The New York Times
The Pop Diplomacy of Quincy Jones
Interview by ANDREW GOLDMAN
Published: September 21, 2012
During the “We Are the World” session, great singers like Smokey Robinson didn’t even get solo lines. How do you tell Bette Midler, “Kim Carnes gets a solo, but you don’t”?
It was not easy. If you’ve got 46 people and only 21 solos, you’re gonna have a problem. That’s why we did all the background lines before I told them who would sing solos. If they did the solos first, they’d all disappear.
