Once, a charity single boomed a plea to save lives amid a famine in Ethiopia. In 1985, with no social media and a lack of noise, came We are the world (Columbia Records), an appeal in the form of a song written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie. Here were some of the most influential names in the history of pop music — Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Harry Belafonte, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Diana Ross, Tina Turner, Billy Joel, Paul Simon among others — crooning a gentle ballad together; like they were in a church choir, standing in front of a banner that read 'USA for Africa'. All heart, it was as comforting as it was dazzling. Modelled on punk legend Bob Geldof’s Do they know it’s Christmas? which had many significant British pop icons at the helm of the charity piece, here were the biggest American popstars, the most elite, Black and White, who joined forces for Africa and a piece that would go on to be an artistic and social triumph. Here was music, lyrics in tune like There’s a choice we’re making/ We’re saving our own lives, that felt significant; especially coming from the enigma that these popstars were. While critics felt it was jingelesque, the song stuck, with more than 20 million copies sold and the piece hitting the top of the charts. Netflix’s latest documentary is the story of and behind that one night, titled The Greatest Night in Pop, when more than 40 musicians, most of them at the peak of their career, came to A&M Studio in Los Angeles to record that simple but powerful ballad that would become a phenomenon; it would not only help alleviate hunger in Africa through record sales but became one of those rare moments in the history of American pop that feels confounding even now. It was not often that Bob Dylan shared a stage and song with Bruce Springsteen or a night when Ray Charles was led by Stevie Wonder to the bathroom while the other musicians watched “the blind literally leading the blind”. They laughed. In the world of competition and egos, there could be camaraderie too; despite a certain vulnerability of being in the same room and performing with each other. Director Bao Nguen pushes the pedal on the nostalgia and tells the story of a night that happened in the pre-Internet era, was a logistical nightmare and happened because most musicians were in LA to attend the American Music Awards, which Richie was hosting. He goes on to highlight that Prince, who won for Purple Rain, beating Jackson’s Thriller, refused to come in for the secret recording handled by Quincy Jones. Singer Waylon Jennings walked out because Wonder wanted some lyrics to be sung in Swahili. Imagine that. ‘Check your ego at the door’, the one line taped to the door of A&M Studios by Jones, didn’t work. Until it did. At one point, musicians had other musicians sign each other’s sheet music, a trend started that night by Diana Ross who walked upto Daryl Hall, calling herself his “biggest fan”. As for the music itself, the carefully interwoven solos, especially Cindi Lauper’s phenomenal rendition, stood out. And to think that she almost didn’t show up as her boyfriend felt the song wasn’t going to be a hit. The anecdotes are plenty and perky and lead to the larger idea that We are the world continues to stand the test of time. Told succinctly mainly through Richie, Lauper, Kenny Loggins, Huey Lewis, and the voices of Jackson and Belafonte, The Greatest Night in Pop harks back to a time when this brilliant generation of musicians existed and where music was political and attempted to change the world. Director: Bao Nguen Streaming on: Netflix
