The project had all the ingredients to be doomed. After all, getting togethera few artists for a project itself is a daunting task. Here, the plan was to get 46 of the top singers in the world for one song.
Bob Geldof had only recently recorded a charity song, ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ It became an inspiration for Harry Belafonte, who thought of an American equivalent to help famine victims in Ethiopia. Thus was born the ‘USA for Africa’ project, under which they were to record this song written by Lionel Ritchie and Michael Jackson.
There were issues galore. Singers had their signature styles, with a few unaccustomed to melodic singing. What could compound the matter further was that the artists would be tired after a hectic evening at the American Music Awards, the night they decided to record the song since it was easy to gather all these singers together. However, looming large above all else was a bigger problem that could hamper the project. It was a three-letter word called ‘ego’. Only a few singers would sing solo lines, while others would remain in the chorus. It was akin to playing second fiddle to their contemporaries, which could be difficult to digest for stars. As a producer, Quincy Jones was adept at handling multiple star singers together. However, even with his experience, it was mammoth. He was friends with them, yet he was aware of how flimsy their egos could be. Geldof gave a pep talk prior to the recording about famine in Africa and how the sales from that one song could help millions.
Tired and confused due to lack of rehearsal, the artists had a tough time. But no one threw a tantrum or gave up. Finally, after 12 hours of recording, the song ‘We Are The World’ was recorded and would eventually sell over 20 million copies and garner a considerable amount of money to aid famine victims. The greatness of those artists wasn’t merely in their talent or the millions of albums they’d sold, but in the fact that they understood and followed what Quincy Jones meant when he placed a sign near the studio door that read, ‘Check your egos at the door’.
Like those artists that night, may we remember the cardinal principle: If ego enters, forget anything significant or constructive happening. Doorstep is where ego belongs.