Stars Come Together To Remake ‘We Are The World’
From ABCnews.com, by Solvej Schou for AP
The charity anthem “We Are the World” has been rerecorded by 80 artists who came together in the same Hollywood studio where the original was cut 25 years ago.
A new cluster of talent records a version of the classic song for Haiti. Pink, Natalie Cole, Kanye West, Jennifer Hudson, Celine Dion, Brian Wilson and others stood shoulder-to-shoulder on risers at Henson Recording studios Monday night to raise money for Haiti earthquake relief.
“This one, the enthusiasm, I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Lionel Richie, who wrote the original with Michael Jackson and oversaw the new version with music mogul Quincy Jones, 76.
Jones, who produced the 1985 anthem, announced last week that he planned to redo the song to benefit recovery efforts after the devastating 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Haiti on Jan. 12.
“We Are the World — 25 for Haiti” will premiere this month during coverage of the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics on NBC, according to a release from promoter AEG Live.
On Monday, stars converged on Studio A in the afternoon and stayed several hours. Richie and Jones worked with a select number of soloists, including Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger, later into the night.
At one point during a break, the musicians broke out into an a cappella version of “Lean on Me,” a classic moment jump-started by singer Melanie Fiona leaning on another artist because her feet were tired.
Gesturing with her hands, and shifting her headphones from ear to ear, Barbra Streisand recorded her solo over and over, completely absorbed in the recording process and stopping only to correct her pitch.
Later, a who’s who of rappers, including Snoop Dogg, LL Cool J and Wyclef Jean, recorded an interlude written by Black Eyed Peas frontman and producer will.i.am.
Rapper Lil Wayne said he was blessed to record the tune but was surprised when told he would do Bob Dylan’s part from the original.
“I don’t know how to sing,” he said with a smile.
For the full story at ABC news, click here.
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