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- Kenneth Partridge
- “We are the World” began with Harry Belafonte (and also Bob Geldof). In late 1984, famed actor, singer, and activist Harry Belafonte saw a BBC report about the devastating famine in Ethiopia.
- Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson wrote the song with an ear for history. One of Ken Kragen’s clients was Lionel Richie, who signed up for the project after speaking with Belafonte on the phone.
- The recording of “We Are the World” could have only happened on one particular night. How do you get dozens of America’s biggest musical stars in one recording studio at the same time?
- Prince was notably absent from the proceedings. In 1985, there were few artists in America or anywhere else on the planet bigger than Prince, who was just coming off the gargantuan success of the previous year’s Purple Rain film-album combo.
- Harry Belafonte. Actor Harry Belafonte’s activism was the impetus for “We Are the World.” After witnessing the famine across Africa, Ethiopia in particular, he reached out to music manager and TV producer Ken Kragen to do a charity concert to raise money.
- Michael Jackson. Though “We Are the World,” was written by Richie and Michael Jackson, Jackson initially only wanted to write the song and not perform it.
- Stevie Wonder. Richie wanted Stevie Wonder to co-write the song with him and Jackson from the beginning. But the Motown singer never returned his calls. When Wonder showed up to Lion Share studios during the demo recording, he was shocked to find the song had already been written.
- Cyndi Lauper. Cyndi Lauper wouldn’t have hit those raspy high notes on the bridge of “We Are the World” had she listened to her boyfriend at the time. According to Richie, she attempted to pull out of the recording session during the AMAs.
Jun 24, 2020 · Harriet Sternberg worked for Kragen as his head of creative services, which just meant she did everything Ken didn’t. She’d had a lot of duties leading up to tonight, including mailing out ...
Jan 29, 2024 · Harriet Sternberg, head of creative services at Kragen & Co., felt strongly about bringing Madonna into the fold — but Ken Kragen had another idea. “I wanted Madonna. ‘Material Girl’ and ...
- 7 min
- Rachel DeSantis
Harriet Sternberg. Producer: America's Best Dance Crew. Harriet Sternberg is known for America's Best Dance Crew (2008), A Spinal Tap Reunion: The 25th Anniversary London Sell-Out (1992) and We Are the World (1985).
- Producer, Manager, Executive
- Harriet Sternberg
Feb 14, 2024 · Harriet Sternberg, the head of creative services at Kragen’s company, says she wanted to book Madonna, “but Ken wanted Cyndi. We had a fight about that.” The implication is that it had to be ...
[Producer] Ken Kragen and his staff, [producer] Harriet Sternberg – Harriet wanted Madonna. Ken didn’t want Madonna because he thought that Cyndi [Lauper] sort of served the purpose of being the female pop icon at that time, and it was as simple as that.
