We Are the World: The Story Behind the Song

Even 20 years after its release, We are the World continues to make my hair rise! The passion, dedication, harmony and sheer beauty of the song makes it a complete anthem and it should go down in history and a world anthem altogether. Congratulations Quincy Jones and every other artist who performed the track. I wait for another. I hadn't watched the video in a while, but I saw it strangely on MTV today and I decided to go back to my old music videos and watch this one. It was incredible, I listened to it repeatedly and was awestruck each time. The spirit of togetherness and harmony amongst the artists makes the experience worth it, every single time. Keep up the good work USA for Africa!

Nice documentary of the making of this most famous song/video. The highlight for me had to be the Stevie Wonder/Bruce Springsteen duet in the middle of the song. The songs essence and passion is evident during this section of the performance. I do wish Cyndi Lauper and other pop singers didn't have such a large role in this performance, but it's good overall.

We were so young and so naive. We pulled together and knew it would make a difference, or at least we hoped it would. I hope we have learned one thing, but I'm not sure we have. This has recently been seen by the US sending Skittles in the food boxes to Gaza. Skittles? Maybe we have not learned yet that evil exists. Evil and corruption are all around us and good intentions do not always work without a plan, a real plan. We have seen this over and over in the years since this well-meaning song. Where's the money going? Who is handling the distribution? What guarantees do donors have that the money is getting to the true recipients? Who are the feet on the ground who know the needs and work with the people? Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Haiti, Gaza - have we learned anything?

While reliving a pleasurable journey can be, ummm, emotional...We Are the World's energy and upbeat effort to create an autonomous entity to benefit another nation in crisis was a scratch on the surface. From Bangladesh several years before We Are...1985, Live Aid, and yes, even Hands Across America whose anniversary is quickly approaching, Farm Aid and other offshoots, from then to now...twenty some years later, almost an entire year since Live 8 and One, makes me wonder what happened to all the good intentions behind so many initial steps along the way.

Including the faltering steps of my feet right in my own back yard. Across a street, a fence, across a nation, across the planet...maybe it's time we all took a walk.

While "We Are The World" may be praise worthy for the accomplishments through multiple powers there are other works worth remembering from 1985 for their "artistic" agendas as well. Take a trip back to Foreignor's "I want to know what love is" floats in circles around me...must it take disasters and droughts to bring this world together.

This is a beautiful documentary. I love the narrative, the interviews, the sequences and how they present each artist. It transports you in those years and i love the atmosphere. I appreciate a lot the fact that it focuses on the main protagonists of we are the world. The direction is very good, the photography and the soundtracks are one of my favourites of all time. The nostalgic 80s are represented very well. Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Diana Ross, Lionel Richie, Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, Cyndi Lauper, Rau Charles, so many artists that have written beautiful songs.