March 7th, 1985. “We Are the World” hits the shelves. It's an instant hit, breaking the top of the charts and making music history. This one song has the star power of 45 of the biggest singers of the era: Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan - just to name a few. And with their power combined, the song raised millions of dollars to help combat a devastating famine in Ethiopia and Sudan. What did it take to bring all these icons together, and did this song actually make a difference?Special thanks to our Guests: Ken Kragen, creator and organizer of "We Are the World" and USA For AfricaAlex de Waal, Executive Director, World Peace Foundation at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts UniversityTo our listeners, thank you for subscribing to History This Week. We want to hear your feedback: https://bit.ly/3a4FGqJ Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.