Michael Jackson's surprising gesture behind scenes of We Are The World
1980s hitmaker Kim Carnes - singer behind Bette Davis' Eyes - opens up about the King of Pop's behaviour at the recording of We Are The World, the charity single that raised millions for humanitarian aid
Itâs been 40 years since a supergroup of Americaâs biggest stars came together in a Los Angeles studio to record We Are the World - the fastest-selling US pop single in history.
Inspired by Band Aidâs festive release Do They Know Itâs Christmas? in the UK in December 1984, musician and activist Harry Belafonte formed USA for Africa.
And the quadruple-platinum single - written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and produced by Quincy Jones and Michael Omartian - raised more than $80million for humanitarian aid in Africa and the US.
Alongside legends like Bob Dylan, Diana Ross, Ray Charles, Tina Turner, Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder and Paul Simon was Kim Carnes, who is best-known for her 1981 single Bette Davisâ Eyes - which topped the US Billboard hot 100 for nine consecutive weeks and was No.1 in 21 countries.
Standing next to Michael Jackson - who only finished writing We Are The World the night before the recording - Kim, now 79, remembers holding his hand.
She says âMichael Jackson and I were able to have some conversations and that I found to be pretty incredible. He was so shy and kind and, of course, an amazing artist.â
The front cover of We Are The World, the charity single written by Michael Jackson (Image:
Getty Images)She says their conversations were ânothing deep,â adding: âJust âlove your workâ, bla bla bla. Nothing earth-shattering. But he was very kind and shy. I remember thinking âHeâs so kind.ââ
In contrast, Cyndi Lauper, who she sang with, went for it full throttle. âI just thought, she's doing her own spin on the part she was singing, her own take on it, and thatâs to be admired,â says Kim.
Topping the charts around the world when it was released on March 7, 1985, Kim remembers Bob Geldof popping in during recording, which took place between Jan 21 and 29, to speak to them all, saying: âWe said hello and talked a little.â
But her overriding memory of recording is of the single being a true collaboration, a great leveller - with no one vying for special attention, or trying to outshine anyone else.
She says of the experience: âI felt very fortunate. It was incredible. I didnât see any egos. Nobody was an a**hole. People were just supportive and happy to be there. I loved every second.
âIâd never met Bob Dylan before and Iâm a huge fan, so I was thrilled to just be in the same room as him. Quincy Jones arranged for us all to have the sheet music and lyrics of We Are The World and, during a break in the recording, everybody signed each otherâs. I still have to get mine framed!â
Kim poses with Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, Elizabeth Taylor, Michael and Janet Jackson and others at the 1986 American Music Awards (Image:
Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images) Kim pictured in 1980 (Image:
Corbis/VCG via Getty Images)A Grammy Award-winning artist, Kim, who has duetted with Barbra Streisand, Neil Diamond and Kenny Rogers - who she also wrote songs for alongside her husband David Ellingson - has enjoyed a stellar career as a singer and songwriter.
Still working and hoping to produce a 14th studio album, 21 years after her last one Chasinâ Wild Trains, speaking from her home in Nashville - where she moved to from LA in 1994 - her CV reads like a Whoâs Who of rock music.
Her first publishing deal saw her sharing demo-recording time with future members of The Eagles, Don Henley and Glenn Frey. And in the early 1970s she and Ellingson - who sheâs been married to for 58 years - co-wrote songs with, and opened on stage for David Cassidy, who was then a global teen idol.
âWe were with David for three years. We went all over the world with him,â she says. âWe became really close friends with him. He was so incredibly famous that he couldnât go out anywhere, so Iâm glad our house was a safe haven for him, as he needed it.
âHe didn't wanna be a teen idol and the songs he sang were not his taste in music. He liked Led Zeppelin, Neil Young, CSNY - and that was frustrating for him. He was a great guy and he loved to laugh.â
She is glad she didnât get to see Cassidy descend into alcoholism. âWe didnât hang out with David once his life took that turn,â she says. âWe have nothing but wonderful memories of him.â
A hitmaker for Kenny Rogers with her composition, Donât Fall In Love With A Dreamer in 1980, her own single Bette Davisâ Eyes and her album Mistaken Identity were next to become chart toppers the following year.
Kim's hit single led to a surprising friendship with Hollywood star Bette Davis (Image:
Sygma via Getty Images)And this led to an extraordinary friendship with the notoriously spiky movie star Bette Davis, then 73, who was delighted with the song and its singer. Kim says: âShe was really happy with that record and said it gave her credibility with her grandson, which was funny as she was such a well-known actress.
âWe struck up the most wonderful friendship. Iâd go to her house. I took her a platinum album and she got a ladder, hammer and nails and hung it herself. Once when I came home after doing a TV show she rang and said âHello Kim, this is Miss Bette Davis, I just saw your performance and thought you were marvellous.â
âLittle things like that were memorable and mind-boggling. I think she had that (prickly) reputation because she was a woman who stood up for her rights and fought the studios. But she couldnât have been nicer to me. And I could relate because of my own battles with record companies, so we had a lot in common.â
Dubbed âThe Queen Of RaspânâRollâ because of her gravelly voice, non-smoker Kim does not relish comparisons to Rod Steward - who she duetted with in 1981 - or Bonnie Tyler.
While she has met and likes them both, she says: âI donât like comparisons.â
Born to an attorney father and a hospital administrator mother, she says they didnât understand the music business and were not supportive. âEven after great success, my mum couldnât accept it.â she says. âIf she came to a show with a friend, sheâd say to them âThatâs not my daughter up thereâ.
âBut, after she died I was going through her things and found a notebook in which sheâd written, âI donât know why I couldnât ever tell Kim I was proud of her success.â I was sad for my mom and a bit for myself.â
Her sons Collin and Ry have followed in her footsteps, also working with her, and she even met her idol because of them. She laughs: âOnce, one of my sons had a Halloween party and all of a sudden Leonard Cohen walked into our kitchen. It blew our minds. We all idolised him and it turned out his daughter was at school with our older son and was at the party, and he came to check on her.
âBut he sat down and we talked for several hours. That was one of the best moments of my life ever!â
Since then, she has moved from LA to Nashville, but says she is âin mourningâ for the city, following the catastrophic wild fires. She says: "My heart⌠The Palisades, our forever home, gone. Many best friends have lost their homes⌠others have evacuated to different hotels.
âOf course my heart goes out to those who have sadly lost their lives in this tragedy. Pacific Palisades was a gem. Everyone is in shock. The community is resilient, but this is too much. My hometown will never be the same. Thank goodness all our friends are safe."
Returning to the recording of We Are The World, Kim - who calls the UK âa magical placeâ and describes Adele and Ed Sheeran as âamazing artistsâ - regrets not performing at the Live Aid concert six months later. âI wasnât there and I wish I had been. I was not invited and I have no idea why.â
But she will never forget playing her part in making the single. She says: âWhen I heard the song originally, and then when we were all in the room singing it, I remember thinking, âThis is a perfect song, this will be so successful. Not a doubt in my mind. This is a big hit and itâs gonna do really wellâ.â
Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev both responded after Djokovic was booed by fans after retiring during their Australian Open semifinal match
Read more >> : Cick here
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
From a vintage-inspired T-shirt and candle, to vinyl LP of 'A Complete Unknown,' we found the best Timothee Chalamet fan merch and gifts to buy online
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
The woman believes he was â??clearly orderingâ?? ingredients used to make poison ricin, the BBC reported.
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
The storm has caused travel disruption across the country, with flights and trains delayed or cancelled.
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
The historian running the memorial to the Buchenwald Nazi concentration camp has spoken out against tech billionaire Elon Musk, in an interview this week with The Times of London.Jens-Christian Wagner, who runs the memorial to the notorious camp near Weimar that held hundreds of thousands of Jewish,...
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
A key agreement in a massive settlement was reportedly overlooked while vetting the script, leaving producers scrambling to do rewrites and reshoots.
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Viewers were left in tears after the elimination
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
The tense final episode saw âseerâ Francesca Rowan-Plowden discover Charlotte Bermanâs identity as a traitor.
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Sam Thompson and Zara McDermott started off this year with broken hearts as news emerged they had split after six years - but the Made In Chelsea star has his sister to lean on
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
EKIN-SU CĂźlcĂźlo?lu and Ronnie Vint have come to blows in the Love Island All Stars villa â and fans canât get enough. The pair yelled at each other across the garden in a very fiery excâŚ
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Twitter (X), Inc. was an American social media company based in San Francisco, California, which operated and was named for its flagship social media network prior to its rebrand as X. In addition to Twitter, the company previously operated the Vine short video app and Periscope livestreaming service
Twitter (X) is one of the most popular social media platforms, with over 619 million monthly active users worldwide. One of the most exciting features of Twitter (X) is the ability to see what topics are trending in real-time. Twitter trends are a fascinating way to stay up to date on what people are talking about on the platform, and they can also be a valuable tool for businesses and individuals to stay relevant and informed. In this article, we will discuss Twitter (X) trends, how they work, and how you can use them to your advantage.
What are Twitter (X) Worldwide Trends?
Twitter (X) Worldwide trends are a list of topics that are currently being talked about on the platform and also world. The topics on this list change in real-time and are based on the volume of tweets using a particular hashtag or keyword. Twitter (X) Worldwide trends can be localized to a Worldwide country or region or can be global, depending on the topic's popularity.
How Do Twitter (X) Worldwide Trends Work?
Twitter (X) Worldwide trends are generated by an algorithm that analyzes the volume of tweets using a particular hashtag or keyword. When the algorithm detects a sudden increase in tweets using a specific hashtag or keyword, it considers that topic to be trending.
Once a topic is identified as trending, it is added to the list of Twitter (X) Worldwide trends. The topics on this list are ranked based on their popularity, with the most popular topics appearing at the top of the list.
Twitter (X) Worldwide trends can be filtered by location or category, allowing users to see what topics are trending in their area or in a particular industry. Additionally, users can click on a trending topic to see all of the tweets using that hashtag or keyword.