ingram, Ray Charles, Michael Jackson. Some were artists that were having a moment at that particular time: Tina Turner, Cyndi Lauper, Huey Lewis, Kenny Loggins, Steve Perry. And others were just musical legends: Stevie Wonder, Willie Nelson, Diana Ross, Dionne Warwick.

The whole thing was Harry Belafonte's idea, he was totally ignored.

As has been said, pop stars were SO famous back then, everybody knew who they were. Even your grandparents knew who Tina Turner, Bruce Springsteen etc. were. And also, there was still a certain mystique and glamour to celebrities back then. That kind of thing really doesn't exist anymore.

R82. Wait, Madonna was turned down, but Dan Akroyd was asked just because he happened to be in the building?

For you r1

To put Madonna in the context of the times:

When Madonna had her first wave of success, she was not taken seriously by many people in the music business. She was thought to be a fluke, a flash-in-the-pan dance/disco artist who would not have any longevity. Lots of people in the Industry were very snobbish about Madonna and looked down on her - they thought she would be over in a year. Of course she had the last laugh and went on to be bigger than all of them, but that was the Industry's opinion on Madonna at the time of We Are the World. One of Madonna's only defenders in the celebrity world at that time was Andy Warhol, who said "she's going to be the biggest star in the world." Most other people just wrote her off. So that's why she wasn't asked to participate.

Wow, rewatching this I had forgotten how good looking Kenny Loggins was in those years. (He has aged very well, too, I must say).

[quote] The whole thing was Harry Belafonte's idea, he was totally ignored.

It's sad that Harry Belafonte gets so little credit for this collaboration. Whether the song holds up or not, it was an important cultural moment that I hope raised a lot of money and did some good.

^ I am gonna blow my head off R198. Haha. Is it really 6 fucking hours of Bono delivering that ridiculous line over and over? With so much conviction. That video is the work of the mentally ill. Thanks for posting though?

Why can't people just admit that Do They Know It's Christmas has a great drum beat and some damn fine sexy singing. Boy George sounds gorgeous, Dreamy wow. George Michael looks boss and 40 year old Sting looks like he just finished tobogganing after school. What stands out about the Brits at that time - is that it was an all boys club. Jody Watley is there, doing nothing. There was no LuLu, Dusty Springfield or Pet Clark. No legacy ladies. I'm not brit but it wouldn't be the same today. If Jagger were there - some female singers would be featured. The lyrics to that song are terminally bad and the dudes are pretty damn cute. *Not Bono.

Boy George was always underrated as a vocalist. He really had a gorgeous voice in his prime, but it was overshadowed by his outrageous image.

r104 especially Sting, his hair was hung limp

Chords of the song. A maj, E major, A maj, B maj, E maj. C# min, G# min, A maj, B maj, E maj. Rinse and repeat about a dozen times. Then move everything up a half step (to F maj) and repeat some more. Or in Roman numerals IV I IV V I VI III IV V I

I was shocked that Voices That Care had so many more stars, and so many bigger stars. I mean, Michelle Pfieffer, Meryl Streep, Sally Field? And tons more — even singers lol

All of those multi-celebrity fundraiser songs sucked, and little if any of the money raised went to the people they were so earnestly supporting.

Unfortunately, that voice has left the building R203. Damn shame, it is.

I always thought 'That's what Friends are for' was the worst schmaltz

R155 so the Grammy qualifying year is this and not the calendar year? Are you sure it was this 35 years ago?

[quote]turned down Prince's offer to due a guitar solo

Oh, dear!

[quote]Santa Clause is Coming to Town

Oh, DEAR!!

[quote]Nothing worse than a bunch of hags with no musical skills or acomlishments bitching about something that has no equivalent and never will. Yes it has a simple melody and simple words that bring the message carry clearly. —You are just jaded old queens

Ah, you may be right, but I would much rather be a jaded old queen than an illiterate young queen.

Why do people hate on Cyndi Lauper? I think she was fantastic with her part in the song. Also, she was hardly a flash in the pan and is still relevant today. I have heard she's a nasty bitch sometimes but I've also heard she's very, very kind to her fans.

I dunno, R213. R194 is ridiculous. Cindy Lauper's line is easily the highlight of the entire song.

Too bad Kate Bush didn't participate in that horrible "Do They Know It's Christmas?" bilge.

She certainly enlivened the equally wretched "Spirit Of The Forest" in 1989.

I love how Kate refused to record in the room with the nobodies on the chorus.

R203, I also think Boy George is an extremely talented singer. I'm still shocked that he rocked that gender-bender image as early as 1982. I don't think that would fly today, no matter how good or on-trend the music is.

WATW is hardly being played in oldies radio right now. But Do they know went on to become a popular song during Christmas

[quote] James Ingram (died in 2019) was an R&B artist, won 2 Grammys (nominated for ~ 13 Grammys). He wrote PYT (Pretty Young Thing, Michael Jackson's hit) with Quincy Jones. He also wrote (with Quincy Jones) and sang "Just Once," (featured "Last American Virgin") which is a song I really like. His credits go on and on.

Ingram also had two #1 songs on the Hot 100, one prior to WATW and one much later on, as well as a #2 duet with Linda Ronstadt the year after. He had several hit singles on the pop, R&B and AC charts. He was considered at that time to be one of the best vocalists in the biz.

Excusez moi, R128?

R214 I love Cyndi, but that’s like saying Lionel Richie is relevant today.

R88, that has to be publicist nonsense. It was the American Music Awards, of course they arrived in limos.

The problem with Cyndi Lauper is the same problem Bette Midler had. Both of them thought they were Janis Joplin rockers and both were wrong. Both of them have done their best work with ballads and easy listening songs. Ladies, leave the hard rock to Joplin and Pat Bentar and those ladies who have the voice to sing it. There's a reason why Mahalia Jackson never sang "Love's Been A Little Bit Hard On Me."

As always, Canadians show us how it's done.

Why wasn't Frank Sinatra asked to participate? He was close friends with Quincy. That would have been historic.

The video to the Canadian version looks like it was filmed for public access television.

"Being surrounded by talented singers had to be and struggling had to be a bit humiliating."

A great many of those "talented singers" weren't good enough to smell Dylan's shit. Dylan was no great singer, but he's a music legend. I think he did this piece of crap because somebody convinced him it would be a good career move. But from the way he looks here it's obvious he wants to get the hell away from all of it. Can't say I blame him. He was too good to do shit like "We Are The World."

"Why wasn't Frank Sinatra asked to participate? He was close friends with Quincy. That would have been historic."

Historically embarrassing. I can only imagine how incongruous poor Frank would have been in the midst of all those pop/rock singers. It would have looked like a Saturday NIght Live skit.

As embarrassing as Cyndi Lauper's screeching of her lines? Not possible.

Ray Charles too, for that matter. At least he sang that shit out of that, well, shit.

R210, yes. I have an awesome book about The Grammys that lists every nominee and winner for each year and some nice background info. The awards for the 1984 Grammys were telecast on February 26, 1985. Eligibility was from October 1, 1983 to September 30, 1984. Do They Know It's Christmas qualified for the 1985 Grammys. It was nominated for Best Music Video, Short Form, but WATW won.

Bette stood next to Latoya (with headband)!

R226 I don’t think Dylan has ever smiled in his life tbh. I wouldn’t call WATW a piece of crap. Certain parts of the song are moving and stirring. Is it the best Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson (the songwriters of it) song? No. I’m sure probably more than half the participants weren’t crazy about the song, but took part in it because of the intentions and message of the song. Not to mention the great publicity.

Many, if not most, of them thought the song was a piece of shit (which it was) but the publicity was just too good. WATW got a TON of press for months.

That was supposed to launch Latoya and her headbands lol

What was the SNL skit with different characters singing in a chorus like We Are The World?

I think it had Phil Hartman's Frankenstein, Hans and Frans, Matt Foley,(maybe).

"What was the SNL skit with different characters singing in a chorus like We Are The World?"

Didn't they do more than one skit like that? I remember in one of them a guy (I wish I knew who it was) was doing such a dead-on Axl Rose impression that the audience seemed amazed.

Kim Carnes looks pissed at Cyndi when Cyndi does her caterwauling in the video.

"And also, there was still a certain mystique and glamour to celebrities back then. That kind of thing really doesn't exist anymore."

Yeah, Michael the Pedo was so GLAMOROUS!!!! There was nothing glamorous about the 80s, what a tacky decade.

The greatest performance ever by Steve Perry.

r238 you just don't get it.

[quote]James Ingram got a solo, and I have no idea who the fuck that is, or was.

You’re either very young or very white. My guess is both.

r240 just doesn't get it. Or just has bad taste.

r242 you musn't have lived through the 80s. Fame was on a different level than it is today.

Yes, I lived through the 80s. That's why I think they were tacky.

[quote]She certainly enlivened the equally wretched "Spirit Of The Forest" in 1989. I love how Kate refused to record in the room with the nobodies on the chorus.

Wow, I’m an 80s kid and I have never even heard of that song. It’s fucking wretched along with that terrible video. At least WATW and Do They Know... have melodies.

I wish the Punchy Players would do a takeoff of Judy participating in the We Are the World song. She could take along Liza and Ann Miller for emotional support.

[quote]You’re either very young or very white. My guess is both.

In my 50s. Never heard of him. Was really into music all through the 80s. I have no memory of that name ever. And he doesn't look even remotely familiar. Sorry.

Baby Come To Me was a huge hit that got a lot of airplay.

Cindy Lauper's part in that song is the only good thing about it. She was amazing. The best thing about it.

Why wasn't Annie Lennox asked to be on Do They Know It's Christmas? Was it a requirement every vocalist had to be a man/boy?

What's the SNL skit like WATW where Chris Farley is Carnie Wilson?

James Ingram was known for doing several collaborations with other artists:

"Just Once" with Quincy Jones

"One Hundred Ways" with Quincy Jones

"Baby, Come to Me" with Patti Austin

"Yah Mo B There" with Michael McDonald

"What About Me?" with Kenny Rogers and Kim Carnes

"Somewhere Out There" with Linda Ronstadt

He was ubiquitous in the 80s, but he probably doesn't stand out to you because he was usually paired with someone else.

Why wasn't Jagger there R250? Bowie, Elton John? Because not everyone is asked or wants to do it. Do they know it's Christmas reeks of the boys club. Can't stand Sting or Bono. They probably didn't want Annie Lennox, the best singer in the UK.

Why isn't Aretha, Teddy Pendergrass or Whitney on WATW? Who knows, who cares.

R253 probably because DTKIC had a lot of British performers and WATW didn’t want to be seen as a some kind of clone. Whitney hadn’t had her first hit yet so she wouldn’t have been invited. Aretha would’ve been great for it. Obviously there are a lot of heavy hitters they could’ve gotten and left out Dan Aykroyd and LaToya Jackson. But I think did exceptionally well with the ones they did get.

They did ^^^

Of course there must've been scheduling conflicts, which is why certain people weren't there. Some of them probably weren't even in the country.

It is fucking ridiculous to have no idea who James Ingram is.

Just fucking ridiculous.

I feel the same way about Hoagy Carmichael.

258 posts and no one thought, "Gee, maybe we should post the actual song for reference."?

Nice.

"Tonight thank God it's them instead of you." could be FLOTUS's new battle cry.

[quote]In my 50s. Never heard of him. Was really into music all through the 80s. I have no memory of that name ever. And he doesn't look even remotely familiar. Sorry.

Pathetic. Take a look at R252 for reference, white bread.

No one in any of the WATW videos can match the beauty of Derek Klena at 2:03

[quote]Streisand was not snubbed. She declined to participate because she was still the biggest star in the world at the time and felt like it was beneath her.

Bigger star than Michael fucking Jackson in 1985? Nah, brah.

She thought she was the biggest star, but now, it's MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Well R253, I care because I brought it up.

And I know why Whitney wasn't on WATW. She didn't come on to the scene until a month after WATW was released. Aretha's career was in the dumper when WATW was recorded. Who's Zoomin Who had not been released yet.

Take a fucking sedative.

You know Michael insisted Latoya and his useless brothers had to be included and Quincy Jones didn't want them, but MJ had too much clout at the time for Quincy to tell him no.

Yes, Barbra was a bigger star than MJ in 1985 and forever. She still had a legendary music and film career, and was an EGOT winner. Michael's career was pretty much over after his BAD album just two years later.

R253 is not the one who needs a sedative. What's a sedative eldergay R265?

Barbara Streizand fans need a sedative this week though. What a greedy cunt piece of embarrassment she is, every decade.

You're right, 267. I remember MTV playing her videos nonstop and hearing so many of her songs on the radio that year.

Not a huge Michael defender but his career wasn't over until 1996. Black or White spent 7 weeks at #1 in 1991 and he was the first artists to have a song debut at #1 in 1995 after the molestation charges. What has Babs accomplished after her pedo sympathizer scandal?

I'm assuming Janet was not involved with WATW because she was giving birth?

At no point in her too long career was Barbra Streisand EVER as famous as Michael Jackson was in the eighties. Facts are facts. Streisand is a greedy grinder who doesn't know when to quit. Like 25 years ago maybe. Get the talentless bitch some propofol.

[quote]Yes, Barbra was a bigger star than MJ in 1985 and forever.

Streisand is far bigger than Michael Jackson. She is an EGOT winner and the biggest female singer and actress of all time. Those are the facts.

"WHEN WE..."

The only two tolerable notes in the entire song, especially after coming after Lauper's fake "goofy" pretense.

Not a single one of those "James Ingraham" songs in that list rings a bell except for "Somewhere Out There", and even THERE, the only one I remember is Linda... I listened to a few others... maudlin forgettable pop crap that I never listened to except maybe accidentally while in elevators.

I was more into alternative and New Wave, sorry. I've still never heard of this guy and have zero memory of him. I know and recognize every other person in that video, though, including most of the ones that didn't get solos.

Stop trying to pretend this guy was huge. He clearly wasn't. And I had MTV on 24/7. He was clearly forgettable and has near zero name recognition now. If I mentioned his name around the office, I bet no one else would remember it either.

Mr. Alternative & New Wave has spoken!

I wonder if he still has his Robert Smith-styled black shoe polish hair in 2019...

[quote]Streisand is far bigger than Michael Jackson. She is an EGOT winner and the biggest female singer and actress of all time. Those are the facts.

Spoken like a true queen. I literally cannot name one Streisand song. Also, MJ was not a female.

I bet Mr. Alternative & New Wave grew a think bleached braid like Aimee Mann.

You know I'm right.

"Shut up! You don't understand!"

THIN bleached braid.

Streisand is not the biggest selling female singer of all time either. She's barely in the top ten. Don't bother arguing with your U.S. certified sales crap either. The world is bigger than the United States and even bigger than Barbara Streizand.

To the “Barbra was an EGOT winner!!!!!11!!1!one!!” nut, she was given an honorary Tony award. Let’s not make like she was a fucking Broadway star or something.

Now she’s someone who blames pedophile victims.

Was '85 still The Jewfro Years for Barbra or had she discovered the crimping iron by then?

As her Fall 1984 video for "Left In The Dark" shows, Barbra had moved on to the crimping iron.

I was graciously invited, but had to decline. I was on location for the epic, [italic]The Sun Also Sets[/italic], for Italian director Vittorio della Scabieso, in Papua New Guinea. I did send a crate of [italic]Helenesque![/italic] for everyone involved, and I planted my own tree in solidarity in Port Moresby.

Aren’t you a dear, Miss Lawson.

James Ingram's chart success:

"Just Once" - #17

"One Hundred Ways" - #14

"Baby, Come to Me" - #1

"Yah Mo Be There" - #19

"What About Me?" - #15

"Somewhere Out There" - #2

"I Don't Have the Heart" - #1

Yeah, this guy was a real one-hit wonder nobody.

She was blowing it out, if you look at her concert benefit in her backyard it looks nice

Who the fuck is the Ingram-Stan in this thread?

[quote]Yeah, this guy was a real one-hit wonder nobody.

You’re right. By your own list, he was a two-hit wonder apparently.

I’m not the poster who never heard of him, but I wouldn’t exactly call him famous or a household name, then or now.

I honestly only recognize one of the songs on that list of "hits" by name. I might recognize a few more if I listened to them.

Compare that to … EVERYONE ELSE in the video. I can name them all AND a bunch of their hits. .

Many Americans are shocked by this, but Barbra Streisand has always been more of an American celebrity, she's never been a huge star outside the US. In non-English speaking countries, she's not well-known at all.

Team James Ingram. He was very well known in the 80s.

Also Team James Ingram. It's a ridiculous argument. periodt.

Class of '83. Never heard of him. Asked around. Nobody recognized the name.

Prince refused to sing, he offered to compose another song instead

I guess I'm the Ingram-Stan. Honestly, I'm not even that much of a fan. I'm just having a hard time wrapping my head around the idea that someone who lived through the 80s and listened to pop music isn't familiar with his songs even if you don't know his name.

Yeah, Janet wasnt there but Latoya was? Re - James Ingram- I'm from the Philippines and his songs were huge hits even there.

Latoya was living in the Jackson family compound with Michael and was there when Jackson wrote the lyrics. She claimed Lionel Richie only contributed a few lines but took 50% of the credit. So naturally, Latoya was invited (or invited herself). Janet was probably discreetly having James Debarge's baby.

A- James Ingram was clearly more than a "2-hit wonder." The proof was posted above, so new wave asshole, shut the fuck up already, you've been owned. If you're such a self proclaimed music expert and you don't know who he is, then perhaps go in and get checked for alzheimers.

B- I watched the video. The song is just as execrable 35 years later. What a fucking piece of shit. I will say that the whole beginning stretch is completely unmemorable. I had forgotten Tina Turner, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Dionne Warwick, all of those people had sung on it. Like her or hate her, the Huey-Kim-Cyndi trio has become the "face" of WATW this far on.

C- I was laughing watching Quincy Jones conducting the choir, thinking- half those vocalists have no idea how to follow a conductor. It's completely useless.

D- Dylan wins hands down for worst vocalist of the group. That they actually brought him back to be heard a second time is mind boggling. Bruce sounded like hot garbage also, but at the time was one of the biggest music stars on the planet. Dylan was way past his prime.

The irony is Tina Turner thought Bruce and Bob did the best job singing.

R299=Andrew Lloyd Webber

Interestingly, Bob Dylan, who is now 78 years old, already looked 78 years old in 1985.

[quote] Streisand was snubbed and Madonna asked but was declined.

Those are the best things about it.

I have flatulence with more musical quality than this song.

[quote]I guess I'm the Ingram-Stan. Honestly, I'm not even that much of a fan. I'm just having a hard time wrapping my head around the idea that someone who lived through the 80s and listened to pop music isn't familiar with his songs even if you don't know his name.

The point is not knowing his name, tho.

I'm familiar with a lot of songs written by people whom I've never heard of. That's not really the issue.

Cyndi Lauper looked fucking ridiculous with the yellow and orange hair and all the stupid jewelry. The others must've been looking at her sideways like "what an attention whore."

That was her entire thing, though, R306. At the time, she was all "So Unusual".

Sheila E was probably thinking “look at me, papito. I’m BIG TIME now!”

Little did she know that by ‘88 or so her record sales would tank and she’d be back like she started, a touring percussionist for other bands.

It's easy to see why Madonna outlasted Cyndi Lauper. Lauper was just fucking annoying.

[quote]By your own list, he was a two-hit wonder apparently.

Well, if number one hits are your criteria, then that's two more than these nobodies: Willie Nelson, Al Jarreau, Bruce Springsteen, Steve Perry, Bob Dylan.

And one more than these nobodies: Tina Turner, Kenny Loggins, Kim Carnes.

And the same number as his fellow nobodies: Kenny Rogers, Cyndi Lauper

*applause*

Love you R310.

New Wave was my personal preference for music at the time. I was still aware of James Ingram.

Did I miss Cyndi's or Huey's or Kim's sets at Live Aid on July 13, 1985?

"People of the world: NOW I KNOW YOU'RE MINE!"

For some reason Cyndi Lauper is really liked here on Datalounge. She had a great big voice and no self discipline. She's incredibly pretentious but always used gimmicks to get noticed. She ruined more songs than she enhanced, but I do like her versions of I Drove All Night and Strawberry Fields and Heartaches by the Number. Time After Time is one of the most tedious ballads ever and Cyndi should never dared gone near Marvin Gaye. To think that Cyndi has a Tony for the crap that is Kinky Boots and Sara Bareilles won nothing for Waitress is very sad. (Hamilton) Cyndi was Grammy's Best New Artist of 1985. She keeps working. Why did she always do that hiccup burp thing all the damn time? She sang like she has Tourettes. Annoys the fuck out of me. Her claim to fame is that she had a better voice than Madonna.

It was the greatest night of my career.

R312, I may have been aware of him at the time. All I'm saying is that I have no memory of him NOW. Or most of his songs. I'm saying he was utterly forgettable, at least in my case.

So you've told us seven fucking times R316.

Cyndi's Best New Artist Grammy caused a huge controversy a year later when Whitney Houston was deemed ineligible to be nominated as Best New Artist because, prior to her first album in 1985, she had recorded duets with other artists.

The controversy was because Cyndi had been a member of the band Blue Angel long before she recorded 'She's So Unusual' in 1983.

Many people thought it was racist for singling out Whitney for exclusion with that ruling when the previous year a white woman had been allowed to be nominated as Best New Artist even though she'd already released music years before.

Kim's best song was released in January 1984 as a single.

R318: a couple of years later Jody Watley won for best new artist which was really a head scratcher. And even though Whitney was a new black female artists she had Clive Davis muscle behind her so it's really strange.

Speaking of Jody Watley, people wonder why she was in the Do They Know song and video, her group Shalamar were way bigger in the U.K. than the were in the U.S. even though they're American.

Cyndi Lauper was the Best New Artist of 1984, R314. I was the Best New Artist of 1985.

Cyndi has been reduced to doing Hep-C drug commercials to pay her rent. I guess her Celebrity Apprentice money has run out.

[quote] Cyndi's Best New Artist Grammy caused a huge controversy a year later when Whitney Houston was deemed ineligible to be nominated as Best New Artist because, prior to her first album in 1985, she had recorded duets with other artists. The controversy was because Cyndi had been a member of the band Blue Angel long before she recorded 'She's So Unusual' in 1983. Many people thought it was racist for singling out Whitney for exclusion with that ruling when the previous year a white woman had been allowed to be nominated as Best New Artist even though she'd already released music years before.

The official wording was that if an artist had any recording credit under their own name, no matter how minor, they were ineligible. It was complete bullshit (and had nothing to do with racism, especially considering Whitney was nominated for several other major awards that year including Album of the Year and Pop Female Vocal, which she won).

Richard Marx also got stung by the same rule two years later when he was deemed ineligible because a song of his had appeared on the Nothing in Common soundtrack a year prior, yet Jody Watley won the same year despite having been one of Shalamar's lead vocalists for 7 years.

Flash forward to the 90s and beyond and you have artists like The Crash Test Dummies being nominated for BNA on their 2nd album and the most egregious example, Shelby Lynne winning the category despite the fact that she was on her 10th album and had been recording for 12 years. The Grammys are the biggest joke ever.

[quote] Cyndi has been reduced to doing Hep-C drug commercials to pay her rent. I guess her Celebrity Apprentice money has run out.

Cyndi is doing just fine. With all of her pop song royalties combined with her ongoing income from Kinky Boots, playing all over the world, she's set. The woman is 66.

Shelby Lynne won the Best New Artist Grammy? When. That's hilarious. I love her, but she was never an ingenue.

R310, even though I despise him and his voice, Willie Nelson had 25 number one hits.

The Best New Artist Grammy is a well-known curse. Most of the winners faded into obscurity shortly after.

Not on the Billboard Hot 100, R326. If you want to count number ones on all charts, then we can add a few more number ones for James Ingram too since he hit the top of the R&B and AC charts as well. The point is that James Ingram wasn't some unknown nobody in the 80s, so it shouldn't be a surprise that he was included and featured in WATW. Especially since a few of the people behind the whole thing (Jones, Richie, Rogers) were friends with him and worked and recorded with him.

We had a great thread that really explained why Cyndi's career stalled and Madonna's career had longevity.

I liked a few of Cyndi's songs, but thought her whole persona and image was irritating and stupid.

Excuse us R327?

& Bette, Carpenters, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Tracy Chapman....

....John Legend, Carrie Underwood, Amy Winehouse, Adele

[quote] Shelby Lynne won the Best New Artist Grammy? When. That's hilarious. I love her, but she was never an ingenue.

2001. Her first album was released in 1989.

Amy Winehouse doesn't count. She died. She's also another one who wasn't really a new artist. She won for her 2nd album.

I forgot also that Pearl Jam was deemed ineligible because though they had hit it huge in 1992 with their first album "Ten," it had been released a couple months prior to the cutoff date between 91 and 92.

Five years later Paula Cole won BNA for her 2nd album.

Yeah Barbra is all over this list..Sorry before we found out he was a pedo freak MJ single-handedly revived the music industry in the eighties,

Never cared for it much myself. "We are the children"--MJ wishes

Ha! Even the Spice Girls had a bigger selling album than Babs!

I think now the best new artist Grammy rule reads it’s the first recording that brings you into the public consciousness. It is ridiculous they’ve played fast and loose with this category for decades.

I predict Madonna will win Best New Artist next year.

[quote]Not a single one of those "James Ingraham" songs in that list rings a bell except for "Somewhere Out There"

And apparently, your head is still stuck up your ass.

R295, see R135 and R137.

Jody Watley moved to England after leaving Shalamar and recorded two singles, Where The Boys Are and Girls Night Out. She also recorded with Musical Youth and Art of Noise during that time, and dated John Taylor from Duran Duran. She was kind of a big deal in the UK, which is why she was in DTKIC.

Jody Watley was fabulous. She did some fantastic dance-pop in the late 80s. I still listen to her debut album every once in a while.

Jody, “Where The Boys Are” (1984)

Jody, “Where The Boys Are” (1984)

*cone bra

This nonsensical Africa song was much better.

R314 thinks Sara Bareilles is talented. LOL!!!

"Wicked Love" by Sara Bareilles is light years better than anything than Cyndi Lauper ever foisted off onto the public.

Cyndi and Sara both wrote the music for hit Broadway musicals.

[quote]Jody Watley moved to England after leaving Shalamar and recorded two singles, Where The Boys Are

Bitch!

[quote]I wish the Punchy Players would do a takeoff of Judy participating in the We Are the World song. She could take along Liza and Ann Miller for emotional support.

Maybe a GoFundMe to send corn cob holders to needy African children.

[Quote]Jody Watley moved to England after leaving Shalamar and recorded two singles, Where The Boys Are

Bitch!

(My husband's not gay!)

Sara Bareilles is a very good singer and a versatile songwriter. A trained pianist and semi trained vocalist. She is a very good composer. Cyndi can't read or write music or play instruments. But much like Madonna and Mariah - she has "written" some hit songs. Cyndi is musical, but her Tony Award is a joke. She deserved the Best New Artist of 1985 Grammy Win. Can't imagine she would win anything after than. Best rock vocal for Money Changes Everything or I Drove All Night? Her current level of fame and respect is pretty much where she belongs. Cyndi has done very well with a moderate talent.

For the 2002 VH-1 Divas Live event, DIVAS LAS VEGAS, the Cyndi Lauper footage was not released on DVD or CD because of record label problems or something.

Cyndi still had a record contract in 2002?

People may be sick of this song. Sara wrote a song with great rise and fall, complex musical and emotional flow - gorgeously simple sounding, but very hard to sing. It's show specific but close to classic. And no one sings it better than she does.

Her newest album should the most heralded thing because she's a great talent and the songs are wonderfully good. But like Esperanza Spalding and Leon Bridges and a few others, Sara is more quietly successful & hugely respected. She's not the new Carole King but only because she can actually sing. Sara has been a great singer/songwriter/musician/performer for a long time now. One of the most talented artists around.

Is Sara named after Stevie's 1979 blockbuster hit?

Who's the Sara Bareilles loon on this thread and what does that musical equivalent of a fart caught in a whirlwind have to do with the WATW discussion??

I love that song by Stevie. Wait a minute baby....Sara is a California chick. She could be named after a Fleetwood Mac song. She sings beautifully too. More like Laura Nyro than Stevie though.

OK, enough. Pop music is pop music. Stevie or Sarah are not exactly WATW material. I guess my point is that Cyndi was but only THAT because of her momentary flash. She's pretty over-rated. Except to some elders of the eighties. No one else remembers Cyndi's one hit album.

Sara and Stevie both make great music. I love Stevie Nicks. But Sara Bareilles actually knows how to sing. Same can't be said for Cyndi.

But Stevie DOES have that WATW connection because of "Separate Lives" as discussed way above.

BTW, when WATW was being released, Tina Turner was releasing "Show Some Respect," her fourth single from PRIVATE DANCER (or fifth or sixth single from that album, depending on your country.)

And this was right before "We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)" was about to be released as well.

For comparison, here is what Madonna was offering up in Spring 1985 when WATW was released.

Of course because Tina Turner is one of the greatest singers and performers ever, of all time, ever. R361. Rock/Pop/R&B/Blues. She LOVED being able to finally put on her own show. I saw her in a small hot Toronto club when I was 18 in 1984. She was just riding on Let's Stay Together and Steel Claw. A year before she had been doing her vegas-style burned out Ike and Tina revue at the Royal York Hotel. But Tina didn't give a burned out performance - never as far as I know. Tina is THE female Rock and Roll LEGEND. More than Madonna or Stevie, because Turner worked decades to get there. She was a grinder man. And her weariness showed a bit. Then she re-established the pretty and never looked back.

Neither "We Don't Need Another Hero" or "Into the Groove" were nominated for Best Song Oscars, which was ridiculous.

I was disappointed that Tina was just a backup singer for Mick Jagger at Live Aid in 1985. At that moment, she was at her complete HEIGHT of fame and much more popular in the then-current public's eyes than the Rolling Stones.

Tina only did Live Aid because Mick asked her to. She was touring at the time and cancelled a show to be there. It was her idea to do State of Shock, as she loved that song.

Madonna was supposed to sing with Sheena Easton and Joan Baez in the WATW finale, but wound up leaving before the end. She pissed some of the artists off backstage by showing up with a huge entourage who wound up shoving some people aside so she could get to the stage.

As if Madonna would ever perform with Sheena Fucking Easton.

Huge entourage = bracelet and crucifix wardrobe girls

How is it possible that Tina Turner became the biggest female singer in the world at the ripe old age of 45? Most young people had never heard of her before she released the Private Dancer album. That's just incredible to me. Can you imagine teens today going crazy over a 45 year old female singer? It just wouldn't happen. Her songs wouldn't even be played on the radio.

I miss how during the 80s, artists in their 30-40s could still have huge careers. And this was when MTV premiered and music videos were all the rage. Tina, Elton, Bowie, Aretha, Patti, Dionne, Barbra, Diana, Billy Joel were older and still just as big as artists in their early 20s. Why can't we go back to that?

R369, regarding Tina, everybody likes a comeback story, even today.

r369 I miss that too. Today, most artists won't get top 40 radio play if they're over 30.

"I wish the Punchy Players would do a takeoff of Judy participating in the We Are the World song."

Judy who?

Judy Tenuta, Rose.

How in hell can anyone have lived through the 1980s and not known James Ingram? He was one of the leading male power ballad singers of the decade.

James Ingram

[quote]I know the lyrics to "Do They Know It's Christmas?" are condescending and white saviour-ish, but it has a charm that's completely absent from "We Are the World".

Musically it's very good, but the lyrics couldn't be more self-satisfied if they tried. They're so bad it's as though they're lampooning the idea of charity songs.

Lives. Be. Stronger and free.

How come nobody bothered to learn the lyrics? Everyone is standing there with yards of sheet music in their hands? It's not like any one person is singing the entire song.

"WHEN WE!"

I don't think Kim needed sheet music.

Didn't Judy, Liza, Lorna and Joey release a Christmas song to benefit retarded children?

I think it was the inspiration for Do They Know It's Christmas, WATW and Hands Across America.

[quote] Didn't Judy, Liza, Lorna and Joey release a Christmas song to benefit retarded children?

So it was for Joey's benefit?

James Ingram also appears as a back up singer on many, many songs. You can usually recognize his trademark 'who-hoo' .

Wish I could manage a vid that highlighted only his back up vocals. I think most people would recognize it even if they never knew who or what it was.

"Can you imagine teens today going crazy over a 45 year old female singer? It just wouldn't happen. Her songs wouldn't even be played on the radio."

Madonna was still getting radio play when she was 45. (Now.....no)

Someone called Madame X?

I asked a friend of mine if they recognized the name James Ingram … they were definitely an 80s kid. She said no, went to google it, saw one of the songs, listened to it for about 5 seconds and slammed it off. "OH god, I HATED that song! I don't remember him because I BLOCKED THAT SHIT FROM MY MEMORY!"

I thought it was hilarious.

I must have blocked him too, because his songs are utter crap.

If someone told me five years ago there'd be a James Ingram Troll on DL, I would've laughed in their face.

Funny moment at 23:45 when James Ingram flubs his line.

All this talk about James Ingram has piqued my interest. I've listened to some of his songs on YouTube; I don't see anything thing particularly bad about his songs; just kind of bland, maybe. LInda Ronstadt must have liked him; she did a duet with him, "Somewhere Out There", some song from a Disney movie, I think.

Bland and boring, but over-played to the point they grate, and thus many people have apparently blocked him from their memory.

It's why nobody knows his name today.

I wouldn't be expecting any new material. Linda Ronstadt has Parkinsons' and can no longer sing so a duet is out.

And he is dead after all.

^ Same with Ronstadt. And she had a lot of hits, but nobody can figure out why. She could sing but her voice was clumsy, blaring, bland AND boring. She's before my time, but totally forgotten now. I've never heard of Kim Carnes or Hall & Oates either but I recognize some of their songs.

When Ingram died earlier this year, there was a pretty positive thread about him here. He must have at least a few DL fans.

Ugh that duet from An American Tale. Talk about awful songs. Makes WATW look like Everybody Wants To Rule The World.

James Ingram was well-known in the 80s-90s. He and Peabo Bryson were on lots of songs back then. He was the equivalent of John Legend today.

[quote]LInda Ronstadt must have liked him; she did a duet with him, "Somewhere Out There", some song from a Disney movie, I think.

Oh, dear.

I wonder why Dolly Parton wasn't asked to be on the song? She was huge back then.

You still hear Hall & Oates' songs all the time.

"She could sing but her voice was clumsy, blaring, bland AND boring. She's before my time, but totally forgotten now."

You must be totally deaf or a complete idiot, because Linda Ronstadt's singing voice was NEVER "clumsy, blaring, bland AND boring." And she's not "totally forgotten now." She's been in the news recently due to her honest about having Parkinson's disease and she still has a great many fans.

I would say Linda Ronstadt isn't known to younger people like others from that era are, like Stevie Nicks.

Beethoven did it better

was Lindsay Ronstadt the other girl in Fleetwood Mac?

No that was Christie McNichol. Lindsay Ronstadt was a backup singer/groupie for the Eagles.

No, R402. It was Kristy McVie.

WATW is a terrible, schmaltzy POS of an elevator music song. DTKIC has white savior lyrics but is a better song in general. Sun City is the best of all of them. The Canadian one was crap, too.

Linda Ronstadt doesn’t have legions of fans like Stevie because she kept changing genres. Her rock/pop fans weren’t necessarily going to listen to light opera, mariachi, or whatever Trio was. When she came back to popular music she went the adult contemporary route. She also didn’t have a stage presence like Stevie. Linda sort of stood there.

Linda Ronstadt was no James Ingram.

What about Ashanti?

They couldn't have a hair and makeup artist on call for the video to DTKIC? Or were they intentionally making a statement looking like they rolled in unwashed? Some of them, yikes. Boy George and Jody Watley looked good.

Also, it's lacking real star power. Almost all of the giants of British music are absent. Thankfully, they got Bowie to do a spoken word intro for the B side.

The Brits looked like they'd all just rolled out of bed and showed up to the studio hungover and unshowered.

Personally I liked the soul vibe the We Are The World release had. Don't You Know It's Christmas was more New Wave.

In addition to singing on "Separate Lives" in Early 1985 instead of being on WATW, Stevie was also writing several dark, depressing songs about the breakup of her true love affair with Joe Walsh.

R402: Linda Ronstadt wasn't a back up singer for the Eagles, she put them together and gave them they're break. Sheesh......

James Ingram may not be remembered today, but his music was played all the time on pop stations in the 1980s.

"She also didn’t have a stage presence like Stevie. Linda sort of stood there."

Well, she certainly had more dignity than Stevie, twirling around in her chiffon dresses and shawls and six inch platform heels. Lindsey Buckingham, enraged at Stevie over something, did a cruel but very accurate imitation of Stevie onstage by draping his jacket over his head and twirling in Stevie-like fashion.

Stevie was pure showbiz, and had a total "pop culture" persona. You can't compare her to Linda, who had a rather dour persona and just showed up onstage in her street clothes.

You know, I wonder why nobody's ever repeated the super-all-star stunt of "We Are the World", or the massive worldwide extravaganza of Live Aid. It's been decades, and celebrities are thirstier than ever these days!

I suppose I can understand the latter more than the former, nobody alive today has the attention span to watch an all-day concert.

[quote]I suppose I can understand the latter more than the former, nobody alive today has the attention span to watch an all-day concert.

IIRC, on the day Live Aid took place in the US is was something like 102 degrees. You'd have lawsuits galore today from snowflakes who NEARLY DIED because of the heat!

There have been Tons of all-star charity singles since the days of WATW. They just haven't been any good, AND the public is just over them. They were done to death in the 80's. Starving children, global warming, Pulse, tsunami aid, ferry aid, AIDS aid, IBS Aid, George Clooney Needs a Hobby aid.... There was even a WATW25. No one cares. They're tacky and full of nobodies and has beens. (Particularly the hysterically embarrassing WATW25.

Linda was always boring and slow.

I remember Dolly Parton telling her once, "Hurry up, bitch! I got things to do!"

Linda would have sounded good on Cyndi's line though. Well, well well well....She had a great big voice and a nice crescendo. Pretty. But it would have taken her a week. Hurry up bitch!

There's no novelty in doing another Live Aid, though they tried twice in the 2000's with Live 8 and Al Gore's Live Earth. Both were very underwhelming to say the least.

It's like when they try and recreate Woodstock every so many years. You can't top the original no matter how hard you try. It was just of a time and a place in pop culture history that sadly doesn't exist anymore.

Wasn't Madonna at Live 8?

Speaking of Woodstock 1998...

Excited Lesbian on the front row of Stevie's Woodstock 1998 concert:

Do Lesbians scream like that at a Madonna concert?

R401, R402 & R403 = The Kaplan Brothers. And they should all be shot. Good God.

I always thought it was odd that Madonna was not included. "We Are The World" was recorded on January 28, 1985. The previous week, Madonna had just finished a 6-week run at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart with "Like a Virgin". And the following week, the album "Like a Virgin" would hit #1 on the Billboard album chart.

The previous year (1984) she had 2 Top-10 singles ("Borderline" and "Lucky Star"), 1 Top-20 single ("Holiday"), and her debut album "Madonna" reached the Top-10 on the Billboard album chart.

And yet that wasn't enough to get an invitation.

Of course Madonna should have been there. She was no more a famewhore than Diana, MJ or Cyndi Lauper. But that is hindsight talking. Madonna was viewed as a slutty grasping material girl of little talent back then. How times have changed?

What was the last big charity single?

Not even the legendary Kate Bush could save this dreck from 1987.

Boy George did all of these, huh? Coked right on outta his mind!

A lot of blind black men in that video.

r427 they didn't want Madonna there because they thought she was just a dance act and would be over in a year.

Madonna would never have wanted to be part of an ensemble. She would never have shared the spotlight, especially with all the musically superior artists would have had to perform with. If she had, it would have been obvious how minimally talented she was.

They told the stars to leave their egos at the door, so Madonna sat outside all night.

At best, she would've gotten Kim Carnes' two word solo.

[quote]At best, she would've gotten Kim Carnes' two word solo.

How do you think I got that solo? Madge turned it down saying, "I'm better than two words, you fuckers!" So I stepped out of the chorus and said, "I'll do it."

And the rest is music history.

[quote]At best, she would've gotten Kim Carnes' two word solo.

At best, she might have been stuck in the chorus between Bette Midler and LaToya.

Thanks to this stupid fucking thread, I've had the chorus of this terrible song randomly going through my head at random times for the last several days.

I hate you all.

"We Are the World" spent 4 weeks at #1 on the Billboard pop singles chart.

The song that knocked it out of the #1 spot:

"Crazy for You" by Madonna

The thing about James Ingram is that while he was a huge recording artist, he wasn't a sex symbol. Girls didn't have James Ingram posters on their walls, I have no idea what his personality was like. I remember all of his hit songs because while I was into rock more than pop music, I still heard pop music all the time and he was huge. Earworm tunes.

I don't know if they could do it as easily today because so many of the "singing stars" are created in the studio. They don't really sing. I guess they could fix it in the studio later and just fake it for the video. Never mind.

There was just no fucking justice for Kim Carnes!!!

Kim's Summer 1985 single, her second from BARKING AT AIRPLANES.

Followed by Yabbadabbado.

How did Kim Carney get to be a singing star after the age of 50, with a three note range?

After watching Leaving Neverland, I can't even look at pics or videos Michael Jackson anymore.

It's a shame Linda Ronstadt wasn't part of "We Are the World".

This is one of my favorite 80s duets. It went to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. It won the Grammy for "Song of the Year", and was nominated for an Oscar.

"Somewhere Out There" - Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram

Ingram had BETTER duets with Patti Austin, Anita Baker, Dolly Parton and Michael McDonald to name a few. He was the male Peabo Bryson.

R438 I thought it was just me!

🎵We are the ones who make a brighter day, so let's start giving 🎵

We demand royalties for inspiring this song!

[quote]He was the male Peabo Bryson.

Who the fuck is Peabo Bryson?!?

Seriously? You don't know who PEABO BRYSON is R440?

God, the cultural illiteracy is off the charts here.

PEABO BRYSON is a cartoon dog who hung out with a kid named Sherman.

Gees.

Peabo Bryson was a contemporary of James Ingram. He also sand ballads, and did a lot of duets with female singers. His most well-known duets are "Tonight I Celebrate My Love" with Roberta Flack, "Beauty and the Beast" with Celine Dion and "A Whole New World" with Regina Belle.

Silky tenor Peabo with the magnificent Celine.

Ronstadt at the time was doing her Nelson Riddle albums, pretty far from the contemporary pop landscape of most of these people. She seemed totally off the radar, even though those albums sold well. Even Dylan was getting more MTV play than her.

She also had just gotten a lot of flak for playing Sun City.

Peabo Bryson and James Ingram should have done a duet together. Like the 3 Tenors did in later years, they could have been the 2 R&Bers.

I thought Peabo and James were the same person.

[quote]Peabo Bryson and James Ingram should have done a duet together.

Hey, don't forget about me!

lmao r446!!!

Trying to explain James Ingram again, like r440 said he wasn't a sex symbol although he was quite handsome he wasn't a teen idol. Back then, adult contemporary artists sold a lot of records but they were not going to be remembered as part of 80s culture like say Duran Duran. And also in the early to mid 80s artists can still get by on pure talent. And other artists want to work with them. That diminished through the late 80s greatly as stars who look great in videos take over. And then we get Milli Vanilli.

At least I've heard of Jeffrey Osbourne.

I could name only one Jeffrey Osborne song off the top of my head: "On the Wings of Love". After a little digging, I recognized "Stay With Me Tonight" and "You Should Be Mine (The Woo Woo Song)" as well.

I'm now convinced that James Ingram/Peabo Bryson/Jeffrey Osborne were all the same person.

Oh, shut up!

This was better. Plus, they had the guts to call out Reagan

oops, should have posted this link at r463

[QUOTE] The Brits looked like they'd all just rolled out of bed and showed up to the studio hungover and unshowered.

They did. I think one of the Bananarama girls said it in an interview, she said it was early in the morning and most of them had to slept much and most were hungover.