It’s been 40 years since a supergroup of America’s biggest stars came together in a Los Angeles studio to record We Are the World - the fastest-selling US pop single in history. Inspired by Band Aid’s festive release Do They Know It’s Christmas? in the UK in December 1984, musician and activist Harry Belafonte formed USA for Africa.
And the quadruple-platinum single - written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and produced by Quincy Jones and Michael Omartian - raised more than $80million for humanitarian aid in Africa and the US. Alongside legends like Bob Dylan, Diana Ross, Ray Charles, Tina Turner, Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder and Paul Simon was Kim Carnes, who is best-known for her 1981 single Bette Davis’ Eyes - which topped the US Billboard hot 100 for nine consecutive weeks and was No.1 in 21 countries.
Standing next to Michael Jackson - who only finished writing We Are The World the night before the recording - Kim, now 79, remembers holding his hand. She says “Michael Jackson and I were able to have some conversations and that I found to be pretty incredible. He was so shy and kind and, of course, an amazing artist.”.
She says their conversations were “nothing deep,” adding: “Just ‘love your work’, bla bla bla. Nothing earth-shattering. But he was very kind and shy. I remember thinking ‘He’s so kind.’”. In contrast, Cyndi Lauper, who she sang with, went for it full throttle. “I just thought, she's doing her own spin on the part she was singing, her own take on it, and that’s to be admired,” says Kim.
