We Are the World by USA for Africa (Vinyl record single review)

Record basics

Single name: We Are the World

Group name: USA for Africa

Year: 1985

Number of discs: one

Label: Columbia Records

Collection: Brenner / Gessner

Who owned it: I think both of my parents are equally responsible for this one.

Buy it on Amazon: $7.95

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

My only personal memory of We Are the World is that my preschool teachers arranged for my class to sing it[1] (and I’m sure the children of Ethiopia were really moved by our rendition), but of course in the past several decades it’s been something of a cultural touchstone.

What I expected

Dozens of celebrities wailing about one or two lines apiece of a pretty bad song.

What it was actually like

We Are the World is not the worst song ever recorded, but I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that it’s one of them. Its style is gospel, but that really isn’t fair to gospel as a genre and to all the great gospel groups, like the Staple Singers. This is better characterized as a crappy mid 1980s pop track with gospel style vocals, and it basically has the musical quality of a Xmas carol.

The worst vocals were by Bob Dylan, and the most comically melodramatic vocals were either Cyndi Lauper’s or Bruce Springsteen’s.

The B side was a song by Quincy Jones called Grace, a sort of space agey techno instrumental track that sounded like the score for season 6 of Twin Peaks.

Grade

2/5: bad, but I was able to listen to the whole thing

References[+]

References

↑1 | “We are the children…”