Trailer for the documentary "The Greatest Night in Pop"/Netflix
A new type of fundraising campaign was born at Christmas 1984 - a charity carol performed by a massive supergroup of famous musicians.
First was "Do They Know It's Christmas", the pop initiative of musician and activist Bob Geldof that united Bono, George Michael, Sting, Bananaharma, Boy George, Duran Duran and Phil Collins for a joint single.
The goal: to raise donations for the victims of famine in Africa.
The means: a music video full of stars making sad faces in the studio, slightly silly words and a dash of patronage.
After all, we're talking about the 1980s, a time when a string of words like "The Christmas bells that ring there are the jingles of doom" weren't a potential quote from a character from the movie Zoolander but a perfectly normal line to hear on the radio.
About a month later, an American equivalent of this philanthropic hit was recorded, featuring over 40 artists.
Partial list: Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson with his brothers and sisters, Tina Turner, Diana Ross, Lionel Richie, Bruce Springsteen, Harry Belafonte (who also initiated the American version), Hall & Oates, Cyndi Lauper, Billy Joel, Bette Midler and many more.
"We Are the World" launched into the public consciousness the formula we know and love to this day, or at least like to parodies of it.
You know exactly what it looks and sounds like, from the performance where you make a sad face and dramatically hold the studio headphones to the shot that takes us from one star to another, everyone singing a line or two.
intimacy.
Bob Dylan with Michael Jackson, "Pop's Big Night"/Netflix
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From there, everything is history - countless repeated attempts and additional performances, with each country organizing its own version.
In Israel we received, among others, "One Nation with One Song", which instead of children in Africa raised funds for children with disabilities, and later "Striped Shirt" by Meir Ariel Simcha against prejudice and racism, both of which recently received new versions.
"Clan of Brothers and Sisters" did give up the music video in the studio in favor of a collection of selfies, but it was also recorded by a group of leading artists and raised money for a good cause (supporting at-risk youth through the Sachi program).
No matter what you think about this huge cultural phenomenon, it's hard to ignore of its importance and iconicity, so it's super interesting to see behind the scenes of the legend and/or cliché. That's exactly what The Greatest Night in Pop, the Netflix documentary, chronicles a significant moment in pop culture. The film takes us from the birth of the idea, through the recruitment of the participants, to the grueling night that started at the American Music Awards and continued to a recording session in a studio in Los Angeles, during which the music video was also filmed. The film is full of interesting trivia details and presents (some of) the giants who took part in the initiative in a slightly different way personal and intimate, sometimes surprising and sometimes one that fits 100% what you can imagine.
A good example is the case of Bob Dylan, who was stressed that his vocal abilities would be impaired in the final result, which made him mainly do with his lips when recording the chorus. He also had difficulty recording his own lines , and to make it easier for him, the studio turns away from the other participants.
The one who saved the situation was Stevie Wonder, who provided the producers with several moments of crisis himself but at the moment of truth came to the aid of a friend, encouraged him and even imitated him performing the lines he received, which made it easier for Dylan to deliver the real performance.
Another anecdote is related to one of the biggest stars of the time - Prince - who was not really enthusiastic about the possibility of recording a song alongside dozens of other celebrities.
His protégé Sheila E. was recruited for the task in the hope that her presence would attract him as well, and after hours in the studio it became clear to her that the promises she received were nothing more than a negotiation tactic with someone else, much more famous than her.
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The unshakable star.
Lionel Richie, "Pop's Big Night"/Netflix
In addition to archival material filmed that night, the film also incorporates interviews with musicians such as Bruce Springsteen, Dionne Warwick, Sheila E, Huey Lewis and Cyndi Lauper alongside the crew members who made it all happen.
The undisputed star of the film is Lionel Richie, who to a certain extent "pop's big night" was actually his big night - not only did he and Quincy Jones lead the implementation of the initiative, before the recordings he managed to host the awards ceremony in question and win it by the amount Dignity of figurines.
The interview with Richie is the frame story from which all the other stories branch out - and he tells this story well, with a lot of humor and grace.
If you still have a tolerance for cute and positive stories about Michael Jackson, he has some of those too.
However, there are moments when Ritchie goes a little too far with the mythologizing of the event and tying the crowns to himself.
The problem is that often the film also flows with it, and this is already expressed in the grandiose name that was given to it.
"We Are the "World" is an event that represents a moment in time, and it is hard to believe that it could have been created today in the same way.
The beauty of the story comes from the goodwill of those involved that mixes in the direct meeting between all those present - the small moment when Diana Ross asks for an autograph from Daryl Hall, Huey Lewis' feelings of inferiority to record alongside legendary vocalists or a funny little moment between Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder.
Jones and Ritchie's demand to give up their ego created a special environment that was light years away from the glamorous and distant image of the pop world, then and now.
It's a story about modesty, about solidarity, about human connection - a once-in-a-lifetime night, not a larger-than-life night.
The fact that the film itself hardly delves into the social aspect of the whole matter only sharpens all of this - we are talking here about a pop song with good intentions, not about developing a cure for cancer.
Despite all this, it is still a very enjoyable viewing for music lovers, including those who are interested in the technical and production aspect and not only in the human story and its large collection of stars.
Huge names such as Michael Jackson, Diana Ross or Stevie Wonder appear again and again, but along the way he also pays tribute to those whose names are now not in every household in the world, including Steve Perry, Huey Lewis, Hall & Oates, Willie Nelson or the legendary Dion Warwick .
After spending almost an hour and a half with this whole group, even the biggest cynics might get a little excited by the repeated refrain "We are the world, we are the children".
"Pop's Big Night" is available on Netflix.
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Lionel Richie
Michael Jackson
Stevie Wonder
Bob Dylan