USA for Africa

USA for Africa (United Support of Artists for Africa) is a charitable music project formed in the United States in 1985 to raise funds for famine relief in Africa. The initiative brought together 45 American entertainers and musicians under the leadership of Lionel Richie, Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones. It is best known for recording the charity single "We Are the World", which was released in 1985. "We Are the World" was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and produced by Quincy Jones and Michael Omartian. Read more on Last.fm

USA for Africa (United Support of Artists for Africa) is a charitable music project formed in the United States in 1985 to raise funds for famine relief in Africa. The initiative brought together 45 American entertainers and musicians under the leadership of Lionel Richie, Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones. It is best known for recording the charity single "We Are the World", which was released in 1985. "We Are the World" was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and produced by Quincy Jones and Michael Omartian. Released in March 1985, the single became an international success, reaching number one in both the United States and the United Kingdom. It went on to become one of the best-selling singles of all time and received several awards, including the Grammy Award for Record of the Year. The profits from the single and associated releases were donated to the USA for Africa Foundation, which supported famine relief, healthcare and development projects in African countries. Large sums were distributed to humanitarian programmes, although some critics argued that parts of the aid were channelled through governments or state institutions rather than directly to affected populations. A recording of the Live Aid performance was later included in the "Live Aid" DVD set released in 2004. The performers credited on the original recording included: * Dan Aykroyd * Harry Belafonte * Lindsey Buckingham * Kim Carnes * Ray Charles * Mario Cipollina * Johnny Colla * Bob Dylan * Sheila E. * Bob Geldof * Bill Gibson * Daryl Hall * John Oates * Sean Hopper * James Ingram * Jermaine Jackson * Jackie Jackson * La Toya Jackson * Marlon Jackson * Michael Jackson * Randy Jackson * Tito Jackson * Al Jarreau * Waylon Jennings * Billy Joel * Cyndi Lauper * Huey Lewis * Kenny Loggins * Bette Midler * Willie Nelson * Jeffrey Osborne * Steve Perry * The Pointer Sisters * Kenny Rogers * Diana Ross * Lionel Richie * Smokey Robinson * Paul Simon * Bruce Springsteen * Tina Turner * Dionne Warwick * Stevie Wonder The project is regarded as one of the most prominent examples of a large-scale celebrity charity recording and helped inspire later humanitarian music initiatives, including Band Aid. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.