‘The Greatest Night In Pop’ Trailer: New Netflix Doc Tells Story Behind Global Pop Song, “We Are The World”

You may not remember, but Ethiopia’s 1983–1985 famine prompted many musical artists to take humanitarian action. First, there was Band-Aid, formed by Bob Geldolf and all the U.K. pop stars of the day, and then Harry Belafonte helped create the U.S. own supergroup, U.S.A for Africa, which spawned the global hit, “We Are The World” released in April 1985 (Canada had its own version called, Northern Lights too). Written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and produced by Quincy Jones,
“We Are The World” had sales of over 20 million copies, and it is still the eighth-best-selling physical single of all time. The new documentary “The Greatest Night In Pop” uses never-before-seen footage to tell the untold story behind the global pop song.

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The song featured 46 U.S. musical icons, including Jackson, Ritchie, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, and dozens more, coming together in 1985 for the most star-studded recording session in history. “We Are The World” went on to raise millions in humanitarian aid and won four Grammys, but apparently, the recording very nearly didn’t happen.

Directed by Bao Nguyen and produced by Julia Nottingham, the team behind the acclaimed Bruce Lee documentary “(Be Water),” Lionel Richie is also one of the producers on the doc, which will have its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival later this month.

Apparently, a sign hung over the entrance to the recording studio door that read, “Check your egos at the door,” and with nearly 50 of the biggest stars in the world in one room, there are evidently some good stories about the making of this song.

Here’s the official synopsis:

About The Greatest Night in Pop: On January 25, 1985, dozens of the biggest names in music convened at a studio in Los Angeles, checked their egos at the door, and recorded a song to benefit African famine relief that would alter global pop culture history. The Greatest Night in Pop chronicles the massive undertaking to assemble the world’s most impressive supergroup in a world before cell phones and email. That group of artists — led by the song’s co-writers and two of the most significant musicians of the 20th century — Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie — came from different worlds but united to record “We Are the World.” Featuring never-before-seen footage, the film details the early planning stages, including the writing sessions with Richie and Jackson, and goes inside the famed Henson Studios where “We Are the World” was recorded. Many of the artists who were there that legendary evening—Richie, Bruce Springsteen, Smokey Robinson, Cyndi Lauper, Kenny Loggins, Dionne Warwick, and Huey Lewis— reminisce alongside musicians, engineers, and production crew about one of the most storied nights in music history. The Greatest Night in Pop was directed by Bao Nguyen and produced by Julia Nottingham, the team behind the acclaimed Bruce Lee documentary (Be Water).

“The Greatest Night In Pop” will be released on Netflix right after Netflix on January 29. Watch the first trailer below.