On the Radio 41 Years Ago, Michael Jackson’s Famed Charity Tune Hit 5,000 Stations at the Same Time Around the World, Then Became a No. 1 Hit

If you were upright and conscious in 1985, there’s no way you escaped hearing USA For Africa’s hit song “We Are The World”. The pop gospel tune was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie. And it actually hit the airwaves on this very day, April 5, 1985, via more than 5,000 radio stations across the globe at 3:50pm GMT. The song itself had been released nearly a month prior on March 7, 1985. But the mass airing of the song ensured that if you were alive and breathing, you heard the song play on April 5 at 3:50pm GMT. Mere days later, “We Are The World” hit No. 1 on the charts.

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“We Are The World” was a massive collaboration of artists. The song prominently featured MJ and Richie but also featured a studio of dozens of famous artists, from Bruce Springsteen to Paul Simon to Tina Turner to Stevie Wonder to Cyndi Lauper and many more. Some famous musicians contributed their skills to the song’s instrumentation as well. Those include Toto’s David Paich and Ian Underwood of The Mothers Of Invention on the synths. Bassist Louis Johnson and drummer John Robinson can also be heard on the track.

“We Are The World” would go on to be a massive success, one that pulled funding for an important cause.

The Legacy of “We Are The World” Lives On

Whether you genuinely enjoyed this talent-packed song or found yourself entertained by the nostalgically funny (and at times, very awkward) video footage of the song’s recording, “We Are The World” likely has a special place in your heart if you were around to experience it way back in 1985.

The Quincy Jones-produced some wasn’t just a cash grab attempt, either. The whole purpose of bringing together some of the music industry’s biggest names to form USA For Africa was to raise money for the famine in Ethiopia at the time. And they definitely raised quite a bit for the cause. After selling over 20 million physical copies of the song, “We Are The World” earned $80 million for humanitarian aid. That’s equivalent to about $235 million in 2025 dollars. Today, it is the eighth-best-selling single release of all time. The song is also (technically) the most successful one-hit wonder of all time. The supergroup USA For Africa only released this one track.

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