“We Are the World” was a historic collaboration of musical luminaries recorded on January 28, 1985, and released two months later on March 7, to benefit African famine relief efforts. Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie wrote the song, which features a star-studded lineup such as Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, Tina Turner, and Bruce Springsteen.
Quincy Jones and Michael Omartian produced the hit tune, which sold 20 million copies. According to the New York Post, Prince and Madonna were not present at the star-studded night at A&M Recording Studios in Hollywood, immediately following the American Music Awards.
The documentary “The Greatest Night in Pop,” which aired at the Sundance Film Festival and is now on Netflix, provides light on why two ’80s music icons, Prince and Madonna, were absent from the historic recording of “We Are the World”.
Despite claims of a rivalry between Prince and Jackson for pop supremacy, the documentary “The Greatest Night in Pop” reveals that Prince was approached to join the recording of “We Are the World.”
Sheila E., Prince’s protégé and singer-drummer, was invited by Richie in the hopes of convincing her mentor to join the all-star session.
“Man, you should come — it’s really cool,” she urged Prince, who was relaxing at the Mexican restaurant Carlos ‘n Charlie’s after winning three trophies and performing “Purple Rain” at the American Music Awards.
However, Prince declined to attend the recording due to the large number of participants. He planned to record a guitar solo in a room by himself, according to the documentary. As a result, Huey Lewis of Huey Lewis and the News fame stepped in to perform the section originally planned for Prince. Madonna was not invited to participate in the epic song, whereas Prince was.
Despite the success of her 1983 debut and the smash “Like a Virgin” in 1984, Madonna was not invited to participate in “We Are the World.” Instead, Cyndi Lauper, fresh off the success of her 1983 debut album “She’s So Unusual,” which included the hit single “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” was picked.
The choice was ascribed to Ken Kragen, Richie’s then-manager and the project’s original mastermind, who preferred Lauper over Madonna.