USA FOR AFRICA
(We Are The World)

Click here to Order the New We Are the World 2 DVD set.


On January 28th, 1985, 45 US recording gathered at A&M Studios in Hollywood, CA to donate their time and talent to a song written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Ritchie to raise money for the relief of famine in Ethiopia.

The idea for producing the "We Are The World" album and song came after the success of a group of British artists known as Band Aid. The success of the Band Aid project was all the buzz in the music industry.

The result was the historic recording of We Are the World, performed by Dan Aykroyd, Harry Belafonte, Lindsey Buckingham, Kim Carnes, Ray Charles Bob Dylan, Sheila E, Bob Geldof, Hall and Oates, James Ingram, Jackie Jackson, LaToya Jackson, Marlon Jackson,
Michael Jackson, Randy Jackson, Tito Jackson, Al Jarreau, Waylon Jennings, Billy Joel, Cyndi Lauper, Huey Lewis and the News,
Kenny Loggins, Bette Midler, Willie Nelson, Jeffrey Osborne, Steve Perry, The Pointer Sisters, Lionel Richie, Smokey Robinson,
Kenny Rogers, Diana Ross, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner, Dionne Warwick, and Stevie Wonder.

The success of this 45 release would later convince Lionel Ritchie and Quincy Jones to release a full album of material.
The USA for Africa project was released as a 45, 12" LP, on cassette and CD.
The filmed project was released originally on VHS and Laserdisc. It was later released on DVD.

The song "We Are The World" was manufactured and distributed for free thanks to Columbia Records.  800,000 copies copies arrived in stores on Tuesday, March 7th 1985 and were gone within 2 days. 800,000 . They were sold out by the first weekend. The song we Are the World entered the Billboard Hot 100 on March 23rd, at number 21.
On April 5, 1985 over 5,000 radio stations worldwide played the song simultaneously. On April 13, 1985 the song went to #1 and stayed there for 4 weeks. It sold 7.5 million copies in the U.S. alone. The song would eventually raise $50 million dollars for famine relief and supplies started being flown to Africa in June of that same year.

Click here for lyrics.

Meanwhile, the as this single was certified gold it inspired another similar fund-raising recording, "Stars", by a consortium of Heavy Metal entertainers calling themselves Hear N' Aid.