Netflix documentary The Greatest Night in Pop tells the ‘honest story’ of how Michael Jackson, Bob Dylan and co made 1985 charity single We Are the World
- The Greatest Night in Pop combines never-before-seen footage of the star-studded charity single recording session and interviews with some of the singers
- Drama, such as over Stevie Wonder’s proposed Swahili lyrics, and how Prince nearly sang after Michael Jackson, is covered in a film that aims to inspire
Thirty-nine years ago, the biggest music stars in the world crammed into a recording studio in Los Angeles for an all-night session that they hoped might alter music history.
“We Are the World” was a 1985 charity single for African famine relief that included the voices of Michael Jackson, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Paul Simon, Tina Turner, Dionne Warwick, Lionel Richie, Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen.
Fans get a chance to almost step into that recording session this month with the Netflix documentary The Greatest Night in Pop, a behind-the-scenes look at the complex birth of a megahit, that is now streaming on the platform.
“It’s a celebration of the power of creativity and the power of collective humanity,” says the documentary’s producer, Julia Nottingham. “The amazing thing about the song is it’s such an inspiration for so many artists.”
