10 Definitive Songs From Charity Song “We Are The World” Artists




In honor of the release of The Greatest Night in Pop, here is a playlist of definitive songs from artists in the ensemble of “We Are The World.”

The Greatest Night in Pop, a documentary on Netflix, promises to be the first big event of 2024 for discerning viewers worldwide. There’s a solid, generation-spanning reason: it’s based on the one night of recording and assembling some of the planet’s most significant artists of every conceivable hue to create the charity single “We Are The World” in 1985.

Created in the wake of death and famine in Africa, this monumental artistic undertaking carried a profound moral responsibility for each individual concerned.

If the documentary hits its stride, it will be buzzing with nearly universal acclaim and be slotted for awards love throughout 2024. But first and foremost comes the music, the artists who defined an era and were part of this once in a lifetime experience.

So in honour of the release of The Greatest Night in Pop, here is a playlist of definitive songs from artists in the ensemble of “We Are The World”.


“What’s Love Got To Do With It?” by Tina Turner

This was how the divine Ms. Turner reeducated the whole world about who she was as a singular artist.

That iconic rasp in her voice, the weather-beaten delivery, the way the words stop us in our tracks given its raw emotional appeal, remain standards. It’s rock, pop, chameleonic and wholly original even within the soundscape of ’80s synths.

“Hello” by Lionel Richie

Can a musical piece truly flutter our hearts, move our minds and be sung by a mortal voice with such smooth notes? Yes if Hello constitutes the amorous soundtrack of your life.

Sentiment is Mr. Richie’s strongest suit and he lets his effect this mellow standard.

He is a crooner, a lover and with those Spanish guitars, pianos and drums, it is a heavenly sound.

“Endless Love” by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie

Both Ms. Ross and Mr. Richie revel in the smooth serenade that becomes possible when they design a duet for the ages.

Endless Love is an ode to the life and times that are distinctly in the past but can be beautifully replicated at any concurrent timeline. The highs and the lows of these voices and the piano notes seal this as a lifetime affair.

“Bette Davis Eyes” by Kim Carnes

There is something wild, something timeless in the rough-hewn edges around Kim Carnes’ voice. Which makes her the perfect candidate for a pop-rock confection like Bette Davis Eyes.

Keeping the titular matinee idol as its lodestar, this burst of guitars and synths is perfectly accessible, giving us mystery, unforgettable lyrics and a sound that is so timelessly ’80s that we have nothing to complain about. This is guaranteed to be played in a continuous loop.

“Dancing In The Dark” by Bruce Springsteen

Those synths could not have made us rejoice in such a profound way than on this Bruce Springsteen jam.

Those opening synths, his handling of the material and the euphoric thrill of freedom it promises is realised effortlessly here.

It is a song made for stadiums and the arenas that we create in our minds as music of such calibre gives us reasons to grab each moment and connect with fellow humans.

“If It’s Magic” by Stevie Wonder

If a perpetual state of Zen should have a sound, it will come by way of this single.

Mr. Wonder is a voice of compassion and serene charm almost always. But here, he lets the art of minimalism flow like water, like a bud open to the sun, like the first delicate rays falling on our skins. We listen to If It’s Magic and feel cleansed, liberated.

“Blowin’ In The Wind” by Bob Dylan

I’ve listened to it and read its contents as a poem in the eighth standard curriculum.

Mr. Dylan is a bard for all times, for any and every discerning citizen of the planet. His words and wiseman delivery are perfectly tuned here. He’s a man with a guitar whose impact will always be at once intimate and pathbreaking. This song is his lodestar.

“Time After Time” by Cyndi Lauper

We can always look to this song for comfort, shelter in times of dissent, when the pressure points jut us out of a state of normalcy.

That rasp in Ms. Lauper’s vocals are borne from experience and the innocence that she has not let the world abduct and destroy.

“Somewhere Out There” by Linda Ronstadt & James Ingram

Mr. Ingram’s inclusion in We Are The World always brings me to this all-time great duet where poignant lyrics and excellent vocals offset a soundtrack staple to Disney’s An American Tail.

It’s a standalone classic without that pedigree and will bring smiles and tears with its delineation of dreams and hope.

“Always On My Mind” / “Are You Sure?” by Willie Nelson

Both these spare tunes have the capacity to take us to the farthest corners of the country while situating us in the middle of our immediate domiciles with sensitivity to spare.

This Willie Nelson double bill is a gift.

“Wind Beneath My Wings” by Bette Midler

Friendship, tentative sprigs of fame, lifelong bonding and the regret of worldly riches reaching one among two inseparable souls- all these flow interminably from this classic tune.

Ms. Midler is a singer of great emotional clarity. These touching lyrics can be monuments of remembrance and nostalgia for people, for strangers whose compassion can build worlds of amity throughout time.

“Hit The Road, Jack” by Ray Charles

This rhythm and blues touchstone is giddy, repentant, joyous and takes stock of an unsavoury situation with great vocals in tow.

The chorus is the yang to Mr. Charles’ yin. Or maybe it’s vice versa.

“Alfie” by Dionne Warwick

How can we measure a life when we are but passing strangers who contend with the politics of companionship?

Dionne Warwick’s beautiful ‘Alfie’ makes the titular subject a partner, an observer and most importantly a vessel for life’s lessons. It’s lovingly delivered even though the bitter shoots show in the tree of life.

“Tracks Of My Tears” by Smokey Robinson and The Miracles

A tune that carries the non-committal nature of the world without necessarily attacking it, this is pop gold, a musing crafted with realistic details.

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