Content deleted Content added
Rescuing 1 sources and tagging 4 as dead.) #IABot (v2.0.9.5) (Hey man im josh - 20897 |
A sentence was missing its period. I also removed an unnecessary space. |
||
Line 41:
Soon after the British group [[Band Aid (band)|Band Aid]] released "[[Do They Know It's Christmas?]]" in December 1984, musician and activist [[Harry Belafonte]] decided to create an American benefit single for African famine relief. With fundraiser [[Ken Kragen]], he enlisted several musicians. Jackson and Richie completed the writing the night before the first recording session, on January 21, 1985. The event brought together some of the era's best-known musicians.
One musician deliberately omitted was [[John Denver]] who had asked to participate but was rejected, despite his previous commitment to charity work. Ken Kragen claimed it was due to some people feeling that Denver's image would affect the credibility of the song as a pop-rock anthem. "I didn't agree with this assessment," Kragen said, but reluctantly turned Denver down.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.harrychapin.com/circle/winter05/behind.htm |title=Behind the Song: "We Are the World" |website=HarryChapin.com |first=Mike |last=Grayeb | date=2005 |access-date=May 9, 2011}}</ref> Denver recalled the rejection in his 1994 autobiography "Take Me Home", stating that "It broke my heart not to be included."
"We Are the World" was released on March 7, 1985, as the first single from the album by [[Columbia Records]]. It topped music charts throughout the world and became the fastest-selling U.S. pop single in history. "We Are the World" was certified [[quadruple platinum]], becoming the first single to be certified multi-platinum. Its awards include four [[Grammy Award]]s, one [[American Music Award]], and a [[People's Choice Award]].
| |||