This month marks the 30th anniversary of the recording of “We Are the World.” A group of popular American singing artists gathered together after the American Music Awards ceremony in January of 1985 to record the song which would go on to raise millions of dollars for relief efforts in Africa. They called themselves USA for Africa and you could say it was the ultimate supergroup. It featured the likes of Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Cyndi Lauper, Kenny Rogers, Tina Turner, and more. I still have my copy of the single tucked away in my basement.
The video showed 44 artists crammed into a recording studio singing their hearts out. It was fun to try and spot people…”oh, there’s Al Jarreau…and that’s John Oates…what is Latoya Jackson doing there?” But then there was one really big surprise member of the chorus.
I imagine many people squinted at their screens and said, “Hey who’s that guy in the back with the glasses? The one right between Harry Belafonte and Lindsey Buckingham. It kind of looks like…but no, it couldn’t be.” Lucky for us the cover of the “We Are the World” single listed all the artists involved, and there we saw the name “Dan Aykroyd.”
Now I have nothing against Dan Aykroyd. In fact, he’s always been one of my favorite SNL alums. You gotta admit, though, it’s a bit of a head-scratcher how the star of Ghostbusters and My Stepmother is an Alien ended up singing on this huge hit record. Granted, Aykroyd has had some musical success as half of The Blues Brothers, but you can’t say that the man is known for his vocal stylings. What’s even stranger about the whole thing is that on the cover of the 45, the list of artists singing on the song was printed alphabetically. That’s only fair considering the large number of egos, uh stars involved in the project. That also means that A for Aykroyd got top billing on the song. He’s even listed above Michael Jackson and Bruce Springsteen!
I applaud Dan Aykroyd for having been a part of this historic effort to help those in need in Africa. And hey, he got to perform alongside a few dozen music icons! The dude rocks! He’ll have a harder time getting into the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame, however.
The Manchild Diaries 