Note: After "Do They Know It's Christmas" was released in late 1984, veteran singer Harry Belafonte asked why American performers weren't doing something similar. Just before Christmas, Belafonte called his manager Ken Kragen, who handled such stars as Lionel Richie and Kenny Rogers. They contacted several musicians before it was agreed that Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie would write the song. Bruce Springsteen also agreed to participate, and according to Kragen, "The turning point was Bruce Springsteen's commitment, that legitimized the project in the eyes of the rock community." Once Kragen could tell other artists that Bruce was in, there were so many offers to sing that some were turned down. According to Quincy Jones, Springsteen's first reaction to the project was, "You sure you really want me to do this?" Richie and Jackson started writing "We Are The World" January 12, 1985, completing it on January 21, the night before sessions began. Michael provided the initial draft, then Lionel polished the structure and lyrics. The following evening, Richie, Jackson, Stevie Wonder, and producer Jones started work at Kenny Rogers's Lion Share Recording Studio in Los Angeles. Session musicians, engineers, video crews and other support staff were already on hand. Richie and Jackson recorded a guide vocal, and along with Stevie, created the basic instrumental track. On January 24, Jones shipped the demo tape to all artists who would be involved in the recording. Springsteen landed at Los Angeles International Airport, rented a Corvette, and drove to A&M Studios in Hollywood. "I swear I walked out to the gate just as he was coming in," said an amazed Ken Kragen. "I was looking to see if there were any hangups out there, and in walked Bruce… by himself." He said, "What do you want me to do?" He spent the next few hours getting cozy in the control room with the Pointer Sisters, whom he used to be angry at for taking "Fire" to no. 2 in 1979, when he was still stuck at a peak of no. 23 ("Born To Run"). Now that "Dancing In The Dark" had evened the score, and they were looking sexy and cute in person, that hatchet was buried without a doubt. He barely had time to nod to Bob Dylan and Billy Joel. By ten thirty everyone was there, the cameras were rolling, and Jones was ready to begin. Bruce never sang more than two nights running, because his concerts simply took too much out of him to do more. The two shows in Syracuse were more strenuous than average, and on this, the third night in a row, his voice was raw. Springsteen was a soloist, a had a duet with Wonder. By the time they got to his spot it was 5:30 in the morning. "You sounded fantastic, Dylan," he called to the man who'd just finished, then stepped to the mic. Dylan, Bette Midler, and a few others remained to watch him work. Sticking his sheet music in his back pocket, he wailed, "We are the world, we are the children," and according to Dave Marsh, "blew everyone away." Later, with his voice dubbed into a duet with Wonder's, the same line provided the single's climax. Finishing that first take, Springsteen looked up shyly. "Something like that?" he asked. Quincy Jones had to laugh. "Exactly like that," he said. The song was released on March 7, 1985, as the first single from the album. The estimated global sales of "We Are The World" exceed 20 million units, the biggest selling single in both US and pop music history.
See recording page for more details.
Note: While on the European leg of The River Tour in Spring 1981, Springsteen purchased a cassette tape of Jimmy Cliff music in the Amsterdam Airport, heard his 1972 recording of "Trapped", produced by Cat Stevens, and decided to incorporate it into his act. The band arrangement was rock, not reggae. Springsteen's take on the song was first performed on May 29, 1981 and remained in Springsteen's setlist for years, including at the Meadowlands Arena in New Jersey on August 6, 1984, when it was recorded, and later released on April 23, 1985 on the album, We Are The World, mixed by Chuck Plotkin and Thom Panunzio. The album sold four million copies, and "Trapped" 1984 gained considerable airplay, the most of any of the tracks on the album other than the title song. Though it wasn't released as a single, it peaked at number one on the Billboard Top Rock Tracks chart. In 2003 the same version was added to the Bonus disc of The Essential. Regarding Springsteen's version of the song, Cliff commented in 1988, "I look at it as a compliment. He's an artist in his own right and he's written a lot of good songs, too." This was during the time that Springsteen released seven top 10 singles from Born In The U.S.A., and under different circumstances, "Trapped" could have easily been number eight. No studio version has surfaced.
Studio Sessions: Born In The U.S.A.
