USA for Africa

Logo USA for Africa

Chart positions Explanation of the data

Albums

We are the world   DE 8th 04/29/1985 (17 weeks)   AT 5 05/15/1985 (16 weeks)   CH 1 April 28, 1985 (19 weeks)   UK 31 May 25, 1985 (5 weeks)   US 1  × 3 Triple platinum April 20, 1985 (22 weeks)

Singles

We are the world   DE 2 April 8, 1985 (21 weeks)   AT 2 April 15, 1985 (18 weeks)   CH 1 04/07/1985 (29 weeks)   UK 1  silver April 13, 1985 (10 weeks)   US 1  × 4 Quadruple platinum 03/23/1985 (18 weeks)

USA for Africa was a music project in 1985 to raise money for the victims of the famine in Ethiopia 1984–1985 . United States on behalf of the band "means U nited S upport of A rtists". From the music project a separate aid organization (abbreviation: USAFA) developed, which still exists today.

history

From Harry Belafonte's idea of collecting money for Africa through a band project with mostly dark-skinned musicians, a music project based on the model of Band Aid developed under the direction of producer Ken Kragen , in which Quincy Jones wrote the song We, written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie Are the World produced. The recording took place on January 28, 1985. The song was released as a single that made it to number one on the charts in the US and UK . In addition, the album of the same name was released in April 1985 , which like the song reached number one. Among other things, Prince can be heard on the album , but he was not involved in the song We Are the World .

Another action by the project, Hands Across America , took place on May 25, 1986 , in which seven million people in the United States formed a human chain. There was also another song of the same name.

Success / result

The first 800,000 singles hit the market on March 7, 1985 and were sold within a week. In three weeks the song was number one on the charts. 1985 won the song We Are the World Grammys for "Song of the Year" and "Recording of the Year".

Many millions of singles were sold (around 20 million in total by 2009) and more than three million albums. In addition to the royalties, there were profits from the sale of t-shirts, videos, sweatshirts, and posters. In total, Hands Across America raised around 100 million dollars for USA for Africa.

organization

Furthermore, USA for Africa was established as an organization and continues to this day. As early as the mid-1980s, two offices were founded, one in Los Angeles and one in New York City , as many of the partner organizations such as CARE International , the United Nations Development Program or UNICEF were based on the east coast of the USA . However, it was closed in 1987. At that time there was an organizational change in the program, which changed from a short-term aid project for pop and rock musicians to an organization that worked with African NGOs . Smaller amounts tended to be invested in longer-term projects. This involved reconstruction and development, education, and the advancement of women and young people.

In the 1990s, the sums got a little smaller as awareness of the project waned. In 2005 the 20th anniversary was celebrated. There was an anniversary DVD for this. In 2009, for the 25th anniversary on January 28, 2010, the We Are the World 25 project followed .

Contributors

The most important musicians involved in the music project (choir and solo singers), in alphabetical order:

Dan Aykroyd Harry Belafonte Lindsey Buckingham Kim Carnes Ray Charles Bob Dylan Sheila E. Bob Geldof Daryl Hall James Ingram Jackie Jackson La Toya Jackson Marlon Jackson

Michael Jackson Randy Jackson Tito Jackson Al Jarreau Waylon Jennings Billy Joel Cyndi Lauper Huey Lewis Kenny loggins Bette Midler Willie Nelson John Oates Jeffrey Osborne

Steve Perry Prince (only involved in the album, not involved in the song) Pointer Sisters Lionel Richie Smokey Robinson Kenny Rogers Diana Ross Paul Simon Bruce Springsteen Tina Turner Dionne Warwick Stevie Wonder

Related projects

• Band Aid (since 1984)
• Band for Africa (1985)
• Farm Aid (since 1985)
• Hear 'n Aid , a heavy metal project (1986)
• Artists for Haiti (2010)

swell

1. ↑ ^{a b} Chart sources: Single Album UK US
   Joel Whitburn : Hot R&B Songs 1942–2010: 6th Edition, ISBN 978-0-89820-186-4
   Joel Whitburn : Top R&B Albums 1965–1998, ISBN 0-89820-134-9 .
2. ↑ Music Sales Awards: US UK
3. ↑ www.80s.com: Hands Across America , accessed May 19, 2010.
4. ↑ www.usaforafrica.org: USA for Africa: Memories and Reflections , p. 11, PDF, English ( Memento of the original from August 19, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
5. ↑ www.usaforafrica.org: USA for Africa: Memories and Reflections , p. 17, PDF, English ( Memento of the original from August 19, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
6. ↑ www.usaforafrica.org: USA for Africa: Memories and Reflections , p. 35, PDF, English ( Memento of the original from August 19, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 

Web links

• USA for Africa Online
• USA for Africa at Allmusic (English)
• USA for Africa at Discogs (English)
• English lyrics