How was the Greatest Night in Pop possible?

AHN CHAK-HEE
The author is the head of the global cooperation team at the JoongAng Ilbo.

A pop song that was once sung by people all over the world has been drawing attention again thanks to the 97-min Netflix documentary released last week, “The Greatest Night in Pop.”

The documentary, which premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, tells the story of the 46 greatest pop stars of the time recording at a studio in Los Angeles on the night of Jan. 28, 1985.

This is the story behind “We Are the World,” which everyone has heard of. Anyone who remembers watching the music video will remember the day top stars such as Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie and Stevie Wonder got together in one place.

Even inviting a single superstar was no easy feat. So how did Jackson and Richie — who wrote the lyrics and composed the music — and producer Quincy Jones create the “history” of pop by bringing nearly 50 bigshots into a small studio overnight?

The answer is simple: universal values. The justification of humanitarian love and insightful leadership worked. Millions of lives had been lost in Africa from famine at the time, and Jones’ coordination and Richie’s affinity made the huge project possible.

The secretly arranged project chose the day of the American Music Awards and invited many stars behind the scenes. Most of the stars who came to Los Angeles to attend the ceremony arrived at the studio one by one, not even knowing which part they would sing. There were six words written on the door of the studio: “Check your ego at the door.” It was a sort of order from Quincy Jones.

This was not the only “mental training” he’d prepared for the stars. He also arranged a surprise speech from Bob Geldof, who had organized the “Band Aid” project among British pop stars to help Africa. Geldof came to the studio — and calmly and persuasively explained the seriousness of famine in Africa, where 27,000 people had to be fed on 15 sacks of flour. He also explained why the unity of musicians was important at the moment. Eyes of the stars who listened to the speech brightened.

The recording, which lasted 11 hours from 8 p.m., was full of various demands and desires as diverse as the stars themselves. Some were playful, and when one suggested singing in Swahili, another stormed out. Some wanted to smoke in the studio and complained that they were hungry. One musician was too drunk to remember the lyrics.

Nevertheless, Lionel Richie went around and tried to keep things under control, while Quincy Jones scolded the musicians as if they were his students. Thanks to their endeavor and leadership, the greatest night in the 20th century pop history brought the masterpiece to life.